Lesser Evils

by Joe Flanagan

An exciting entry into the noir canon, Joe Flanagan's Lesser Evils expertly reimagines 1957 Cape Cod, where the mystifying murder of a local child brings us into a world of intrigue-honed by intricate plotting, sharp dialogue, and original characters-that culminates in a conclusion both surprising and deeply moving. 

When the first young boy goes missing in a quiet Cape Cod town, Lieutenant Bill Warren is pulled into a morass that promises no happy ending. As his pursuit uncovers the unimaginable, he is led into a world of gambling, drug peddling, corruption, and secret psychiatric experiments. Now he must fight to maintain control of an investigation that more and more people-from the state police to the district attorney to a tenacious Boston reporter-have become seriously interested in. As facts become murkier and the threat rises, Warren struggles to survive in a world where the police can be just as corrupt as the criminals they chase, and where a murder inquiry will ultimately lead to his front door. Years later, the locals will still be debating whether the case's resolution was factual or miraculous. 

Flanagan's debut novel is a modern take on classic noir crime fiction. Readers will be eager for his next offering.

Genres: Crime, Fiction, Mystery, Historical Fiction, Mystery Thriller

416 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2016

Reviews

[Antigone · Rating 4 out of 5]

What did he want, he wondered. The future stirred like a big animal whose sleep has been disturbed. From the doorway where he stood, he looked into the darkness of the little house, where his police radio sat on the kitchen counter as silent as a stone.

Heads-up, aficionados of crime. We've got a live one here.

Cape Cod. July, 1957. JFK still sits on his senate seat and the Boston political machine churns with factions seeking power and profit in the heady days to come. The sleepy seacoast township of Barnstable, long relegated to the fringe of the action, is content with its status quo. A favor here, a kickback there; as far as the agents of influence are concerned, she considers herself a team player. Fate arrives in high summer, though, and conspires through a series of events to test the mettle of the men responsible for law and its enforcement.

Bill Warren, a veteran of WWII, has risen in rank to replace the police chief - a greying greaser-of-wheels who's been hospitalized for heart issues and is unlikely to return. There is no straighter arrow in the quiver than Bill; his drum stretched tight by a private life that teeters toward nightmare. Abandoned by his alcoholic wife, he's left to contend with a mentally-challenged son and the hard truths necessary to face with regard to Little Mike's education. Add to this the appearance on the scene of Captain Dale Stasiak, a state trooper of legend, whose wings have been clipped through actions so egregious they necessitated his exile to this backwater. Stasiak is taking no prisoners in his effort to redeem himself, swiping case after case off Warren's desk with the assistance of a full-court press by an ambitious district attorney. When the bodies of young boys begin to be discovered, gruesomely murdered throughout the town, these waters roil and the turf war escalates beyond the boundaries of procedure...and reason.

It's a gritty tale with all the features of the hard-boiled masterpieces of old. High-wire tension. Cultural commentary. Undercurrent. Atmosphere. Not a single hero in sight, but oh those many wrenching acts of heroism. The only warning I have here is to keep a pencil handy. Flanagan introduces a legion of characters rat-a-tat-tat out of the gate, few of whom he equips with adequate differentiation. Still, it's his first novel and it is a winner, so I'm just going to forgive him that.

I suspect you might, too.

[Raven · Rating 5 out of 5]

With my innate love of American fiction, it is always pleasing to read a debut that traverses both the crime and contemporary fiction genres, and Flanagan achieves this wonderfully here. With all the tension and darkness of a crime thriller Lesser Evils also contains a real depth of characterisation and psychological exploration that raises it above your average crime read, and I was held completely in its thrall from start to finish- leading to late night reading and late returns from lunch-breaks too. Set in 1950’s Cape Cod, the story centres on a series of child murders, which Flanagan unflinchingly, but compassionately portrays, and which in turn reveals a level of corruption among opposite branches- county and state- of the police fraternity, which leads the central police protagonist Bill Warren into dangerous territory, and personal threat. Warren is one of the most perfectly constructed characters I have ever encountered in crime fiction, blessed with a nobility and morality of character that sets him apart in the morass of immorality that surrounds him. He is dogged, dedicated but also hampered by his own insecurities particularly in relation to his driving sense of doing the right thing both professionally, and personally in his role as a single father. He has a natural compassion for those maligned due to their gender, race or sexual orientation and the sense of fairness that exists in him makes him a natural target for the bigoted and corrupt behaviour of some of his fellow law enforcement officers. As the tale unfolds, Flanagan is given tremendous scope to ruminate on greater themes such as religion, addiction, mental illness and physical abuse, and he addresses all of these with a measured and thoughtful air, which leads to a real lyrical beauty to some passages, that fair takes your breath away. The visceral darkness of the main plot, set against this more metaphysical tone in the writing is beautifully balanced throughout, and skilfully manipulates our emotions throughout. So much more than a crime thriller, and a book that I would urge devotees of exemplary fiction writing to seek out.

