
Boston Noir
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About this listen
Brand-new stories by: Dennis Lehane, Stewart O'Nan, Patricia Powell, John Dufresne, Lynne Heitman, Don Lee, Russ Aborn, Itabari Njeri, Jim Fusilli, Brendan DuBois, and Dana Cameron.
Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, The Given Day) has proven himself to be a master of both crime fiction and literary fiction. Here, he extends his literary prowess to that of master curator. In keeping with the Akashic Noir series tradition, each story in Boston Noir is set in a different neighborhood of the city - the impressively diverse collection extends from Roxbury to Cambridge, from Southie to the Boston Harbor, and all stops in between. Lehane's own contribution - the longest story in the volume - is set in his beloved home neighborhood of Dorchester and showcases his phenomenal ability to grip the heart, soul, and throat of the reader.
In 2003, Lehane's novel Mystic River was adapted into film and quickly garnered six Academy Award nominations (with Sean Penn and Tim Robbins each winning Academy Awards).
The complete list of narrators includes Karen White, Scott Aiello, Stephen Hoye, Jason Culp, Jeri Silverman, Suzanne Toren, Marc Vietor, Scott Brick, Joe Barrett, Carington MacDuffie, and Erin Moon.
©2009 Akashic Books (P)2014 Audible Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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In the summer of 1974 a heatwave blankets Boston and Mary Pat Fennessey is trying to stay one step ahead of the bill collectors. Mary Pat has lived her entire life in the projects of “Southie,” the Irish American enclave that stubbornly adheres to tradition and stands proudly apart. One night Mary Pat’s teenage daughter Jules stays out late and doesn’t come home. That same evening, a young Black man is found dead, struck by a subway train under mysterious circumstances. Mary Pat, propelled by a desperate search for her daughter, begins turning over stones best left untouched.
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Sadly these streets are my home…
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Wait ....
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White Bread
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When they were children, Sean Devine, Jimmy Marcus, and Dave Boyle were friends. But then a strange car drove up their street. One boy got in the car, two did not, and something terrible happened - something that ended their friendship and changed the boys forever. Twenty-five years later, Sean is a homicide detective. Jimmy is an ex-con. And Dave is trying to hold his marriage together and keep his demons at bay - demons that urge him to do horrific things. When Jimmy's daughter is murdered, Sean is assigned to the case.
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Punches you in the face!
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THAT IS LIFE,
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Dallas Noir
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My favorite line in my favorite song about Dallas goes like this: Dallas is a rich man with a death wish in his eyes / A steel and concrete soul in a warm heart and love disguise... The narrator of Jimmie Dale Gilmore's perfect tune Dallas" is coming to town as a broke dreamer with the bright lights of the big city on his mind. He's just seen the Dallas cityscape through the window of his seat on a DC-9 at night. Is he just beginning his quest?
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Small Mercies
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- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In the summer of 1974 a heatwave blankets Boston and Mary Pat Fennessey is trying to stay one step ahead of the bill collectors. Mary Pat has lived her entire life in the projects of “Southie,” the Irish American enclave that stubbornly adheres to tradition and stands proudly apart. One night Mary Pat’s teenage daughter Jules stays out late and doesn’t come home. That same evening, a young Black man is found dead, struck by a subway train under mysterious circumstances. Mary Pat, propelled by a desperate search for her daughter, begins turning over stones best left untouched.
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Sadly these streets are my home…
- By shipyardjay on 05-10-23
By: Dennis Lehane
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Since We Fell
- A Novel
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- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Since We Fell follows Rachel Childs, a former journalist who, after an on-air mental breakdown, now lives as a virtual shut-in. In all other respects, however, she enjoys an ideal life with an ideal husband. Until a chance encounter on a rainy afternoon causes that ideal life to fray. As does Rachel's marriage. As does Rachel herself. Sucked into a conspiracy thick with deception, violence, and possibly madness, Rachel must find the strength within herself to conquer unimaginable fears and mind-altering truths.
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Wait ....
- By Ann on 05-17-17
By: Dennis Lehane
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A Drink Before the War
- By: Dennis Lehane
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
With novels like Mystic River and Shutter Island, Dennis Lehane has dramatically altered the landscape of the crime thriller—while boldly overstepping the boundaries that have long separated mystery from literature. Now two of his sensational early novels have been combined in a single volume—two gritty and mesmerizing masterworks of suspense featuring the private eye duo of Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro.
