The Strangler: A Novel

The Strangler was a great book. It drew me in from the first page and kept me entertained until the end. What I liked most was that Landay developed each character in the book. It was not a typical formula mystery with the same shallow characters doing the same thing until 15 pages from the end and then it was done. This book had themes within themes and as the story unraveled - the reader learned more and more about the characters. The reader can tell that Landay takes his time with each word. He does not churn out novels that are like fast food and 2 chapters in you realize - hey I read this already. Each of his books are detailed and suspenseful. I really enjoyed Mission Flats as well.

The Strangler is a big and captivating story. Set in Boston in the '60s, the story centers on three Irish brothers and their extended families. Born in the Irish section of Boston into a policeman's family, each brother has chosen a separate path - prosecutor, policeman, and burglar. While very different in every way with the rivalries common to brothers, they are still of one family, each affected by their larger-than-life father who was murdered in the line of duty in an unsolved case. The story tracts a period of their lives where each is tested separately with personal choices and face the consequences of those choices. In the background is the case of the Boston Strangler which plays into the story with fascinating impact. Landay has a fine sense of Boston: the neighborhoods, the language, and its unique DNA. He builds his characters expertly, revealing their fears and needs and what drives them. From these parts, Landay produces a rich, complex, and enormously satisfying tale.

This author has great command of the English langueage and writes so well! BUT...his overuse of the F word was ludicrous. He prohably would have shortened this novel by at least 25 pages if he had edited out that highly overused word. This was a real page turner in spots...really held my attention and kept me reading, but it went on and on unnecessarily in other places. I very much liked the first book of his that I read (Defending Jacob) but could have skiipped this one and probably won't pursue anymore.

THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE AUDIOBOOK I started with Landay's newest novel (Defending Jacob), which was a great listen. It wasn't a book that engrossed me right upfront, but by the time I was just past the middle point, I didn't want to stop listening. As impressed as I was with Defending Jacob, I was more so with The Strangler. Landay has it down. He writes excellent, intriguing, fully fleshed characters. There's real drama here (as opposed to the melodrama you often find in sub-par mystery/crime novels). He's got a great ear for the way people speak (which shows with his character's dialogue). The story is excellent - there's never an instance of characters bending to plot; everything is organic, realistic, natural. Not only is the writing really good, but so is the narration. Stephen Hoye was perfect for this book. He did such a great job that I actually browsed other books he'd narrated in hopes I'd find something that interested me (I haven't yet, despite the extensive catalog). There's quite a large cast of main characters here, as well as an abundance of minor players, and Hoye was able to lend nuance to each voice so that, almost always, you knew who was speaking even if the context didn't clue you in. One evening, after driving home from work, I actually sat in my driveway, listening for an extra five minutes to a tense scene. I couldn't not know how that scene wrapped up before I tuned out for the day. And I couldn't wait to get back at it the next day. I've got several hundred books in my audible library, and there are perhaps only half a dozen or so I've gone back to for a second listen (to name a few: Hearts In Atlantis, A Widow for One Year, Terror's Echo: Novellas from Transgressions, American Gods). Even knowing how this one ends, I'll be going back for a second listen. I even bought a used paperback edition to loan out to friends, that's how much I liked this book. Both of Landay's other novels are good too, but this one was my favorite. I only wish he published more frequently.

Against the backdrop of the Kennedy assassination and the Boston Strangler murders, William Landay fashions a Irish Catholic family drama. Joe Daley, Sr. has been murdered under suspicious circumstances in the line of duty, and Mommy is shacking up with his old partner. Her three grown sons--Joe, Jr. (a meat-headed philandering cop with a gambling problem), Ricky, (a cat burglar) and Michael (a moody attorney)--are none too happy with this Greek-tragedy-in-the-making. It's all a bit too much, especially when the mob gets involved and a major character is killed (perhaps by the Strangler). That the book is readable at all says a lot about Landay's abilities. There are moments of genuine suspense here, and the characters a very clearly drawn. The ending is a corker. However, it's all a bit overwhelming. There is material here for two novels possibly, but neither of them feels fully realized in The Strangler.