[Sonya Ben Behi · Rating 5 out of 5]

J'ai longtemps hésité entre 4 et 5 étoiles (les 5 étoiles étant pour moi des "life-changing books"), ce qui m'a décidé était mon échelle de kiff, j'ai juste savouré chaque moment, et c'est tellement rare!
Ce roman est un bijou de la littérature "noire"! un livre poignant, envoûtant, et oh combien humain! Un style très "littéraire", tout en délicatesse, tout en finesse, tout en beauté! Une ambiance glauque à souhait, des personnes crédibles et attachants, une intrigue qui tient la route...
C'était juste parfait, parfait! de la première jusqu'à la dernière page! aucun moment d'ennui, aucune lacune, aucune grosse ficelle, pas de scènes gores ou particulièrement sanglantes, pas de gros twist ni de recherche de sensationnel..mais ce supplément d'âme, cette émotion qui t'enveloppe, cette chair de poule, cette magnifique plume...
Une des meilleures lectures que j'ai faites jusque là! Il me hantera longtemps!!
Vous me dites que ça ressemble à un Ellroy? j'oserais dire que c'est encore mieux!!

[Sahar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un style d'écriture époustouflant, une ambiance très noire et des personnages très attachants ! J'ai été particulièrement touchée par le personnage de Warren qui m'a beaucoup chamboulée.
J'aurais, par contre, préféré le lire dans une période où j'aurais eu plus de disponibilité pour pouvoir mieux l'apprécier :/
Je pense qu'il aurait pu être un énorme coup de cœur si j'avais pu m'y investir un petit peu plus émotionnellement.

[Atef Attia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peut-on encore écrire dans le registre du roman noir de nos jours sans tomber dans la formule toute faite ou le déjà vu/lu ? L'exercice semble d'autant plus périlleux qu'il s'agit peut-être du genre le plus codifié qui existe et le plus enclin à tomber dans sa propre caricature. C'est pourtant le genre qu'a décidé d'aborder le nouveau venu Joe Flanagan pour son premier roman, ce Lesser Evils (en VO), encensé un peu partout par les critiques et les lecteurs. Tellement encensé d'ailleurs que l'éditeur s'est empressé de joindre au livre un bandeau publicitaire du Publisher's Weekly qui le compare à rien de moins que le L.A Confidential d'Ellroy, transposé à Cape Cod. Si la pratique est très courante, il convient d'emblée de lever la confusion: les deux romans partagent bien évidemment les grandes lignes : Police corrompue, journalistes troubles, crimes mafieux, inspecteurs incorruptibles... mais encore une fois, ils ne sont pas propres au roman d'Ellroy mais constituent des passages quasi obligés pour tout roman noir ''classique'' qui se respecte.

Classique, le roman de Flanagan l'est jusqu'à la moelle. Et ceci dans tout ce que le terme implique de meilleur puisque l'auteur fait preuve d'une maitrise saisissante dans le déroulement de son intrigue et la gestion de son suspense. Fort d'une documentation exhaustive, Flanagan entraine son lecteur le long d'une enquête aux prémices simples mais aux ramifications inattendues sans que jamais l'on perde le fil tout en redonnant toute sa place à l'investigation -élément malheureusement trop peu présent dans les écrits actuels-. L'histoire est donc dense, riche en rebondissement et surtout, rondement menée sans grossiers artifices et, en cela, le défi est amplement relevé. Plus encore, Flanagan a le bon sens de donner toute la place nécessaire à ses personnages pour exister, y compris la légion de seconds rôles, brossant ainsi une mosaïque de profils différents et passionnants. Par ailleurs, l'histoire est articulée autour d'un duel entre deux fortes têtes aux antipodes l'un de l'autre, le lieutenant Warren et l'officier Stasiak dont les affrontements jalonneront le récit et serviront de moteur à l'avancement de l'enquête.