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White Bread
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By: Dennis Lehane
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Mystic River
- By: Dennis Lehane
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 15 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When they were children, Sean Devine, Jimmy Marcus, and Dave Boyle were friends. But then a strange car drove up their street. One boy got in the car, two did not, and something terrible happened - something that ended their friendship and changed the boys forever. Twenty-five years later, Sean is a homicide detective. Jimmy is an ex-con. And Dave is trying to hold his marriage together and keep his demons at bay - demons that urge him to do horrific things. When Jimmy's daughter is murdered, Sean is assigned to the case.
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Punches you in the face!
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By: Dennis Lehane
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The Drop
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- Length: 5 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Three days after Christmas, a lonely bartender looking for a reason to live rescues an abused puppy from a trash can and meets a damaged woman looking for something to believe in. As their relationship grows, they cross paths with the Chechen mafia; a man grown dangerous with age and thwarted hopes; two hapless stick-up artists; a very curious cop; and the original owner of the puppy, who wants his dog bac.k…
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THAT IS LIFE,
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Shutter Island
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- Unabridged
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A masterwork of suspense and surprise from the author of Mystic River and Gone, Baby, Gone, Shutter Island carries the listener into a nightmare world of madness, mind control, and CIA Cold War paranoia and is unlike anything you’ve ever heard before.
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Outstanding psychological thriller set in the 50s
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The Given Day
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- Unabridged
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The Given Day explores the crippling violence and irrepressible exuberance of a country at war with, and in the thrall of, itself. As Danny, Luther, and those around them struggle to define themselves in increasingly turbulent times, they gradually find family in one another and, together, ride a rising storm of hardship, deprivation, and hope that will change all their lives.
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As Good As It Gets
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The Secret Hours
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- Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Two years ago, a hostile Prime Minister launched the Monochrome inquiry, investigating "historical over-reaching" by the British Secret Service “to investigate historical over-reaching.” Monochrome’s mission was to ferret out any hint of misconduct by any MI5 officer—and allowed Griselda Fleet and Malcolm Kyle, the two civil servants seconded to the project, unfettered access to any and all confidential information in the Service archives in order to do so. But MI5’s formidable First Desk did not become Britain’s top spy by accident, and she has successfully thwarted the inquiry at every turn.
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Just about perfect
- By June Lapidow on 09-28-23
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One by One
- By: Ruth Ware
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- Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Getting snowed in at a luxurious, rustic ski chalet high in the French Alps doesn’t sound like the worst problem in the world. Especially when there’s a breathtaking vista, a full-service chef and housekeeper, a cozy fire to keep you warm, and others to keep you company. Unless that company happens to be eight coworkers…each with something to gain, something to lose, and something to hide.
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Decide for yourself
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The Chestnut Man
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A psychopath is terrorizing Copenhagen. His calling card is a “chestnut man” - a handmade doll made of matchsticks and two chestnuts - which he leaves at each bloody crime scene. Examining the dolls, forensics makes a shocking discovery - a fingerprint belonging to a young girl, a government minister’s daughter who had been kidnapped and murdered a year ago. A tragic coincidence - or something more twisted? To save innocent lives, a pair of detectives must put aside their differences to piece together the Chestnut Man’s gruesome clues.
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Good until it is wasn’t
- By chitty chitty bang bang on 10-09-19
By: Soren Sveistrup
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Defending Jacob
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- By: William Landay
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Andy Barber has been an assistant district attorney in his suburban Massachusetts county for more than 20 years. He is respected in his community, tenacious in the courtroom, and happy at home with his wife, Laurie, and son, Jacob. But when a shocking crime shatters their New England town, Andy is blindsided by what happens next: his 14-year-old son is charged with the murder of a fellow student.
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Terrific!
- By cristina on 03-12-12
By: William Landay
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The Friends of Eddie Coyle
- By: George V. Higgins, Dennis Lehane - Introduction
- Narrated by: Mark Hammer
- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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George V. Higgins's seminal crime novel is a down-and-dirty tale of thieves, mobsters, and cops on the mean streets of Boston. When small-time gunrunner Eddie Coyle is convicted on a felony, he's looking at three years in the pen—that is, unless he sells out one of his big-fish clients to the DA. But which of the many hoods, gunmen, and executioners whom he calls his friends should he send up the river? Told almost entirely in crackling dialogue by a vivid cast of lowlifes and detectives, The Friends of Eddie Coyle is one of the greatest crime novels ever written.
