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Saint of the Narrows Street
Kitchen-sink crime drama meets tragic opera in William Boyle’s most ambitious literary crime novel the story of two sisters and their neighbor whose lives are shaped through one fateful, impulsive act
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. Risa is a loving mother, a faithful wife, a saintly neighbor, as she has learned to be—but lately, her husband’s slow dive into criminality and abuse has threatened her peace, raising concerns about her and her baby’s safety. On the night her younger sister, Giulia, moves in with Risa to recover from a bad break-up, a fateful accident 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 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, dramatic expanse of the next eighteen years, life goes on in the working-class Italian neighborhood of Gravesend as Risa, Giulia, and Chooch grapple with the choice they make that night—and respond differently when the cracks of a supposedly seamless cover-up begin to reveal themselves.
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. Risa is a loving mother, a faithful wife, a saintly neighbor, as she has learned to be—but lately, her husband’s slow dive into criminality and abuse has threatened her peace, raising concerns about her and her baby’s safety. On the night her younger sister, Giulia, moves in with Risa to recover from a bad break-up, a fateful accident 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 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, dramatic expanse of the next eighteen years, life goes on in the working-class Italian neighborhood of Gravesend as Risa, Giulia, and Chooch grapple with the choice they make that night—and respond differently when the cracks of a supposedly seamless cover-up begin to reveal themselves.
449 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 4, 2025
158 people are currently reading
10169 people want to read
About the author
William Boyle
42 books430 followersWilliam Boyle is the author of eight books set in and around the southern Brooklyn neighborhood of Gravesend, where he was born and raised. His most recent novel is SAINT OF THE NARROWS STREET, available in February 2025 from Soho Crime in the US and March 2025 from No Exit in the UK. His books have been nominated for the Hammett Prize, the John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger Award in the UK, and the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière in France, and they have been included on best-of lists in Washington Post, CrimeReads, and more. He currently lives in Oxford, Mississippi.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 199 reviews
October 8, 2025
Review first posted on mysteryandsuspense.com
The year is 1986, and the place is Gravesend, Brooklyn. Risa, a devout and sincere young mother, is married to Sav, a bad boy and renowned local scoundrel. She’d been warned it would all end in tears, that Sav wasn’t the kind of guy she should hitch her wagon to. But he was handsome, funny, and just a little dangerous—she couldn’t help herself. She’d found him irresistible.
The area where they live, with their eight-month-old son Fabrizio (Fab), is largely populated by people of Italian heritage. Here, everybody knows everybody, and everyone knows everyone else’s business, too. Then, one night, everything kicks off between Risa and Sav. It’s a night that really does end in tears. There’s a death—a violent one. The repercussions will clearly be huge: everyone will know, charges will be brought, jail time will be served. Or then again, perhaps not.
This is a story about a close-knit group of people—Risa, her younger sister Giulia, and Chooch, a close friend of Sav’s—who decide they have no choice but to keep the death a secret. We track their lives over a period of eighteen years. Short periods of time are scrutinized intensely, punctuated by long stretches where we learn nothing. Is it possible for such a dark secret to remain hidden from prying eyes all this time? There are certainly those who have suspicions, but suspicions are all they have.
As time passes, the focus of the narrative shifts. Sometimes it centers on the three central characters (four as Fab grows into adulthood). At other times, it turns to others connected to this small group: friends and relatives of Sav, people with some skin in the game.
The gaps in the timeline created by the author are holes that are not filled. We don’t know what happens during those periods—we’re not told. We can only observe the actions and discussions in the here and now, piecing together what we might have missed. Initially frustrating, it soon becomes apparent that this clever construction allows the tale to renew itself, with new elements coming into play. Each section contains a twist—a truly stunning surprise. The story moves forward, but now nudged in a subtly different direction.
The overall mood is certainly melancholy—one might even say gloomy. There’s a distinct lack of good news here. Yet, the changes brought by time and circumstance make it anything but a dispiriting read. In fact, I believe it to be quite the opposite. It’s a surprising and, at times, thrilling ride through a large chunk of these people’s lives—lives lived in a near-constant state of pretence, with the fear of discovery always lurking in the background.
How you feel about the main protagonists might change along the way—it did for me. So, too, might the way you hope the endgame plays out. It’s a shocking, surprising, and thought-provoking tale that will likely stay with readers long after they turn the final page.