Pour autant, l'auteur ne s'en remet pas uniquement à l'efficacité de son enquête mais affiche une belle ambition en délocalisant celle-ci loin du cadre trop usité de L.A vers Hyannis, une bourgade à Cape Cod. Un choix potentiellement casse-gueule mais que Flanagan utilise à son avantage et transforme en atout non négligeable tant il apporte une originalité inattendue à un genre ultra balisé. Le roman se fend donc d'une belle dimension sociale à travers son regard sur une certaine Amérique communautaire encore empêtrée dans ses croyances religieuses tout en étant profondément discriminatrice (le fils attardé du héros, le couple homosexuel, le racisme ordinaire de la police locale...). Tout ceci est amené avec une plume fine, authentique et qui sait se montrer incisive quand il le faut. A ce titre, le final d'une centaine de pages, riche en adrénaline est furieusement réussi.

Avec ce somptueux premier roman, Joe Flanagan s'impose d'emblée comme un auteur de polar doué avec lequel il faudra dorénavant compter.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a classic noir book with classic themes and motifs that a reader would find in the older mystery novels we know and love. The main characters are well fleshed out and the mysteries are so intriguing that you'll be racing through the pages, trying to find out what happens next.
This book is not for the faint of heart though. It's a dark mystery with gruesome murders and very heavy concepts that will break your heart. For example, our hero, LT Bill Warren, of the Cape Cod Police, has a son with Autism during a time when no one truly understood the disorder as we do today. He has to watch his son get picked on and tries to fight back, but is always met with resistance. The stories that fall between the mysteries in the book will have you sympathize with all the characters and be all too happy when you get to the end and see how they all turned out.

[Bookread2day · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading Lesser Evils. It did made me cry with the evil of wicked crimes. But I do strongly recommend Lesser Evils to anyone who is weary of the same old stuff. Lesser Evils don't fall in to that line of the same old stuff. Joe Flanagan brings a new refreshed structure to his novel. Readers will enjoy the convincing atmosphere and brilliant characters along with great dialogue that makes you turn the pages. Bill Warren becomes the replacement police chief of a quite Cape Cod town. What has happened in Cape Cod is a drunk and violent husband on Willow St. An elderly woman with dementia struck by a car and killed. A six-year-old boy gone missing. Soon it emerges that another boy has been killed. Both were sexually molested, and it appears that Cape Cod may have a lunatic on the loose. Who ever committed these killings will the job get done to catch the killer?

[Andy Weston · Rating 4 out of 5]

There have been a number of crime novels recently about missing children and this joins the pile. It is closer to the bone though, and Flanagan is highly descriptive of the crimes of a paedophile throughout. There is a shock value in that, and it will disgust many, but he writes well, and no doubt will claim that it is an important part of book.

Indeed his writing is consistently strong; his characters are well invented and described well, the setting and period is appropriate and interesting. Yet the story is predictable. Flanagan may claim twists, but my argument would be that even they are predictable. Still, worth a read.

[Marina Sofia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great sense of time and place - although I've not lived through either - but so familiar to us from film depictions of the US during that time. The dark side of the 'golden years', with a detective who is well ahead of his time in terms of empathy, compassion, sensitivity and integrity. At times, it does feel a little hard to believe that everyone else in the book seems to be so rotten and corrupt, and that he is the single hero in search of justice and the truth. Too much Lone Ranger perhaps. But a very absorbing story, revealed in an interesting and gradual way.

[Ethan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book reads like an exact summary of a pretty interesting crime novel.

[Tien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook 🔉

I almost gave it up at around 30% because it was kinda slow and with sooo many characters, it was getting real confusing. However, I thought I'd just give it another drive (home from shops - about 20 mins) and then I was hooked! So, if you're considering DNF, keep going, it's totally worth it!

