Loved this story about Joe Coughlin. Lehane does such a great job of taking you into a world that you'd normally never have access to (and in this case I wouldn't want to!). His characters are memorable: Joe, Emma Gould, Graciela, Esteban, Dion, Albert White, Maso, etc. I will always think of his father's watch. I also could relate to Joe's feelings about the likes of people such as Irv Figgis and his daughter Loretta.

A little too long. Could be a great movie if they cut the right parts out.

An enjoyable mobster read with notes and questions about the meaning of life thrown in.

There's a fascination with crime bosses and the Mafia. Lehane joins the crowd with a compelling story set in the 1920s and 30s. Joe is the son of a Boston police chief, and a thief. His activities land him in prison where he connects with the boss of an Italian Mafia gang. The dance between Joe and his father and the Mafia boss carry through the novel. When Joe gets out of prison the boss sends him to the Tampa area to build up the rum business, which he does with great success. He falls in love with a Cuban woman, battles KKK thugs, and builds a great business. Ultimately, tho, the Italian boss is unpleased and chaos ensues. For a time. I won't give it all away. Bottom line: Lehane is a skilled writer who moves this story along, kept me wanting to keep reading, let me feel Joe's ups and downs. All in all, a good read.

Lehane has been recommended to me by several friends and I finally picked up a book – and I’m glad I did. This was a great crime noir novel set during the Prohibition in my former hometown of Tampa, Florida, with mob ties to Cuba, Boston, New York and more. Joe Coughlin is the son of a Boston cop who becomes one of the Gulf Coast’s most successful rum runners. He’s a good bad guy and Lehane will have you rooting for the mobster to have a happy ending. It’s also being made into a movie next year starring Ben Affleck. Can’t wait!

I think I'd actually give this novel 3.5 stars, not because it's not well-written, but I'm not a big gangster fan. In fact, when I first started it, I wasn't sure if I would make it through half of it. Even though I'm not into the whole gangster world, this is very well-written, and it definitely gives you a sense of what the U.S. was like under prohibition.

I liked the first Coughlin family saga, "The Given Day", and I liked this one as well. The story flies forward. Lehane gets out of Boston this time, but it does'nt matter. Lehane as a writer works for me. Real enjoyable tale. Solid 4 stars!

I enjoyed this book, LeHane is an excellent story teller. At first I didn't think I'd like this book because I've never been that interested in the 1920's US gangster era, but LeHane brought it to life better than anyone I've read before. I still like LeHane's "The Given Day" better, but not by much.

I liked it. I liked The Given Day better. but this one was good too.