My thanks to Soho Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The year is 1986, and the place is Gravesend, Brooklyn. Risa, a devout and sincere young mother, is married to Sav, a bad boy and renowned local scoundrel. She’d been warned it would all end in tears, that Sav wasn’t the kind of guy she should hitch her wagon to. But he was handsome, funny, and just a little dangerous—she couldn’t help herself. She’d found him irresistible.
The area where they live, with their eight-month-old son Fabrizio (Fab), is largely populated by people of Italian heritage. Here, everybody knows everybody, and everyone knows everyone else’s business, too. Then, one night, everything kicks off between Risa and Sav. It’s a night that really does end in tears. There’s a death—a violent one. The repercussions will clearly be huge: everyone will know, charges will be brought, jail time will be served. Or then again, perhaps not.
This is a story about a close-knit group of people—Risa, her younger sister Giulia, and Chooch, a close friend of Sav’s—who decide they have no choice but to keep the death a secret. We track their lives over a period of eighteen years. Short periods of time are scrutinized intensely, punctuated by long stretches where we learn nothing. Is it possible for such a dark secret to remain hidden from prying eyes all this time? There are certainly those who have suspicions, but suspicions are all they have.
As time passes, the focus of the narrative shifts. Sometimes it centers on the three central characters (four as Fab grows into adulthood). At other times, it turns to others connected to this small group: friends and relatives of Sav, people with some skin in the game.
The gaps in the timeline created by the author are holes that are not filled. We don’t know what happens during those periods—we’re not told. We can only observe the actions and discussions in the here and now, piecing together what we might have missed. Initially frustrating, it soon becomes apparent that this clever construction allows the tale to renew itself, with new elements coming into play. Each section contains a twist—a truly stunning surprise. The story moves forward, but now nudged in a subtly different direction.
The overall mood is certainly melancholy—one might even say gloomy. There’s a distinct lack of good news here. Yet, the changes brought by time and circumstance make it anything but a dispiriting read. In fact, I believe it to be quite the opposite. It’s a surprising and, at times, thrilling ride through a large chunk of these people’s lives—lives lived in a near-constant state of pretence, with the fear of discovery always lurking in the background.
How you feel about the main protagonists might change along the way—it did for me. So, too, might the way you hope the endgame plays out. It’s a shocking, surprising, and thought-provoking tale that will likely stay with readers long after they turn the final page.
My thanks to Soho Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
February 19, 2025
In 1986, Risa is a young mother in Brooklyn who kills her no-good husband Sav with a frying pan. She, her sister Giulia and Chooch (who has a life long crush on Risa) decide not to call the police, but to bury the husband on Chooch’s upstate N.Y. property. They tell everyone that Sav has run off and abandoned his family, which is not out of character. That bad decision haunts them, Risa’s infant son Fabrizio and the extended family for decades.
The blurb for this book describes it as “thrilling” and “ tragic”. It is not thrilling. It is, however, tragic in the sense that the murder engenders an endlessly bleak story. I thought that the book was monotonous, but I kept reading to see what the bad thing was that was obviously going to happen to Fabrizio.
The book is written in the present tense, which is not my favorite style. It also has a lot of references to Brooklyn locations, which are meaningless to anyone not living in Brooklyn. I don’t think that is the way to add a sense of place.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
The blurb for this book describes it as “thrilling” and “ tragic”. It is not thrilling. It is, however, tragic in the sense that the murder engenders an endlessly bleak story. I thought that the book was monotonous, but I kept reading to see what the bad thing was that was obviously going to happen to Fabrizio.
The book is written in the present tense, which is not my favorite style. It also has a lot of references to Brooklyn locations, which are meaningless to anyone not living in Brooklyn. I don’t think that is the way to add a sense of place.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
February 17, 2025
Boyle presents a fascinating character study of three individuals - one who has committed a crime, and two who helped cover it all up. They concoct a story, and it is believed by family. friends, and the authorities. On the surface, it appears that the perpetrators have gotten away with it, and maybe they can finally put that horrible night behind them. But, reality quickly sets in. Now comes the REAL WORK - maintaining the lie.
Little do they know that their lifetimes will be spent . . . maintaining the lie.
Tragic, sad, and utterly compelling, Boyle's book is one you won't soon forget.
Thanks to NetGalley and Soho Crime for the read.
Little do they know that their lifetimes will be spent . . . maintaining the lie.
Tragic, sad, and utterly compelling, Boyle's book is one you won't soon forget.
