One of our favorite writers, Dennis Lehane, slips the bonds of his Boston-based mysteries with a terrific collection of short fiction that reinforces his reputation as a "master of the new noir." The settings may be different (two stories are set south of the Mason-Dixon Line), but these works crackle with the same narrative tension that electrifies the Kenzie and Genarro detective series, as well as stand-alone thrillers like Mystic River. Included among the five short stories is a disturbing set piece called "Until Gwen," which the author has expanded into a two-act play that caps Coronado and gives the anthology its title. Here's proof (as if we needed it!) that Dennis Lehane's talents extend beyond genre fiction into the realm of bona fide literature.

Coronado collects the best of Dennis Lehane's previously published short stories and adds one new one. Among these small-town tales is "Until Gwen," a narrative that appears in two versions: as a short story and as the two-act drama that appeared on the New York stage as Coronado.

Coronado collects the best of Dennis Lehane's previously published short stories and adds one new one. Among these small-town tales is "Until Gwen," a narrative that appears in two versions: as a short story and as the two-act drama that appeared on the New York stage as Coronado.

The raw, surprising tales of passion and violence in Dennis Lehane's new collection remind us anew why he is one of the most interesting young writers in America today … If you've never read Lehane, you probably should start with Mystic River, but if you're already a fan, you'll savor this new glimpse into one of the most unpredictable minds in current American fiction.
— The Washington Post

Tucci, the chameleon character actor and director best known for disappearing entirely into his roles, offers up his bone-dry, world-weary take on Lehane's collection of nonmystery stories. Tucci reads Lehane's somber stories with the greatest subtlety, only occasionally leaving a mark by emphasizing a lone word or leaning into Lehane's prose with a stray vocal twang. Treating Lehane's stories as an actorly challenge rather than an extra paycheck, Tucci gives his reading his all by always holding something back, as if there were other words left unsaid between the lines of what could be articulated. Tucci's fine reading, understated and elegant, is accompanied by a wide-ranging interview with Lehane, in which the author discusses his play Coronado (adapted from the story "Until Gwen," and which gives this collection its title), his feelings about adaptations of his novels and writing for HBO's The Wire. Simultaneous release with the William Morrow hardcover (Reviews, June 19). (Sept.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Long before he became well known for Mystic River (2001), Lehane was writing short stories and teaching creative writing. This modest-sized volume of five previously published stories and a two-act play aptly show off his talents. There's not a wasted word in these dark, spare tales about disenfranchised males of the South. "Until Gwen" moves like a chess game, pitting a heartbroken Bobby against his amoral father. Readers can appreciate it even more after reading Coronado. The play brings seemingly unrelated characters together in a bar (plenty of drinking and gun toting in these stories), and Lehane cleverly weaves them together, watching to see if we can figure out the crime. Just what is the ultimate crime ("What's worse than murder?" asks one character) might be the author's main theme, as Bobby, Elgin, Blue, and the others repeatedly flail against some tide they cannot control. Highly recommended for those who appreciate the psychological fiction of Pete Dexter and George Pelecanos and essential for libraries populated by aspiring screenwriters and playwrights. [See Prepub Mystery, LJ 5/1/06.]-Teresa L. Jacobsen, Solano Cty. Lib., CA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Adult/High School-In this collection of five short stories and a brief play, Lehane assembles a disparate cast, yet each individual takes part in a similar search for something elusive. In "ICU," Daniel is hunted down by assailants and must hide in a hospital waiting room to survive. "Until Gwen" reunites a young man just released from prison with the father who corrupted him. Several of the pieces are set in the South, and their pacing is infused with the slowness of a Southern drawl. The mastery of the author's storytelling lies in his ability to create atmosphere. His characters are defined by the mood of the world around them, a world that is often confining and in which hope is thrown aside in favor of a grim pragmatism. Lehane populates his stories with people who are ordinary and reveals the extraordinary complexity of their lives. The decisions they face are unenviable and their choices somehow unavoidable. The author invents nuanced relationships in which murder and betrayal become acts of loyalty and friendship. Each story introduces a touch of the unlikely or unfortunate into otherwise mundane circumstances, then relays the consequences as events unfold. Haunting imagery lingers long after the book is closed.-Heidi Dolamore, San Mateo County Library, CA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Tough-as-nails crime fiction transcends genre in this first collection of five stories and a play (developed from one of them) from the Boston-area novelist (Sacred, 1997, etc.). One hopes Clint Eastwood (who directed the Oscar-winning film based on Lehane's superb Mystic River, 2001) will take a close look at "Running Out of Dog," a pungent slice of Southern Gothic noir populated by runaway canines, restless Vietnam vets and the alluring women who seduce them into one another's paths, fateful confrontations, and a savage fulfillment of its narrator's observation that "when hope comes late to a man, it's a dangerous thing." This one is a classic: Robert Stone at his most unrelenting, with nerve-grating additional material contributed by Jim Thompson and dialogue by George V. Higgins. Lehane shows his talent for narrative economy in a brisk tale of revenge for drug-induced manslaughter ("Mushrooms") and a surprisingly rich account ("Gone Down to Corpus") of Texas high-school football jocks trashing the elegant homes of their "betters," their destructive energies propelled by what the story's narrator calls "something . . . I'm mad at, something I can't put a name to." The taut, disturbing "Until Gwen" employs grating, accusatory second-person narration to explore the murderous bonds linking a soulless con man, his hapless son (and sometime accomplice) and Gwen, whose fate drives the story toward its excruciating conclusion. And if all this weren't sufficient evidence of Lehane's virtuosity, there's "Coronado," which expands "Until Gwen" into a two-act play (premiered in New York in 2005) that reshuffles its aforementioned characters into three doomed couples who enact amurderous and suicidal progression through dynamic action, detailed flashbacks and harrowing fantasy sequences. It's a knockout performance. An impressive step forward for a writer of commanding gifts, who seems poised on the threshold of even greater accomplishment.