We Were Kings
Thomas O'Malley author Douglas Graham Purdy author
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Hodder & Stoughton
Published:1st Jun '17
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
In 1950s Boston, the best way to survive is keep your head down and your mouth shut. But Cal and Dante prefer to do the right thing, not the sensible one. When a body is discovered tarred, feathered and shot, it is dismissed as a gangland killing. But Cal O'Brien's cousin, detective Owen Lackey, recognises the murder as the typical retribution for IRA informers. Owen knows that no one in the tight-knit Boston Irish community will talk. He turns to Cal and Dante for help, sending them into the city's shadowy underbelly. But there's a war on its way - and they're walking straight into the middle of it.
Brutally realistic...The authors give us one last, lingering look at the good-bad old days * New York Times Book Review *
O'Malley and Purdy don't take any prisoners in their portrayal of a city living on the edge of destruction * Northern Echo *
This is a bone-crunching, gut-wrenching novel that captures the atmosphere of a city in decay and its inhabitants. It delivers noir fiction like we always want it to be * Kirkus Reviews *
O'Malley and Purdy bring postwar Boston to life, making neighbourhoods feel as distinct as separate countries...They have delivered a love-letter to a Boston that's long gone. * Publishers Weekly *
Gorgeous...A noir novel can be the high, slippery tightrope of mysteries. It's difficult to sustain a dark, moody balance; many writers slide right off into caricature. But O'Malley and Purdy let in just enough daylight - even if it's harsh winter light - to hold out hope of redemption. * WBUR *
ISBN: 9781444754315
Dimensions: 201mm x 147mm x 25mm
Weight: 264g
384 pages