Thanks to NetGalley and Soho Crime for the read.
February 6, 2025
This particular novel is not a mystery as the crime at issue – if indeed it is a crime – occurs rather quickly and the focus is on the decisions made thereafter to cover up what happened and bury the body and the guilt the survivors feel for decades following. Indeed, as the story opens, we learn that the two sisters, 28-year-old new mother Risa and her younger sister 24-year-old Giula, are sort of in opposite worlds. Giulia is still “full of life, like the world can break her and she’ll bounce back no problem.” Risa, in contrast, is sweating in the kitchen with clammy hands and dealing with a screaming infant (Fab) and a horribly abusive marriage with Sav that she knew from the get-go was the wrong move, but went with it anyway. Sav had been revealed as a bad man as soon as they married, now he is a drunk who runs around openly with a neighborhood floozy Sandra, and for fun pointed a gun at Risa and Fab, laughing as he pulled the trigger on an empty chamber. The trouble explodes though when he comes back later that evening, drunk, sloppy, boasting that he would take off with Sandra, and when one things leads to another, has Giulia by the throat and Risa reacts quickly clocking Sav with a heavy cast-iron pan that was still warm.
It is then that the story turns from just another abused housewife story to a crime fiction tale as Risa quickly decides that cannot afford to pay the price she might have to if she calls the ambulance and the authorities. With a newborn infant, she cannot imagine a jail cell for the rest of her life and Fab without a mother. Is this destiny pre-ordained or a series of decisions she made that led up to this day? What do the two women do now? Do they dig a hole in the yard? Do they run for the hills with the infant in tow? Do they drink wine as Sav’s life blood pours out on the floor, pondering what to do? Do they simply brazen it out and claim innocently Sav disappeared into the mist and they don’t know where he went?
This dilemma sets the stage for the rest of the novel and, indeed, the rest of their lives. They feel some guilt because they are not sue how much of this was purposeful and intentional and how much was something Sav deserved because of who he was and how he treated Risa. The decisions they make on this fateful night envelope them forever and particularly when there are whispers in the neighborhood about what happened and whether something was intended and when Fab eventually asks questions that cannot be answered or can be answered but only with answers that no one can possibly admit and live with.
Saint of the Narrows Street is a powerfully written character study.
This reviewer received an advance copy for purposes of review.
It is then that the story turns from just another abused housewife story to a crime fiction tale as Risa quickly decides that cannot afford to pay the price she might have to if she calls the ambulance and the authorities. With a newborn infant, she cannot imagine a jail cell for the rest of her life and Fab without a mother. Is this destiny pre-ordained or a series of decisions she made that led up to this day? What do the two women do now? Do they dig a hole in the yard? Do they run for the hills with the infant in tow? Do they drink wine as Sav’s life blood pours out on the floor, pondering what to do? Do they simply brazen it out and claim innocently Sav disappeared into the mist and they don’t know where he went?
This dilemma sets the stage for the rest of the novel and, indeed, the rest of their lives. They feel some guilt because they are not sue how much of this was purposeful and intentional and how much was something Sav deserved because of who he was and how he treated Risa. The decisions they make on this fateful night envelope them forever and particularly when there are whispers in the neighborhood about what happened and whether something was intended and when Fab eventually asks questions that cannot be answered or can be answered but only with answers that no one can possibly admit and live with.
Saint of the Narrows Street is a powerfully written character study.
This reviewer received an advance copy for purposes of review.
December 28, 2024
I blew through SAINT OF THE NARROWS STREET with such voracity; William Boyle has delivered the setting, characters, and story so skillfully that I have been left in awe.
This is storytelling at its finest, it’s tragic and engrossing. The story spans eighteen years and focuses on family and community. Religion, low-level crime, bad choices, mistakes, lies, and ultimately, tragedy.
I couldn’t peel my eyes away from this gut-wrenching saga.
Simply epic.
This is storytelling at its finest, it’s tragic and engrossing. The story spans eighteen years and focuses on family and community. Religion, low-level crime, bad choices, mistakes, lies, and ultimately, tragedy.
I couldn’t peel my eyes away from this gut-wrenching saga.
Simply epic.
December 21, 2024
2.5 stars. The problem with the We Did A Bad Thing novel is that the tension of the coverup can only last so long before it starts to feel repetitive. You could have removed entirely one of the two middle sections of this novel and I would have liked it a lot more. Instead we felt very stuck in Will Someone Find Out for so long that I was having trouble caring about it anymore.
