The first book in his Kenzie/Gennaro series, it follows private investigators Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro, who are commissioned by a group of politicians to find a cache of missing documents. I heartily recommend this mystery for it's good plot, good writing and good chacterization “A Drink Before the War” opens with detective Patrick Kenzie meeting with three politicians. "One More Drink for the Four of Us" (aka "Glorious" or "Drunk Last Night") is a traditional drinking and marching song. Very good I've read all of Lehane's books and enjoyed them all. It’s definitely of the grim and gritty school of mystery writing, although Patrick’s humorous narration lightens things up. Dennis Lehane is a brilliant writer of mysteries and more recently, historical fiction. His debut novel, A Drink Before the War, begins a five-book series (which should be read in order), featuring detectives Gennaro and Kenzie. I especially like this book as well as Prayers for Rain which is Book 5 in the same series; all books in the series are excellent. Drink Before The War - Track 8 on Sinead's 1987 debut album - The Lion and the Cobra. He almost always uses Boston, especially the grittier side of town, as a major character. The author seems to hate black people. A Drink Before the War Good read. A Drink before the War is a 1994 crime novel by American author Dennis Lehane. Sdfrdeghfrjed , 08/31/2019. A Drink Before the War is Book 1 to Dennis Lehane's superb Kenzie and Gerrano six book crime novel series. Racist novel Every other page was racist and about race. It became popular during the First World War, and has been widely repurposed for other marches, college bands, and social clubs. As richly complex and brutal as the terrain it depicts, here is the mesmerizing, darkly original novel that heralded the arrival of Dennis Lehane, the master of the new noir—and introduced Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro, his smart and tough private investigators weaned on the blue-collar streets of … For all the romantic potential, A Drink Before the War is not a romance, and there is a level of violence and language that may turn off some readers. Lyrics begin: Well, you tell us that we're wrong, and you tell us not to sing our song. They are Senator Sterling Mulkern, Senator Brian Paulson, and Representative Jim Vurnan. Reader811 , 08/04/2010.