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, this book was barely noir. The main character definitely had a noir experience or two, but his character is so sterling, and his love for his retarded son is so pure, that his soul shines brightly. As a cop, he sees evil, he sees inconsistency, and he calls it as he sees it. People ruling the town ask that he be more "nuanced" and he refuses, but the truth is, he cannot, he is incapable of being other than who he is, a heroic main character.

Noir has to have flawed characters, a certain lack of belief mixed with hope, and an ambiguous ending. This one has nuns and priests who truly believe and give to their community, decent citizens who support one another, and a miracle. The nasties, the dirty cops and politicians and crooks are nasty through and through. The ending is full of resolution.

The ending is also full of light. Light is the opposite of Noir. I'm not complaining; I like the book. I stayed up late to finish it. Too much light for Noir.

[Christian Westermann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply a great crime novel. I was able to follow the thread of the investigation all the way through and while I thought I knew who the killer was, I was totally wrong and this is thanks to a great bit of deflection by Flanagan.

The way Flanagan captures and evokes the feeling of being in the backwoods turns the touristy setting of Cape Cod into a much scarier place. It gets you to think about what goes on in those stretches of woods whenever your driving down a highway or road.

The murders by the serial killer in this book are theatrical and grotesque, so you might get a few shivers reading this story.

-Christian

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mlle Alice, pouvez-vous nous raconter votre rencontre avec Un Moindre Mal ?
"Avoir enfin exterminé ma PAL, c'est aussi retrouver le plaisir simple de flâner dans une librairie et de choisir un livre au hasard, dont je n'ai jamais entendu parler, juste parce qu'il m'appelle. Et les Gallmeister, avec leurs sublimes couvertures, s'y prêtent quand même particulièrement bien."

Dites-nous en un peu plus sur son histoire...
"En 1957, les meurtres d'enfants commencent à se multiplier dans la péninsule de Cape Cod et le procureur décide de faire appel à la police d'état. Mais les méthodes des flics de Boston sont plus que douteuses et le lieutenant Warren refuse de lâcher l'enquête, au risque de tout perdre...

Mais que s'est-il exactement passé entre vous ?
"Avec le temps, j'apprécie de plus en plus la littérature américaine et les romans policiers qui se déploient avec lenteur et minutie. C'est ici le cas, la toile complexe des évènements se tisse petit à petit, un pas après l'autre, rendant le tableau toujours plus noir. L'écriture de Joe Flanagan est pleine de finesse, tout comme ses personnages, bien campés, bien nuancés et donc certains sont extrêmement touchants de part leur sincérité comme le père Boyle ou le lieutenant Warren. L'homme droit et honnête qui lutte contre tous, contre les passe-droits, contre la corruption et contre la malhonnêteté, ce n'est peut-être pas d'une grande originalité mais ça fonctionne toujours et c'est ici particulièrement bien fait. Mon seul regret, c'est que l'époque n'est pas vraiment très marquée. Honnêtement, l'enquête pourrait être transposée aujourd'hui quasiment à l'identique et c'est un petit peu dommage."

Et comment cela s'est-il fini ?
"Dans les dernières pages, le rythme s'accélère tout à coup et c'est un peu déroutant toute cette tension soudaine, ces dangers imminents et ces coups de feu dans tous les sens puis le calme revient petit à petit, en défaisant chaque noeud de l'intrigue avec soin. J'ai adoré chacun des éléments de cette conclusion, même si certains sont peut-être un petit peu trop "miraculeux" mais tant pis, je reste en revanche un tout petit peu frustrée sur quelques réponses restées en suspens et j'espère de tout coeur qu'il y aura une suite..."


http://booksaremywonderland.hautetfor...