There are a lot of things I liked here. There's an almost operatic or Greek feeling to the Brooklyn Boyle paints, where everyone knows everyone and no one can ever escape their mistakes. But many of our central characters stayed quite wooden, especially Risa and Chooch. It's understandable that they stay the exact same people even though 2 decades or so pass in this book, given the way trauma can leave you stuck. But they start out so one note that we just kind of stay there. Giulia opens up more, and in the last two sections we get the best and most interesting view of Fab, the clearly doomed son where the question is only how and when it will end badly.
This really needed a tighter edit, not just removing one of those middle sections, but so much of the book is just one of the characters thinking about things. There is so much thinking and daydreaming and the book is much better when there is action.
There are a lot of things I liked here. There's an almost operatic or Greek feeling to the Brooklyn Boyle paints, where everyone knows everyone and no one can ever escape their mistakes. But many of our central characters stayed quite wooden, especially Risa and Chooch. It's understandable that they stay the exact same people even though 2 decades or so pass in this book, given the way trauma can leave you stuck. But they start out so one note that we just kind of stay there. Giulia opens up more, and in the last two sections we get the best and most interesting view of Fab, the clearly doomed son where the question is only how and when it will end badly.
This really needed a tighter edit, not just removing one of those middle sections, but so much of the book is just one of the characters thinking about things. There is so much thinking and daydreaming and the book is much better when there is action.
February 8, 2025
Thanks for the ARC from Goodreads!
Saint of the Narrows by William Boyle is a novel that starts with an intriguing premise but struggles to maintain its tension over the course of 448 pages. The plot centers around the cover-up of an accidental murder, but the suspense wanes as the story progresses.
One of the main issues is the lack of character development. The characters don't seem to grow or change much through the time jumps between sections, with the notable exception of Fab, who physically matures from a child into a teenager. This lack of evolution made the story feel a bit stagnant and, at times, boring.
However, the book does have its strengths. The Italian-ness of the characters and the neighborhood adds a rich cultural layer to the narrative, making it more immersive and authentic. Boyle's depiction of the community and its dynamics is one of the highlights of the novel.
The novel also explores several compelling themes. The theme of secrets and consequences is central to the story, as the characters grapple with the impact of keeping a decades-old secret and how it shapes their lives. Family dynamics are intricately portrayed, highlighting the complexities within an Italian American family as they navigate their shared history and conflicts. Boyle delves into intergenerational trauma, showing how unresolved issues and trauma are passed down through generations, affecting each character differently. The characters' struggles with guilt and redemption add depth to their personal journeys, as they seek to atone for their past actions. Lastly, the sense of community and identity is vividly depicted throughout the Italian neighborhood in Brooklyn, emphasizing the cultural bonds that tie the characters together.
Overall, while Saint of the Narrows has its moments, it falls short in maintaining suspense and developing its characters, resulting in a somewhat underwhelming read.
Saint of the Narrows by William Boyle is a novel that starts with an intriguing premise but struggles to maintain its tension over the course of 448 pages. The plot centers around the cover-up of an accidental murder, but the suspense wanes as the story progresses.
One of the main issues is the lack of character development. The characters don't seem to grow or change much through the time jumps between sections, with the notable exception of Fab, who physically matures from a child into a teenager. This lack of evolution made the story feel a bit stagnant and, at times, boring.
However, the book does have its strengths. The Italian-ness of the characters and the neighborhood adds a rich cultural layer to the narrative, making it more immersive and authentic. Boyle's depiction of the community and its dynamics is one of the highlights of the novel.
The novel also explores several compelling themes. The theme of secrets and consequences is central to the story, as the characters grapple with the impact of keeping a decades-old secret and how it shapes their lives. Family dynamics are intricately portrayed, highlighting the complexities within an Italian American family as they navigate their shared history and conflicts. Boyle delves into intergenerational trauma, showing how unresolved issues and trauma are passed down through generations, affecting each character differently. The characters' struggles with guilt and redemption add depth to their personal journeys, as they seek to atone for their past actions. Lastly, the sense of community and identity is vividly depicted throughout the Italian neighborhood in Brooklyn, emphasizing the cultural bonds that tie the characters together.
Overall, while Saint of the Narrows has its moments, it falls short in maintaining suspense and developing its characters, resulting in a somewhat underwhelming read.