I had already read his other two books, so I knew I liked William Landay. Having Read "Defending Jacob" first, I expected to be a little disappointed, but I was not. I found "The Strangler" to be a complex and interesting story and, as is Landay's style, the character development was excellently done. It takes place in Boston in 1963 and the town is dealing with it's fear of the strangler. The story centers around three brothers who are involved, one way or another, with the strangler. Joe is a cop, big and prone to violence. His character devolves throughout the book in a disturbing yet predictable ways. Ricky, a talented burgler, evolves throughout the story. His character is so likable that your heart breaks for him when tragedy strikes the woman he loves, but it is fascinating to follow his actions through the remainder of the story. Michael is perhaps the most transformed of the three brothers. He starts out as a somewhat underwhelming underachiever working as assistant to the attorney general. He is not as aggressive as either of his brothers, but is the smartest of the three. As tracking the strangler hits closer and closer to home personally and professionally, his behavior rises to the occasion in surprising ways. Landay does not seem to go for the everyone lives happily ever after endings, not an ending so tragic that it leaves you feeling terrible. His stories and characters are much more complex than that and his writing is always excellent. I loved this book and look forward to more from William Landay.

After reading Landay's Defending Jacob and loving it, I was excited to read another one of his books. I have found that in many crime fiction books that I have read in my career, the plot is a little slower to develop, and the same was the case for The Strangler. Landay does a nice job developing the personalities of the three brothers created in the story, all with different flaws that seem to come back to haunt them later on. Though the plot was a little slower to start, I was hooked by the end and engaged by the twists at the end of the novel when long-pondered secrets were unraveling and figured out by the brothers. By the end, I felt that there was closure both for the characters and myself as a reader. I did like Defending Jacob a lot more, but this is still a novel worth reading by Landay.

I have this on my Kindle and am currently at 77% read. I was struggling so mightily to get through it that I thought I'd come back to the reviews and see what others thought. I am afraid I must agree with the negative reviewers. I have been plodding through this book for weeks - can only manage a few pages a night before boredom sets in. I read Defending Jacob and loved it, hence I too am very disappointed in this effort. I echo the sentiments that I never found any of the main characters (the three brothers) worth caring about. As with the other reviewer, I kept expecting something to happen - something to reward me for hanging in there. Now I feel completely justified in "closing" this book without finishing it and won't feel a bit guilty about it.

William Landay's first novel was a quality genre contribution, and I have looked forward to his second. The title and theme (another serial killer, and a 60s period setting at that) nearly put me off - and how wrong I would have been. The background is Boston; the texture a particular period and set of killings; but the focus is the Daley family and the complex set of relationships and challenges they experience. The novel is as a much a moral journey as it is a crime procedural. It is crafted beautifully, written impeccably and easily transcends its ostensible subject matter. I recommend it very highly. In the league of Scott Turow for writing above the genre.

Great novel and easy to deal with in the Kindle

I think the story has been stretched too far. Took me days to finish. Its like a typical bollywood movie from the 90s. Villains rule all, then they kill the hero's father, brother. A thousand pages later, hero takes revenge.

I felt like there were too many storylines and it took a long time to really like any of the characters. It was entertaining but not nearly as good as Defending Jacob.

When we first meet the Daley brothers, John F Kennedy has just been shot and Boston is in the grip of the Boston Strangler. There are three brothers: cop Joe, lawyer Michael and thief, Ricky. Despite their differences, they are, ultimately, loyal only to each other. Their father, Big Joe, was also a cop and was shot and killed by a kid in an alley. This storyline, along with that of the Strangler and the mob's influence in the 'rebuilding' of Boston, create different threads through the book. This is an unusual crime book, having far more depth in characters than many other of the genre. Gradually, things begin to spiral out of control, as someone close to the family is killed by either the Strangler, or a copycat killer. And, if a copycat, then why? And why did nobody get caught for their fathers murder? The Daley brothers are under threat and, when the mob begin to lean on them, they are all under pressure. This is a very atmospheric book and I enjoyed the period setting and the way the author used the case of the Boston Strangler in the plot. There were quite a few different storylines running parallel and I think the book may have been brilliant if the author had perhaps concentrated on less. However, saying that, it was an extremely enjoyable novel and I recommend it highly. I read the kindle edition and it was well edited and typo free.