[L'atelier de Litote · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un thriller policier pas comme les autres, on peut dire d’Un moindre mal qu’il a des personnages forts et profonds et en plus l’étude de leur psychologie augmente considérablement l’intérêt du lecteur. Je suis resté sous le charme de cette intrigue à multiples facettes du début à la fin. Nous sommes dans les années cinquante à Cape Code. Une série de meurtres d’enfants est commise et l’enquête débute, on voit arriver en « renfort » le personnage trouble de Stasiak et on comprend rapidement que la police locale représentée par Warren va être quasiment hors jeu. Une rivalité entre Police d’Etat et la police locale fait apparaître des inimitiés qui vont se révéler dangereuse dans un climat de corruption. J’ai apprécié le personnage intègre, honnête et franc de Warren qui nous change de la plus part de ses collègues à la moralité douteuse. C’est un personnage superbement bien construit et j’ai aimé sentir ses propres fêlures même lorsqu’il fait tout pour être le flic et le père parfait. Warren est naturellement bon et ne peut rester sans rien faire face à l’injustice et le comportement inapproprié de certains de ses collègues corrompus. Il devient de ce fait une cible parfaite. Les thèmes abordés par l’auteur sont nombreux, avec en tête, l’homosexualité, la religion, la toxicomanie, les maladies psychiatriques. Il y a de très belles choses écrites sur ces sujets avec un style simple et posé quasi poétique. Pourtant ce livre n’est pas fait pour les âmes sensibles, les meurtres sont macabres et durs à encaisser dès lors qu’il s’agit d’enfants. Le rythme est juste parfait, il y a de belles montées en tension et des chutes qui nous laissent expérimenter la frustration. Dans la dernière partie du livre, il y a un crescendo en puissance dont l’intensité correspond à tout ce que j’aime trouver dans un final. Un excellent moment passé dans l’univers de Joe Flanagan. Bonne lecture.

[Florence Renouard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Cape Cod, en 1957, une série de meurtres d’enfants perturbe la population d’une petite ville. La police locale, menée par l’inspecteur Warren, se voit déposséder de l’enquête au profit de la police d’état, dirigée par Stasiak.
Ce sont deux conceptions du boulot de flic qui s’opposent, car Warren est un flic très honnête, qui comprend très vite que le brutal Stasiak, lui, n’est pas très net… Les personnages ont une belle épaisseur psychologique, y compris les personnages secondaires. Warren est un beau personnage qui mène comme il peut sa carrière et son rôle de père célibataire.
L’intrigue est très bien ficelée, avec suspense, fausses pistes… Le décor est bien planté, dans cette petite communauté fermée, aux dessous assez troubles : homophobie, corruption, paris clandestins, disparitions suspectes, prêtre au passé secret, psychiatre à la solde des laboratoires pharmaceutiques… Tout ceci étoffe le décor sans embrouiller l’enquête.
J’ai juste été un peu surprise au moment de l’intervention divine… Un très bon polar noir, terminé au court d‘ une nuit blanche !

[Maren · Rating 1 out of 5]

The ending almost redeemed the drab story. I felt like the author tried but didn't quite get the old-time lingo and style. I expected more from Europa Editions and the cover art is much more enticing than the story ended up being. The ending though, really shocked me and I still don't know quite what my feelings about the end are.

I was trying to describe this to my friend Katherine and she used the work "pastiche" and I learned that word and it's very accurate - this book is poor pastiche.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have no idea how I got this book. It's been on my shelf for so long that I finally had to just read it. This one's a police/crime novel, straight up. And in that context it was very well done. Likeable main character despite some major flaws. Interest cast around him with their own secrets. A small town with all the awfulness that comes with those (corruption, homophobia, you name it). Crime syndicates from the nearest big city (Boston, here). The story was a bit long for the predictable nature of the plot, but some of the extra diversions were worth it. Very glad I read it. And on paper, too!

[Rebecca Manders · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was unnecessarily long-winded and there was more going on than needed to be. A young cop on the trail of a child predator is an interesting enough storyline, the rest was useless weight. I gave it three stars because I enjoyed the intelligent style of writing.

[Janet E. Rash · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lesser evil

Very good story, highly recommend. The plot keeps one turning the pages, with a hint of the supernatural thrown in. I look forward to more stories by Mr. Flanagan.

[Karen Gail Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this book. Maybe with some editing...I don't know. there are so many characters that I had trouble keeping up who was who. And I found the writing confusing.

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. Couldn't put it down.

[Olivier]

**

[Marie Poppins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un excellent polar noir, qui m'a tenu en haleine de début à la fin ! Le dénouement, sans pour autant être absolument improbable, m'a surprise et ce n'est rien de moins que ce que j'en attendais !