February 20, 2025
Sprawling and sad, filled with gutting characters doomed by chance and choice to their narrow stretch of blue collar Brooklyn. This is Boyle’s epic of a lost New York City. One of my favorites of the last few years.
February 10, 2025
I’m generally not one for tragedies, but this family saga/crime novel is so compelling and well written that I enjoyed it in spite of how incredibly depressing it is.
Whether this is truly a crime novel depends on how you define a crime, at least in terms of the initial event that sets of a tragic series of consequences. What happens afterward feels, for the most part, a bit more clear cut in that regard, if no less compelling.
At its heart this is a morality tale about how our actions have consequences, however unintended those might be and however noble our intentions may be. It’s about when good people do bad things for good reasons, and how our inability to control others’ actions may mean that however aboveboard our own intent may have been, we can’t count on others to act accordingly in the aftermath.
I really loved the principal characters in this, which makes it all the tougher to read what befalls them as the novel unfolds. But it’s such a good story that it’s worth it. And perhaps best viewed as a cautionary tale about seeking a fairy tale ending to an ugly story.
*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*
Whether this is truly a crime novel depends on how you define a crime, at least in terms of the initial event that sets of a tragic series of consequences. What happens afterward feels, for the most part, a bit more clear cut in that regard, if no less compelling.
At its heart this is a morality tale about how our actions have consequences, however unintended those might be and however noble our intentions may be. It’s about when good people do bad things for good reasons, and how our inability to control others’ actions may mean that however aboveboard our own intent may have been, we can’t count on others to act accordingly in the aftermath.
I really loved the principal characters in this, which makes it all the tougher to read what befalls them as the novel unfolds. But it’s such a good story that it’s worth it. And perhaps best viewed as a cautionary tale about seeking a fairy tale ending to an ugly story.
*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*
May 10, 2025
2.5 / 5
This is like if someone listened to "Goodbye Earl" by The Chicks and was like, "I'm going to turn that into a serious plot." Except, the song is a success story, and this is a long tragedy. Seriously, was any character ever happy for longer than one drunken night?
I thought maybe I'd end up with this being a 3-star because, though it's not what I usually read, it had compelling elements & I was curious about what the three people caught up in the accidental murder—Risa, Giulia, and Chooch—were going to do to cover it up. Because this is a plot stretching nearly two decades of their lives, and, another difference from "Goodbye Earl," people actually have questions about where Risa's husband, though he was a schmuck, went. He's got parents who care. A brother (equally as schmuck-y) who turns up out of nowhere asking questions. The little community in Brooklyn doesn't just let Sav's disappearance go. It becomes part of the lore of the neighborhood and the people who live there.
This story lost me, though, in the last section, Part 4. By that point in time, Risa's son Fabrizio, who was just a baby when Sav was killed, has grown up and has been wanting to know where his father got off to. He's been told his whole life the same thing Risa et. al have been using as their cover story: Sav up and walked out on his wife and son, going who knows where to do who knows what & hasn't been seen since. Given his reputation, everyone believes that. But, as you can imagine, that doesn't satisfy this son who wants to know his father. So, the last part is Fab trying to track down answers, and what happens with his character felt unlike the boy I'd spent all these chapters with and getting to know. It seemed like the author was fabricating drama for drama's sake & giving this story an exciting ending because that's the kind of conclusions thrillers have. Just felt off and like we were indulging in the wrong things.
This is like if someone listened to "Goodbye Earl" by The Chicks and was like, "I'm going to turn that into a serious plot." Except, the song is a success story, and this is a long tragedy. Seriously, was any character ever happy for longer than one drunken night?
I thought maybe I'd end up with this being a 3-star because, though it's not what I usually read, it had compelling elements & I was curious about what the three people caught up in the accidental murder—Risa, Giulia, and Chooch—were going to do to cover it up. Because this is a plot stretching nearly two decades of their lives, and, another difference from "Goodbye Earl," people actually have questions about where Risa's husband, though he was a schmuck, went. He's got parents who care. A brother (equally as schmuck-y) who turns up out of nowhere asking questions. The little community in Brooklyn doesn't just let Sav's disappearance go. It becomes part of the lore of the neighborhood and the people who live there.
