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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
Very heavy
Graphic crime violence: shootouts, torture, mob executions; intense and frequent throughout
Language
A lot
Strong language throughout; Prohibition-era crime milieu
Sexual Content
Some
Adult romantic relationships; brief explicit content
Substance Use
A lot
Rum-running is the business; heavy period alcohol; some drug use in crime circles
Emotional Intensity
Some
The seduction of a life outside the law, what it costs to build an empire on violence, the man who chose this and the moment he regrets it
What this book is about
Joe Coughlin is the son of a Boston police captain who decides early that rules are for other people. After a heist goes wrong and people die, he ends up in the orbit of the Tampa mob during Prohibition — running rum, fighting the Klan, and building an empire. Dennis Lehane's Edgar Award-winning crime epic is sweeping, violent, and morally serious: a portrait of a man who knows what he is and owns it, up to the moment he can't anymore.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
graphic crime violence throughout
strong language
heavy alcohol and substance themes in Prohibition setting
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