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Fantastic Narration meets Fantastic Dialogue
- By Roy Reiss on 06-18-12
By: George V. Higgins, and others
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11-22-63
- A Novel
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Craig Wasson
- Length: 30 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed. What if you could change it back? In this brilliantly conceived tour de force, Stephen King - who has absorbed the social, political, and popular culture of his generation more imaginatively and thoroughly than any other writer - takes listeners on an incredible journey into the past and the possibility of altering it.
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I Owe Stephen King An Apology
- By Kelly - Write Well Academy on 04-16-12
By: Stephen King
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Burr
- A Novel (Narratives of Empire, Book 1)
- By: Gore Vidal
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 21 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Here is an extraordinary portrait of one of the most complicated - and misunderstood - figures among the Founding Fathers. In 1804, while serving as vice president, Aaron Burr fought a duel with his political nemesis, Alexander Hamilton, and killed him. In 1807, he was arrested, tried, and acquitted of treason. In 1833, Burr is newly married, an aging statesman considered a monster by many. But he is determined to tell his own story, and he chooses to confide in a young New York City journalist. Burr is the first novel in Gore Vidal's Narratives of Empire series.
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Finally! Vidal's Great Take on the Life of Burr
- By John in NC on 06-12-19
By: Gore Vidal
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Different Seasons
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Frank Muller
- Length: 20 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Four gripping novellas tied together by the changing of seasons. Hope Springs Eternal - "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption": An unjustly imprisoned convict seeks a strange and startling revenge...the basis for the Best Picture Academy Award nominee The Shawshank Redemption.
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Fantastic!
- By Robert A. Raymond on 02-14-16
By: Stephen King
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Find Me
- Inland Empire, Book 1
- By: Anne Frasier
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Convicted serial killer Benjamin Fisher has finally offered to lead San Bernardino detective Daniel Ellis to the isolated graves of his victims. One catch: he'll only do it if FBI profiler Reni Fisher, his estranged daughter, accompanies them. As hard as it is to exhume her traumatic childhood, Reni can’t say no. She still feels complicit in her father’s crimes.
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Nature vs nurture...
- By shelley on 07-03-20
By: Anne Frasier
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Standing by the Wall
- The Collected Slough House Novellas
- By: Mick Herron
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Espionage. Blackmail. Revenge. Cunning. Slapstick. State secrets dating back to the fall of the Berlin Wall. All this and more in a tight package of five novellas by Mick Herron, CWA Gold Dagger-winning author of Slow Horses.
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More Please
- By Katy on 01-27-23
By: Mick Herron
Editorial reviews
What listeners say about Boston Noir
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- chris
- 02-02-23
Overall good book/ performance
Overall this was enjoyable. Some of the stories were not as entertaining as others, and some of the narrators were subpar.
But overall I liked it. If you enjoy Boston stories this is for you.
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- Robert J
- 04-05-20
Boston classic
Harrowing tales of people with questionable morals. Definitely worth your time. I’m glad I gave it a go
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1 person found this helpful
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- ELB
- 02-11-15
Maybe just buy a Lehane novel...
The stories were hit or miss, with Lehane's being the stand out for me. The narration was not for me. Though some of it was simply in the noir spirit, it was at times so achingly over acted that I had to turn it off. That being said a more experienced noir reader might enjoy the style and spirit of the narrators.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Thomas M.
- 03-23-24
Poorly written
Three hours of my life I’ll never get back . Couldn’t even finish it. Disappointed frustrated boredom
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- Placeholder
- 08-04-24
Very disappointed
Thought it would be good because of Denis lehane. Very poor. Not worth buying long drawn out and to be honest a snooze fest
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- James H.
- 03-08-25
Terrible narrator
I tried, because I love Dennis Lehane novels. But sorry I have to bail. Absolutely couldn’t get into the first short story because I hated her voice and the plot was never forthcoming. It says it was a Audible original! Well good luck. The only people that I can imagine listening would be non Dennis Lehane fans. I wish I could get a refund on this one!!
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