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readalot662f9's review against another edition
2.0
The best thing about the novel is the tour of parts of Brooklyn most of us who live outside the borough will ever see. In fact, I wish the publisher had put a map on the front and back board and flyleaf of the area covered. Or two pages, with a fold out, at the front of the book. It became a real drag going to Google Maps to get a sense of place. Come to think of it, I think the author did a poor job making it possible for the reader to know just what the places were like.
Made it 3/4 of the way through the book and while walking my dog I thought, "Why are you reading this? Who cares about Amy, her father, Dom, and anyone else?" Then I put it down.
Made it 3/4 of the way through the book and while walking my dog I thought, "Why are you reading this? Who cares about Amy, her father, Dom, and anyone else?" Then I put it down.
mandastgeorge's review against another edition
2.0
Really couldn't relate to the protagonist. Boyle could have ended the book halfway but then came up with another far-fetched scenario. Seemed like he just wanted to add pages and that really turned me off
karlou's review against another edition
5.0
The Lonely Witness is a relatively short read but it is packed with all the elements of a great crime story. In Amy Falconetti, William Boyle has created a fascinating, nuanced character whose response to witnessing a murder is shocking but somehow also entirely understandable; his other characters are a richly drawn study of the people of Brooklyn with the neighbourhood becoming almost a character in itself, so vividly described are Boyle's descriptions of the area, and the uncompromising, taut plot is much an exploration into change and self as it is a thriller.
Amy doesn't witness the murder until a few chapters into the book but it is immediately clear she has turned her back on her troubled past. Having found religion, she has decided to give something back and has become a Eucharistic Minister. She brings communion to the old people in the neighbourhood but more importantly, she has time for them and listens to their stories. She's the sort of upstanding citizen who upon seeing a violent crime would ordinarily try to assist the victim and summon immediate help. When she not only fails to do this but also removes the murder weapon from the scene, it suddenly becomes evident that there is more to this women and her quiet life.
Her actions spark a change in her and as she is reminded of who she once was, she begins to revisit her past. She is tortured by what she has done and yet she can't deny she also feels more excited than she has for years. Even as she realises she may now be in danger herself, she can't resist the pull of her former, more chaotic life and when her previous girlfriend, Alessandra comes back on the scene, she has to decide who the true Amy really is. The traumatic events of Amy's past have led to her seemingly trying on roles from hedonistic party girl to devout churchgoer but now she is stripped bare of the obsessions she has relied on as a form of protection and the increasingly tense narrative is driven both by the ominous feeling that Amy is in over her head and the complexity of her character as she questions just what she could be capable of.
Although the story may be darkly intense, William Boyle's writing is evocatively poetic creating the strong sense of place that pervades the novel throughout. His unflinching descriptions of people's homes, the streets they pass through, the restaurants and bars they visit is never sentimental but still honours the strength and humour of the residents and the sense of community that is simultaneously supportive and claustrophobic.
The Lonely Witness is an edgy, contemporary story of survival and is one of the most original and riveting books I have read this year. It's billed as a sequel to Gravesend but as Amy only had a small role in that book, it can easily be enjoyed as a standalone novel - although after consuming The Lonely Witness in a day, I fully intend to read the first book too. This is noir crime fiction at its most immersive and I can't wait to read more.
Amy doesn't witness the murder until a few chapters into the book but it is immediately clear she has turned her back on her troubled past. Having found religion, she has decided to give something back and has become a Eucharistic Minister. She brings communion to the old people in the neighbourhood but more importantly, she has time for them and listens to their stories. She's the sort of upstanding citizen who upon seeing a violent crime would ordinarily try to assist the victim and summon immediate help. When she not only fails to do this but also removes the murder weapon from the scene, it suddenly becomes evident that there is more to this women and her quiet life.
Her actions spark a change in her and as she is reminded of who she once was, she begins to revisit her past. She is tortured by what she has done and yet she can't deny she also feels more excited than she has for years. Even as she realises she may now be in danger herself, she can't resist the pull of her former, more chaotic life and when her previous girlfriend, Alessandra comes back on the scene, she has to decide who the true Amy really is. The traumatic events of Amy's past have led to her seemingly trying on roles from hedonistic party girl to devout churchgoer but now she is stripped bare of the obsessions she has relied on as a form of protection and the increasingly tense narrative is driven both by the ominous feeling that Amy is in over her head and the complexity of her character as she questions just what she could be capable of.