This story lost me, though, in the last section, Part 4. By that point in time, Risa's son Fabrizio, who was just a baby when Sav was killed, has grown up and has been wanting to know where his father got off to. He's been told his whole life the same thing Risa et. al have been using as their cover story: Sav up and walked out on his wife and son, going who knows where to do who knows what & hasn't been seen since. Given his reputation, everyone believes that. But, as you can imagine, that doesn't satisfy this son who wants to know his father. So, the last part is Fab trying to track down answers, and what happens with his character felt unlike the boy I'd spent all these chapters with and getting to know. It seemed like the author was fabricating drama for drama's sake & giving this story an exciting ending because that's the kind of conclusions thrillers have. Just felt off and like we were indulging in the wrong things.
February 25, 2025
This stereotypeco novel of a Brooklyn neighborhood and an Italian family mired in violence falls a little short. It's repetitive and filled with regret and what ifs from one of the main characters Risa - takes away from the dangerous feeling we should have felt all through the novel.
Brothers Roberto and Sav Franzone are gangster wannabes . Both bad actors, Roberto goes on the lam after a hold up from a guy he knows. Roberto also takes the guy's wife with him and when he returns alone year's later - revenge is laid up on him and his parents.
Sav drunk at home pulls a gun on his wife Risa and their 8 month old son Fab. Risa has had enough of Savs abuse and hits him over the head with a frying pan, Sav falls, hits his head on a table and instantly dies. Instead of calling 911 Risa, her sister Guilia and their neighbor Chooch concoct a story that Sav abandoned his family going to Florida with another woman while they take him upstate and bury him on property owned by Chooch's parents.
All three keep the secret for 18 years until Fab starts asking questions. Risa finally tells him the truth. You can imagine his reaction. Meanwhile he has gambling debts piling up and is being chased by goons.
Try to guess Fabs outcome. You don't - it's like the book. Typical.
Brothers Roberto and Sav Franzone are gangster wannabes . Both bad actors, Roberto goes on the lam after a hold up from a guy he knows. Roberto also takes the guy's wife with him and when he returns alone year's later - revenge is laid up on him and his parents.
Sav drunk at home pulls a gun on his wife Risa and their 8 month old son Fab. Risa has had enough of Savs abuse and hits him over the head with a frying pan, Sav falls, hits his head on a table and instantly dies. Instead of calling 911 Risa, her sister Guilia and their neighbor Chooch concoct a story that Sav abandoned his family going to Florida with another woman while they take him upstate and bury him on property owned by Chooch's parents.
All three keep the secret for 18 years until Fab starts asking questions. Risa finally tells him the truth. You can imagine his reaction. Meanwhile he has gambling debts piling up and is being chased by goons.
Try to guess Fabs outcome. You don't - it's like the book. Typical.
February 8, 2025
Boyle’s Writing And Storytelling Is Magical!
Boyle’s latest, Saint Of The Narrows Street, kept me captive from beginning to and especially, its end. The primary reason for this is that Boyle, as he’s done in each of his other books, has developed a set of real-world, complex, flawed characters, realistic dialogue and a sense of place unlike any other book I’ve read in quite a while.
Be aware , however, that Saint Of The Narrows Street is not a book for readers who need to like the characters, and/or who require a happy ending, or require a lot of action/excitement. These readers will not be satisfied with this book.
Other readers I think will be like me; finding themselves sucked in by the characters who are swept into a downward spiral of desperation as they grapple with the weight of the past and the pull that the Gravesend neighborhood of Brooklyn has on them.
Further, the relatively simple plot of Saint Of The Narrows Street is — despite its limited excitement — very evocative, and it has an ending, especially during the last 15% or so that will stay with you long after finishing the book.
Very highly recommended.
Boyle’s latest, Saint Of The Narrows Street, kept me captive from beginning to and especially, its end. The primary reason for this is that Boyle, as he’s done in each of his other books, has developed a set of real-world, complex, flawed characters, realistic dialogue and a sense of place unlike any other book I’ve read in quite a while.
Be aware , however, that Saint Of The Narrows Street is not a book for readers who need to like the characters, and/or who require a happy ending, or require a lot of action/excitement. These readers will not be satisfied with this book.
Other readers I think will be like me; finding themselves sucked in by the characters who are swept into a downward spiral of desperation as they grapple with the weight of the past and the pull that the Gravesend neighborhood of Brooklyn has on them.
Further, the relatively simple plot of Saint Of The Narrows Street is — despite its limited excitement — very evocative, and it has an ending, especially during the last 15% or so that will stay with you long after finishing the book.
Very highly recommended.
