The Soft-Hearted Outlaw

You can rely on Dennis Lehane, he is a sure bet, he simply knows, how to write. "Live by night" is not a detective story, as you would expect from Lehane, it is the story of Joe Coughlin, a small time criminal, who becomes a leading mobster during the prohibition.

The harshness of the prose and the violent and somber atmosphere remind of Eric Chandler, but it is not just crime noir or hardboiled fiction, there is more. Lehane has a unique talent in creating real and complex characters with all the depth and conflicting emotions.

Lehane did his homework well and researched the historical background in detail and painted an impressively accurate picture of the roaring twenties and the prohibition with all its desperate hunger for short lived pleasure and fun. He takes us on a roller coaster ride from Boston to Tampa and Havanna, from the violence and misery of a jail to the debauchery and vice of Tampa’s Latin quarter.

The main character, Joe Coughlin, is the youngest son of a Boston police captain, but the hypocrisy of his father drives him onto the other side, he decides to become an outlaw and enjoy life, while it lasts. Illegal booze, guns and violence become his life until his cockiness gets him into real trouble. He is reckless enough to rob the club of the leading Boston mobster and on top of that, he starts an affair with the mobster’s girl. Things take a really bad turn now and he learns very quickly that you cannot trust anybody.

Even if the story is not unusual, it is artfully told, simply a great book.