Although the story may be darkly intense, William Boyle's writing is evocatively poetic creating the strong sense of place that pervades the novel throughout. His unflinching descriptions of people's homes, the streets they pass through, the restaurants and bars they visit is never sentimental but still honours the strength and humour of the residents and the sense of community that is simultaneously supportive and claustrophobic.
The Lonely Witness is an edgy, contemporary story of survival and is one of the most original and riveting books I have read this year. It's billed as a sequel to Gravesend but as Amy only had a small role in that book, it can easily be enjoyed as a standalone novel - although after consuming The Lonely Witness in a day, I fully intend to read the first book too. This is noir crime fiction at its most immersive and I can't wait to read more.
moreadsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
"No way was it wrong to chase a feeling, to be unhinged, to act out of fear and fascination. How did she lose that knowledge? Whatever she'd gained had led to so much lost."
For my entire life I've been telling people that fall is my favorite season because it's when the light changes, everything dies off, and as such it's incredibly goth. In reality, however, fall makes me endlessly anxious and depressed and is the start of the nightmare season of winter and every year I get to about November and I'm over it. What I really crave as a person is natural light until nine at night, warmth, and no enforced bedtimes for my child, so I am boldly proclaiming my truth: summer is really where it's at, especially the beginning of June. And this is exactly the type of kick in the pants book that I needed to start off my summer, the type where you pick up, read the first few pages, and then moments later it's been three hours and you're 2/3s of the way through. Amy Falconetti wears sensible pants now instead of swing capris and sugar skull flats and she takes communion to the housebound ladies in her church instead of tending bar, but that doesn't stop her from making an escalating series of terrible choices after witnessing a murder. This is filled with perfectly drawn neighborhood characters like lonely, chatty landlord Mr. Pezzolanti, heartbroken Diane Marchetti, little Mrs. Epifanio, Connie Giacchino, Monsignor Riccardi, and Mrs. Mescolotto, who yells things like, "You call the cops, and I'll have this fucking place blown up with you inside. You know my father, Jimmy Longabardi? You know that name?" This is smooth and quick and beautifully written and the last thirty or so pages are masterful, just impeccably-realized scenes that had me fanning myself because they were so great. Summer, come get me.
For my entire life I've been telling people that fall is my favorite season because it's when the light changes, everything dies off, and as such it's incredibly goth. In reality, however, fall makes me endlessly anxious and depressed and is the start of the nightmare season of winter and every year I get to about November and I'm over it. What I really crave as a person is natural light until nine at night, warmth, and no enforced bedtimes for my child, so I am boldly proclaiming my truth: summer is really where it's at, especially the beginning of June. And this is exactly the type of kick in the pants book that I needed to start off my summer, the type where you pick up, read the first few pages, and then moments later it's been three hours and you're 2/3s of the way through. Amy Falconetti wears sensible pants now instead of swing capris and sugar skull flats and she takes communion to the housebound ladies in her church instead of tending bar, but that doesn't stop her from making an escalating series of terrible choices after witnessing a murder. This is filled with perfectly drawn neighborhood characters like lonely, chatty landlord Mr. Pezzolanti, heartbroken Diane Marchetti, little Mrs. Epifanio, Connie Giacchino, Monsignor Riccardi, and Mrs. Mescolotto, who yells things like, "You call the cops, and I'll have this fucking place blown up with you inside. You know my father, Jimmy Longabardi? You know that name?" This is smooth and quick and beautifully written and the last thirty or so pages are masterful, just impeccably-realized scenes that had me fanning myself because they were so great. Summer, come get me.
dundermifflin's review
2.0
The best thing about the novel is the tour of parts of Brooklyn most of us who live outside the borough will ever see. In fact, I wish the publisher had put a map on the front and back board and flyleaf of the area covered. Or two pages, with a fold out, at the front of the book. It became a real drag going to Google Maps to get a sense of place. Come to think of it, I think the author did a poor job making it possible for the reader to know just what the places were like.