February 11, 2025
This intense family drama begins in Gravesend, Brooklyn-1986. Risa Franzone is a young wife and mother of an eight-month old baby. Unfortunately she is married to a loose cannon of a husband, who is not only unfaithful but dangerous. One fateful morning a tragic accident happens in their kitchen, during an ugly argument. This day will haunt Risa for the decades to come, along with her sister and a longtime friend who had helped her in the aftermath of this unfortunate event. The writing is solid. Fans of Dennis Lehane will like his style and approach. My problem with the novel was how relentlessly grim it became. I kept hoping for something bright to shine through the dismal haze but it never came.
August 25, 2025
Consistent + cogent
Only Gravesend of his novels remains unread by me (on the library queue), but his latest delivers what longtime followers of Boyle will expect. A sudden stabbing, violence in a kitchen between intimates gone sour, as family gets dragged into retribution, cover-up, deceit, and decades of regret as the clan looks over their shoulders together or alone for the truth to come out and the avengers to knock on the door late some humid night. It's a well-orchestrated plot, although the drunk priest shtick is getting stale and it'd be encouraging if for once not every cleric or nun was a staggering stereotype of subhumanity. However, Boyle rarely elevates parishioners or lapsed among the faithful either, true...
He's an equal opportunity offender, refreshing in that at least flaws get liberally distributed among the weary denizens of Brooklyn. It's slowly disintegrating as the Italian population dies off, retires to Florida or at least Jersey or Long Island; barely glimpsed Russians and Chinese replace the grizzled stalwarts. His stories are usually set a generation or two ago in the times paralleling Boyle's own upbringing, so they add verisimilitude to the Discman, VHS, and Bon Jovi era which forms the fleeting teenaged fun of his parochial cast of characters. Less humorous banter than usual, in this installment. The barflies and floozies, junk food and porn-addicted losers loom and lounge as if doomed portents.
As an aside, it's noteworthy that the last section set in 2004 makes no mention of 9/11 that I caught. As if the tragedy permeating the Taverna sisters and Chooch, Fab and the hangers on dominates all.
Less of a stretch this go as to coincidence. A few points where the plot advances a bit too easily by surmise from nosy inquirers, but it's forgivable given the necessity to build tension and keep momentum. Lots of repellent actions by no-good people who perpetuate sins of their boorish fathers, and moments of cringe as those who attempt goodness get slapped by cruel reality. No fairytale rewards. Drinking, drugs, dissipation repel even the hardest-hearted, although gambling keeps going.
Only Gravesend of his novels remains unread by me (on the library queue), but his latest delivers what longtime followers of Boyle will expect. A sudden stabbing, violence in a kitchen between intimates gone sour, as family gets dragged into retribution, cover-up, deceit, and decades of regret as the clan looks over their shoulders together or alone for the truth to come out and the avengers to knock on the door late some humid night. It's a well-orchestrated plot, although the drunk priest shtick is getting stale and it'd be encouraging if for once not every cleric or nun was a staggering stereotype of subhumanity. However, Boyle rarely elevates parishioners or lapsed among the faithful either, true...
He's an equal opportunity offender, refreshing in that at least flaws get liberally distributed among the weary denizens of Brooklyn. It's slowly disintegrating as the Italian population dies off, retires to Florida or at least Jersey or Long Island; barely glimpsed Russians and Chinese replace the grizzled stalwarts. His stories are usually set a generation or two ago in the times paralleling Boyle's own upbringing, so they add verisimilitude to the Discman, VHS, and Bon Jovi era which forms the fleeting teenaged fun of his parochial cast of characters. Less humorous banter than usual, in this installment. The barflies and floozies, junk food and porn-addicted losers loom and lounge as if doomed portents.
As an aside, it's noteworthy that the last section set in 2004 makes no mention of 9/11 that I caught. As if the tragedy permeating the Taverna sisters and Chooch, Fab and the hangers on dominates all.
Less of a stretch this go as to coincidence. A few points where the plot advances a bit too easily by surmise from nosy inquirers, but it's forgivable given the necessity to build tension and keep momentum. Lots of repellent actions by no-good people who perpetuate sins of their boorish fathers, and moments of cringe as those who attempt goodness get slapped by cruel reality. No fairytale rewards. Drinking, drugs, dissipation repel even the hardest-hearted, although gambling keeps going.
April 5, 2025
Noir novel spanning 20 years, a killing impacts upon a family with tragic consequences.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 6, 2025
1986, Brooklyn. Risa is married to Sav against the warnings of family and friends.
