Book Review: Live By Night

Posted October 2, 2012 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Crime / 0 Comments

Title: Live By Night (Goodreads)
Author: Dennis Lehane
Series: Coughlin #2
Published: William Morrow, 2012
Pages: 416
Genres: Crime
My Copy: ARC from Netgalley

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository, Kindle (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

While Joe Coughlin is the son of a Boston Police Captain, he has long turned his back of being a moral citizen. Joe has graduated into petty crimes to high paying robberies. But when he robs a speakeasy of a Boston mobster things change for him. When the mobster kills Joe’s love, Emma, he becomes obsessed with seeking revenge. Joe works up the ladder of organised crime till he is in the right position to take his revenge. But taking on a rival family is never so simple. This is the basis of Dennis Lehane’s latest crime novel Live by Night.

Most people know I’m a huge fan of pulpish and organised crime novels so I was really interested in checking out this novel. My first attempt of Dennis Lehane with Mystic River didn’t go too well but I was excited to give him another go, simply because the premise of this book sounded really good and the idea of reading a crime novel set in the prohibition era really enthused me. This book started out strong. I really liked Emma the love interestand was very sad to see her get killed off; I was ready to seek revenge too. The revenge aspect and the becoming a powerful mobster were really good but then you get half way through the book and it falls flat. Almost like Dennis Lehane had changed his mind of what type of book this is and switches genre. Without giving too much away I was disappointed with the change in style and although there are some great crime elements later on it just felt a bit odd.

I loved the characters in this book and this was my biggest worry because with Mystic River I felt they were a bit flat and one dimensional. I think it was interesting to hear that Lehane wrote another book called The Given Day which is based around the same family but focuses on a different character; I believe its Joe Coughlin’s brother. Even if they seem to be connected, Live by Night does a great job of developing the characters without having to read the other book.

I’m a little disappointed that this book had so much potential but the last part of the book fell short. Personally I think this book could have ended a lot earlier or cut out the parts that weren’t working. Lehane was trying to develop the characters a bit more in the sections that weren’t working but in my opinion they didn’t help the novel. There are some great elements in this book and overall it was an enjoyable crime novel. I think I will have to check out The Given Day and some more Dennis Lehane novels based on my experience with this one.

Monthly Review – September 2012

Posted September 30, 2012 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Monthly Reading / 0 Comments

Now that September comes to a close, I would like to hear what people thought of As I Lay Dying. Did you read it? Did you find it difficult? Or any other comments you want to make of this book. Personally I found it difficult to read, and while I wouldn’t say I really enjoyed this book, I did find the writing style very interesting.

Next month’s book is to help celebrate banned booked week (which is currently on now) and we will be reading Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses which has been often described as one of the most controversial and acclaimed novels ever written. I’m sure this book will spark some interesting conversations but I do worry that it may cause fights. I hope everyone reading and discussing the book, does so in a respectful manner. Also as a reminder that next month we will be reading House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski as part of the Horror theme and we will be looking for a book to fit the Road Trip/Travel theme. If you’re not aware, the book discussion and everything else will be happening over on the Goodreads forums, so feel free to join in there.

During the month I’ve read some great books, but I wasn’t as productive as last month. Some of the highlights from the months reading include, Justin Cronin’s The Twelve which I was lucky enough to get an advanced review copy of, Dare Me by Megan Abbott and He Died with his Eyes Open by Derek Raymond. But my favourite of the month was The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers; which is a heartbreaking work of beauty. A book of friendship and loss, The Yellow Birds follows the story of Private Bartle and his time served in Al Tafar, Iraq and the aftermath. What have you been reading this month and what did you enjoy? I would love to hear about your reading life in the comments below.

Soulless by Gail Carriger
The Geneva Trap by Stella Rimington
Live by Night by Dennis Lehane
11.22.63 by Stephen King
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
The Transport Accident by Ned Beauman
One Night Stands and Lost Weekends by Lawrence Block
Tigers in Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann
The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco
The Twelve by Justin Cronin
He Died with His Eyes Open by Derek Raymond
Dare Me by Megan Abbott
The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers

Tag: Live by Night