[James Laray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunned. What an awesome read. I don't usually do cop/detective/suspense fictions, but Joe Flanagan has got me hooked with "Lesser Evils". Great characters brought to life and made familiar reminding of people of my past both altruistic and truly evil. Some evil beyond my imagination. Characters towards the end that almost brought a tear to my eye out of a realistic sense of solid goodness, or my yearning to see the nefarious evil doers punished or worse. Some characters you just find yourself truly hating. The plot starts out with a shocking entrance and then breaks into intriguing sub plots, but they all balance well and begin to slowly interrelate really well drawing the reader into the read. The flow is perfect with suspense rising and falling and then leaving the reader hungry to almost skip ahead but knowing the slight shift in scene in the next chapter will be just as tantalizing. Towards the later fourth of the book the plots grow closer in a crescendo that had me keep reading well into the early morning. I just couldn't put it down. The action, suspense and intensity kept me pushing, with my adrenaline pumping. There is some violent scenes but well placed and far from gratuitous and actually portraying what I would expect outside of Hollywood sensationalism. Some gun battles but with more misses than hits, usually wounding with few killed. Some hand-to-hand struggles that had me right there, but again with a very realistic tone (not that I've been in hand-to-hand fights to near death and wondering if I could survive one). I could feel the protagonist Lieutenant Warren's physical and emotional pains throughout the book. There is a detached macabre and sometimes ghastly tone at times almost placing the reader viewing the corpses discovered throughout the read with a detached nature of those who kill them or the detectives, coroner or mortician who deal with them. Mr. Flanagan portrays the area of Cape Cod and environs with great detail filling me with an intrigue to pull out a map and see these places in relation to each other. I am now inspired to make a road trip to see if any of these places are still around. What a great vision of post World War II Americana complete with visions of my own past. Old seedy motor courts, baby boom era housing communities, trashy bars and road houses and the sad hapless souls that frequent them. There are also intriguing portrayals of the natural environments around these places in vivid detail. What completely pushes this story to new heights is well timed reflections of the characters' intellectual, spiritual, moral, and philosophical struggles juxtaposed by some of life's hardest realities of drug/alcohol addictions; work place politics and double dealings, mental infirmaries, and unfair societal ostracism and abuse of the unwanted and timid. One is given a "life is cruel, hard, and unfair" tone throughout. The ending offers brilliant resolution. I cannot rave enough about this read. It is over 400 pages, but I didn't want it to end. Can't wait for a sequel. I would love to see it made into a movie along the lines of the gritty street level tension of "Taxi Driver" with De Niro (1976), or the internal struggles of a good guy Nicolas Cage faced with the evil Dennis Hopper in "Red Rock West" (1993) or the psychological twists and dark sexual tensions of Isabella Rossellini and Dennis Hopper in the 1986 film "Blue Velvet".

[The Cannibal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Damnés bandeaux titres que j'adore détester, qui ont souvent tendance à trop encenser un roman, ou à la comparer à d'autres, comme ici au L.A Confidential de Ellroy.

Il peut être dangereux de comparer un roman ou un auteur à un autre, déjà célèbre et qui a marqué les esprits…

Ça induit le lecteur en erreur qui pense retrouver l'atmosphère de l'autre roman avec lequel on le compare et bien souvent, ça se termine pas un « Bardaf, c'est l'embardée » comme le disait si bien notre regretté Manu Thoreau.

Pas besoin que vous soyez les enfants naturels de Sherlock Holmes pour en déduire que je suis passé un chouïa à côté de ce roman noir dont on vante les mérites un peu partout.

J'avais tellement envie de le lire… Sans doute avais-je aussi un peu la tête ailleurs car j'ai souvent pataugé avec les nombreux personnages, les mélangeant allègrement, ne sachant plus qui était qui dans cette multitude de personnages secondaires.

Non pas qu'ils n'étaient pas bien distincts, que du contraire, même, ils étaient travaillés, réalistes, différents, énigmatiques, mystérieux, mais l'auteur les appelant une fois par leur nom de famille et l'autre fois par leurs prénoms, j'ai fait une soupe avec eux, ce qui ne m'a pas aidé à me concentrer sur le livre.

Dommage que ma tête ait été ailleurs et que le brouhaha dans les transports en commun m'ait empêché de bien m'immerger dès le départ dans ce roman noir car son atmosphère est oppressante et magnifiquement bien décrite.

