4.0
Saint of the Narrows Street
ByPublisher Description
As an Italian American family's decades-old secret begins to unravel, they will have to bear the consequences—and face each other—in this thrilling south Brooklyn-set tragic opera of the highest caliber from crime fiction luminary William Boyle.
William Boyle is the master of Brooklyn-set crime fiction and Saint of the Narrows Street is his magnum opus. For fans of The Sopranos, Jonathan Lethem, and Dennis Lehane.
Gravesend, Brooklyn, 1986: Risa Franzone lives in a ground-floor apartment on Saint of the Narrows Street with her bad-seed husband, Saverio, and their eight-month-old baby, Fabrizio. On the night Risa’s younger sister, Giulia, moves in to recover from a bad breakup, a fateful accident occurs: Risa, boiled over with anger and fear, strikes a drunk, erratic Sav with a cast-iron pan, killing him on
the spot.
The sisters are left with a choice: notify the authorities and make a case for self-defense, or bury the man’s body and go on with their lives as best they can. In a moment of panic, in the late hours of the night, they call upon Sav’s childhood friend—the sweet, loyal Christopher “Chooch” Gardini—to help them, hoping they can trust him to carry a secret like this.
Over the vast expanse of the next eighteen years, life goes on in the working-class Italian neighborhood of Gravesend as Risa, Giulia, Chooch, and eventually Fabrizio grapple with what happened that night. A standout work of character-driven crime fiction from a celebrated author of the form, Saint of the Narrows Street is a searing and richly drawn novel about the choices we make and how they shape our lives.
William Boyle is the master of Brooklyn-set crime fiction and Saint of the Narrows Street is his magnum opus. For fans of The Sopranos, Jonathan Lethem, and Dennis Lehane.
Gravesend, Brooklyn, 1986: Risa Franzone lives in a ground-floor apartment on Saint of the Narrows Street with her bad-seed husband, Saverio, and their eight-month-old baby, Fabrizio. On the night Risa’s younger sister, Giulia, moves in to recover from a bad breakup, a fateful accident occurs: Risa, boiled over with anger and fear, strikes a drunk, erratic Sav with a cast-iron pan, killing him on
the spot.
The sisters are left with a choice: notify the authorities and make a case for self-defense, or bury the man’s body and go on with their lives as best they can. In a moment of panic, in the late hours of the night, they call upon Sav’s childhood friend—the sweet, loyal Christopher “Chooch” Gardini—to help them, hoping they can trust him to carry a secret like this.
Over the vast expanse of the next eighteen years, life goes on in the working-class Italian neighborhood of Gravesend as Risa, Giulia, Chooch, and eventually Fabrizio grapple with what happened that night. A standout work of character-driven crime fiction from a celebrated author of the form, Saint of the Narrows Street is a searing and richly drawn novel about the choices we make and how they shape our lives.
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4.0
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“I don’t read crime fiction very often, this book was a well-paced read. The story held my attention and kept me turning pages. It definitely felt like something that could have happened in real life. A sad and emotional book filled with ups and downs. At points it gave me anxiety reading it, but overall it was a well fleshed out story.”
““Secrets and lies won’t hold.”
A split second decision changes everything for a small close knit family in Brooklyn. When Risa’s husband Sav threatens her sister Giulia, Risa impulsively bashes Sav in the head with a cast iron frying pan, killing him. Instead of calling the police, Risa calls upon her neighbor Chooch, Sav’s childhood friend. Risa, Giulia, and Chooch bury Sav’s body on a plot of land in the woods in upstate New York. They tell everyone that Sav left town, abandoning Ria and baby Fab. Their actions will have consequences for years to come.
This is the first book by author William Boyle that I’ve read and it certainly won’t be the last. I already know this book will be one of my favorites of the year. This is such an atmospheric story. As I read, I could picture the way the entire neighborhood looked and smelled. It was like I was walking the block with the characters. The main characters are so complex, layered, and real. Even the minor characters are memorable. Secrets and lies shape each character. Those secrets eventually set an 18 year old Fab on a search for his father and forces a tragic reckoning for the truth.
Boyle’s storytelling and writing are fantastic. He masterfully weaves a rich tapestry of lives, grief, hope, and regrets. The ending of the book was so beautifully written, so brutally poetic, and ultimately heartbreaking that it brought me to tears.”About William Boyle
William Boyle is the author of eight books set in the southern Brooklyn neighborhood where he was born and raised, including his debut, Gravesend; the story collection Death Don’t Have No Mercy; The Lonely Witness, nominated for the Hammett Prize; A Friend Is a Gift You Give Yourself, an Amazon Best Book of 2019; City of Margins, a Washington Post Best Thriller and Mystery Book of 2020; and Shoot the Moonlight Out, listed by CrimeReads as one of the ten best noir novels of 2021. He currently lives in Oxford, Mississippi.
Other books by William Boyle
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