Risa has a baby, and Sav turns out to be exactly like her family said he would.
Risa has a baby, and Sav turns out to be exactly like her family said he would.
April 20, 2025
Five star rating this book was excellent. The narrator was phenomenal with her Brooklyn accent, it made me want to keep listening 👂 and using the new Yorker’s accent hard lol 😆! Overall great tragedy 🎭 great ending! All I can say is karma baby.
September 18, 2025
Gave up because it was impossibly boring to read somehow even with it having a murder in the first two chapters
Read
February 26, 2025Decided to abandon.
February 24, 2025
Characters are fully developed in this New York City novel by Bill Boyle, and so is the setting.
I like stories, especially crime stories, that focus on regret. And Bill does it really well here.
I will say, the two middle sections rely on tension that is solved without the main characters having to really deal with the implications. Two characters are poised to confront the main players with something they did in the past, and are conveniently dealt with. No spoilers, but it would have been more engaging if a certain character was told straight up what happened not by his mother or a drunkard. Or at 18. I guess that’s just the basic issue with Something Bad Happened in Our Past stories.
But the writing and interiority in the novel is magical.
I like stories, especially crime stories, that focus on regret. And Bill does it really well here.
I will say, the two middle sections rely on tension that is solved without the main characters having to really deal with the implications. Two characters are poised to confront the main players with something they did in the past, and are conveniently dealt with. No spoilers, but it would have been more engaging if a certain character was told straight up what happened not by his mother or a drunkard. Or at 18. I guess that’s just the basic issue with Something Bad Happened in Our Past stories.
But the writing and interiority in the novel is magical.
May 3, 2025
There you have it. Another banger, another compelling story and gripping read.
Not unlike George Pelecanos’ D.C. Quartet, William Boyle goes to town fleshing this one out. It’s brimming with sounds, smells, sights, and flavors as he paints a vivid, indelible picture.
This is storytelling with a capital S, in my humble opinion. Hats off to William Boyle — lui conosce il suo mestiere.
Much obliged for yet another memorable ride, sir.
Not unlike George Pelecanos’ D.C. Quartet, William Boyle goes to town fleshing this one out. It’s brimming with sounds, smells, sights, and flavors as he paints a vivid, indelible picture.
This is storytelling with a capital S, in my humble opinion. Hats off to William Boyle — lui conosce il suo mestiere.
Much obliged for yet another memorable ride, sir.
September 13, 2025
3.5 ish. the book was really monotonous. it seemed like such a good plot but i feel like i spent 430 pages waiting for something big to happen and it just never did. obviously there were some gaggy moments but i fear the book did not need to be that long. i also think the author needs to work on his writing skills (no offense). they seemed premature and all of the characters conversations were very literal which made it feel like i was almost reading a YA book (at some points)
May 3, 2025
I read this because a Facebook friend (librarian Krista) was enthralled. Me—not so much. Definitely has a Dennis Lehane vibe and I may like those better. This is about an Italian neighborhood in Brooklyn. And the consequences of family secrets. It’s surprisingly difficult to get out of the neighborhood. This is an engaging page turner told over a few days at four events 1986-2004. Definitely a period piece with good guys and bad guys. The Colson Whitehead Harlem trilogy do NY better. Dennis Lehane does period Itslian better. Not sure I will recommend.
February 9, 2025
Reminded me of Brooklyn Crime Novel, which I loved, just more focused to follow a single family surrounded by a wider cast of characters.
March 29, 2025
I usually get in trouble when I recommend tragic stories to friends and family - sad tales should be read, from time to time but that’s the only reason I gave this title 4 stars. Excellently written but I kept waiting for a saint to save this family…and no one showed up. If insightful doom and gloom is your jam, pick up this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 14, 2025
**3.5 stars**
May 9, 2025
I enjoyed this and will have to read some of his other books.
May 16, 2025
3.5 stars. Had to lean more towards 3 as the story just never really takes off the way you would expect. Great characters and the writer’s ability to describe the setting is awesome but lacking plot.
June 17, 2025
This book is definitely a tragedy and could well be subtitled "One Bad Decision Begets Another." Such a depressing story. I don't recall how it came to be on my Want to Read list and I recommend that it not be added to yours.
March 22, 2025
This is a really sad story but I was hooked in from the beginning. The pace saga a bit in the middle section but quickly picks up for the last third. Will definitely read more by this author.
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