Entre quelques flics intègres, les ripoux de chez ripoux, les homophobes qui comparent tous les homos à des pédophile, qui cherchent des poux dans la tête du seul couple gay de Cap Cod et les magouilles sadiques d'un policier d'état, on baigne dès le départ dans une ambiance glauque qui fleure bon les années 50 et les petites villes.

De plus, la plume est envolée, lyrique, belle, et nous décrit les choses au point que le film se joue devant nos yeux.

Quant à l'intrigue, elle est complexe, possède des fausses pistes, des ramifications inattendues et son final m'a fait monter ma tension (au moins j'ai ressenti quelque chose).

Comment ai-je réussi à passer à côté et ne pas m'immerger à fond dedans dès le départ ? Il devait y avoir un truc qui coinçait dans ma caboche… Et le panel des personnages secondaires y était pour beaucoup puisque ma concentration n'était pas optimum.

Il avait tout d'un grand roman, j'en attendais beaucoup aussi et au final, je n'ai pas ressenti beaucoup d'émotions durant ma lecture, hormis pour Little Mike et son père. Et encore, pas autant que j'aurais voulu.

Dommage pour moi car ce n'est pas dans les habitudes d'un Gallmeister de me décevoir.

Mais qui sait, peut-être que vous, il vous enchantera si vous pénétrez correctement dans les ambiances sombres la petite ville de Cap Cod et de sa galerie de personnages.

Ce n'est pas parce que moi j'avais des tas de choses dans ma tête que vous ferez la même erreur que moi.

[JJ Lehmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very debut novel that was difficult to put down. Usually saying a novel is good for a debut is a bit backward compliment, but in this case, that this is Joe Flanagan's first novel is pretty unbelievable.
His characters are filled out and believable, while his pacing and narrative style is refreshing. Like many of the more famous crime novelists, Flanagan hooks you in at the end of each section or chapter, but instead of immediately giving you your fill, he begins by seamlessly weaving through other narratives and plotlines that were left unanswered previously, and once you have begun to forget why you wanted to read the next chapter he indulges you and you are left satisfied, but with still more questions.
I could go on, but I an not the writer that Joe Flanagan is.

[Monica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bill Warren is the acting police chief of the little Cape Cod town of Barnstable in 1957. He is the single father of a developmentally disabled son with fetal alcohol syndrome, facing a challenging series of personal and professional issues. He’s honest and hardworking, a loner, a bit difficult, prone to flying off the handle. He has more on his plate than is quite believable.
For me the book has too many plot threads and they frequently detract from each other. There are the murdered and sexually molested young boys, the missing (and eventually proven to be murdered) Weeks family, the illegal gambling and loan sharking operations in multiple sleazy motels, run by heavies from Boston with the protection of powerful police officers, the sketchy doctor who conducts illicit drug trials and specializes in deviant sexuality and has a live in protégé. There is also the culture of corruption in the small town political scene and the state criminal investigation forces, the muckraking reporter framed by the corrupt cops, the town youths who torment the disabled son and powerful fathers who protect them, the mentally ill, alcoholic (and possibly pedophile) priest and the return of the alcoholic wife.
The climax includes multiple abductions, multiple gunfights, a helicopter search for a missing child, and a lot of bloody brawling, littering locations all over the area with dead and wounded bodies.
There is drama and suspense and good character development in this book, but it felt cluttered to me.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed for Library Journal in the Feb. 2016 issue:

In 1957 Hyannis, a small coastal town on picturesque Cape Cod lives Lt. Bill Warren, an honorable yet complicated man. A failed marriage and a mentally disabled young son have alienated him from his staff and many in the community. When a boy goes missing, Warren and his team begin the search. Enraged when the district attorney inexplicably hands the case over to the Massachusetts State Police, Warren refuses to let go. An intense and violent rivalry develops between the two men as multiple story lines emerge; a missing family, illegal gambling, and the spiritual journey of a priest who has lost his faith but not his compassion. The intensity mounts as the crime develops into a string of horrific child murders and past sins are brought to light. Flanagan's debut does a masterly job of evoking place without being ham-fisted about it. Warren's disabled son is skillfully portrayed and Warren himself is eminently sympathetic. VERDICT: With explicit violence and gore, this title is not for the cozy mystery set. Despite an ending that is a little too tidy, this gripping read will find fans in the noir and police procedural crowd.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

great noir book. long and complex but never boring.