Made it 3/4 of the way through the book and while walking my dog I thought, "Why are you reading this? Who cares about Amy, her father, Dom, and anyone else?" Then I put it down.
Made it 3/4 of the way through the book and while walking my dog I thought, "Why are you reading this? Who cares about Amy, her father, Dom, and anyone else?" Then I put it down.
tonstantweader's review
3.0
William Boyle’s The Lonely Witness drew me in with the title. It is a compelling idea. I can imagine all sorts of stories with a lonely witness, but none of my imaginings came close to the wild ride Boyle takes us on. We begin with Amy, a heartbroken young woman who has lost her mojo after her lover Alessandra left her to pursue success in Hollywood. She drops out of the world of bars and parties and began volunteering at the neighborhood church, bringing communion to seniors in the neighborhood. The mystery begins when a neighborhood tough guy frightens one of the women she visits. He says his mom is ill but they begin to wonder if he murdered her. Amy investigates and witnesses his murder.
This is not the first time she saw a murder. The last time she was a child and she never told anyone, even after she was threatened and menaced by the killer. She inexplicably does the same, not calling the police, not admitting she saw the crime, and then trying to find the murderer, though with no idea why.
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2018/04/05/9781681777955/
I like this book a little more than I think it deserves. I liked Amy even though she is someone life happens to rather than someone who makes life happen. Usually, I hate that, but she has a tenacious quality, a sullen stubbornness, that I like even though she is not the brightest bulb in the store. Perhaps instead of being the Lonely Witness, she is more the Witless Loner.
This is not a big mystery. You know who the killer is as soon as Amy does when she sees him. He’s not the brightest bulb either. No one shines. In a way, the most sympathetic character is the recovering alcoholic who has decided to come back to Amy seeking forgiveness after abandoning her and her mother when Amy was a child. Amy is not interested, though she is polite. After all, she thought he was dead.
In a way, it seems like Amy is in a funk and perhaps she’s one of those people who need a good murder to get out of it.
I received an e-galley of The Lonely Witness from the publisher through NetGalley. It will be released May 1st.
The Lonely Witness at Pegasus Books
William Boyle author site
This is not the first time she saw a murder. The last time she was a child and she never told anyone, even after she was threatened and menaced by the killer. She inexplicably does the same, not calling the police, not admitting she saw the crime, and then trying to find the murderer, though with no idea why.
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2018/04/05/9781681777955/
I like this book a little more than I think it deserves. I liked Amy even though she is someone life happens to rather than someone who makes life happen. Usually, I hate that, but she has a tenacious quality, a sullen stubbornness, that I like even though she is not the brightest bulb in the store. Perhaps instead of being the Lonely Witness, she is more the Witless Loner.
This is not a big mystery. You know who the killer is as soon as Amy does when she sees him. He’s not the brightest bulb either. No one shines. In a way, the most sympathetic character is the recovering alcoholic who has decided to come back to Amy seeking forgiveness after abandoning her and her mother when Amy was a child. Amy is not interested, though she is polite. After all, she thought he was dead.
In a way, it seems like Amy is in a funk and perhaps she’s one of those people who need a good murder to get out of it.
I received an e-galley of The Lonely Witness from the publisher through NetGalley. It will be released May 1st.
The Lonely Witness at Pegasus Books
William Boyle author site
readalot662f9's review
2.0
The best thing about the novel is the tour of parts of Brooklyn most of us who live outside the borough will ever see. In fact, I wish the publisher had put a map on the front and back board and flyleaf of the area covered. Or two pages, with a fold out, at the front of the book. It became a real drag going to Google Maps to get a sense of place. Come to think of it, I think the author did a poor job making it possible for the reader to know just what the places were like.
Made it 3/4 of the way through the book and while walking my dog I thought, "Why are you reading this? Who cares about Amy, her father, Dom, and anyone else?" Then I put it down.
Made it 3/4 of the way through the book and while walking my dog I thought, "Why are you reading this? Who cares about Amy, her father, Dom, and anyone else?" Then I put it down.
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