Live by Night

Joe Coughlin is nineteen when he meets Emma Gould. A smalltime thief in 1920s Boston, he is told to cuff her while his accomplices raid the casino she works for. But Joe falls in love with Emma - and his life changes for ever.

That meeting is the beginning of Joe's journey to becoming one of the nation's most feared and respected gangsters. It is a journey beset by violence, double-crossing, drama and pain. And it is a journey into the soul of prohibition-era America. . .

A powerful, deeply moving novel, LIVE BY NIGHT is a tour-de-force by Dennis Lehane, writer on The Wire and author of modern classics such as Shutter Island, Gone, Baby, Gone and The Given Day.

Short-listed for Edgar Awards 2013 (UK)

“This is not just brilliant period crime writing but brilliant writing full stop”

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

Dennis Lehane was born and raised in Dorchester, Massachusetts. He has won and been shorlisted for several awards for his writing and three of his books have been made into films. He lives in the Boston area.

'Lehane is one of the great American writers' Daily Mail Joe Coughlin is nineteen when he meets Emma Gould. A smalltime thief in 1920s Boston, he is told to cuff her while his accomplices raid the casino she works for. But Joe falls in love with Emma -- and his life changes forever. That meeting is the beginning of Joe's journey to becoming one of the nation's most feared and respected gangsters. It is a journey beset by violence, double-crossing, drama and pain. And it is a journey into the soul of prohibition-era America . . . A powerful, deeply moving novel, Live By Night is a tour-de-force by Dennis Lehane, writer of The Wire and author of modern classics such as Shutter Island, Gone, Baby, Gone and The Given Day .

Joe Coughlin is nineteen when he meets Emma Gould. A smalltime thief in 1920s Boston, he is told to cuff her while his accomplices raid the casino she works for. But Joe falls in love with Emma - and his life changes for ever.That meeting is the beginning of Joe's journey to becoming one of the nation's most feared and respected gangsters. It is a journey beset by violence, double-crossing, drama and pain. And it is a journey into the soul of prohibition-era America. . .A powerful, deeply moving novel, LIVE BY NIGHT is a tour-de-force by Dennis Lehane, writer on The Wire and author of modern classics such as Shutter Island, Gone, Baby, Gone and The Given Day.

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