Live by Night

Dennis Lehane’s speciality is the fast-paced gangster thriller that’s also a deeply felt novel. His latest, about a Boston criminal, doesn’t disappoint on either count… I guarantee that all you’ll be able to do is keep on turning the pages. The prose crackles with Chandleresque jokes, the narrative never flags and there’s even a genuinely heart-stopping love story. In addition to all that, the book beautifully evokes the entire era of early Thirties Prohibition America - Readers’ Digest

This is a book that should put [Lehane’s] name right up there where it belongs, right up there alongside Doctorow and Dreiser - Scotland on Sunday

History is merely a backdrop in a story that seeks just to be exciting, sexy and atmospheric. The author’s trademark combination of dark deeds, graceful pose and sassy dialogue ensures it succeeds - Sunday Times

Lehane’s tough, muscular prose captures the era well; and his dialogue brings to life the inhabitants of its underworld - Spectator

The crime writer’s crime writer; with a spare, stark edge to his work that lifts it into the truly great class… The gangster world is superbly evoked and the story is as tight and powerful as the trigger on a Thompson sub-machine - Daily Mail