Darkly funny, shocking, and unblinking, The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne is a tour de force with a palpable rendering of place and time and unforgettable characters. Who would guess that there’s another Godfather saga, but this one exists in northern Maine and the principal in charge is named Babs Dionne?” —C.J. Box, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Battle Mountain
"A furious page-turner that kept me up way past my bedtime, a beautiful hymn to the lingering ghosts of Maine's French-Canadian past, and a harrowing meditation on what it means to assimilate into the great American experiment. The authenticity reaches up off the page and grabs you with two hands. Ron Currie is a literary beast." —Matthew Quick, New York Times bestselling author of The Silver Linings Playbook and We Are The Light
“The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne has everything I want in a novel: exquisite writing that’s at once gritty, poetic, and wry; an unputdownable story; and the perfect ending that leaves you teary and utterly satisfied.” —Angie Kim, New York Times bestselling author of Happiness Falls
“Currie's tense, inspired book introduces a character fans will not soon forget: Babs Dionne may not be The Godfather, but she runs the show in Waterville, Maine . . . Though Currie has flirted with crime writing in his previous novels, Dionne is his first full-throttled foray into the genre. It's a doozy, packed with dark humor and canny observations about small towns, matriarchal power, and the violence inherent in the never-ending war on drugs.” —Oprah Daily
“Currie has created a charming community to root for, even if, as the title suggests, all victories here are pyrrhic. A hyperviolent family saga with surprising amounts of humor and empathy.” —Kirkus (starred review)
“A master of witty, thoughtful fiction who does not retreat from tackling big concepts, Ron Currie explores new physical and emotional territory . . . Readers will [find] themselves tearing through pages and rooting for this little-known community and the families that lead it.” —Los Angeles Times
"[A] gritty, genre-blending crime saga. . . Darkly funny, this literary thriller delves into loyalty, identity and intergenerational resilience, delivering an unforgettable tale of power, love and survival in the heart of Maine.” —Seattle Times
“In Babs, a Franco-American crime boss who also happens to be a devoted grandmother, Currie has written one of those characters you never knew you needed until she appeared on the page. A Shakespearean drama in hardscrabble Maine, this is an addictive and unforgettable read.” —Boston Globe
“Marvelous. . . Currie’s passionate prose is so sharp it practically jumps off the page, igniting plenty of page-turning action. . . The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne is full of on-point social commentary, violence, savvy sleuthing, poignant characterizations—and loads of love and humor. With a top-notch blend of gritty mystery and bighearted drama, it’s Dennis Lehane meets Ann Patchett.” — BookPage (starred review)
“Violence, heartbreak, sorrow, and a dash of grim humor are splashed across the pages with abandon as Currie carefully chronicles the fascinating, unforgettable life of a woman who will do anything for her family, her French American heritage, and her town. Fans of Dennis Lehane’s Mystic River, as well as readers who appreciate their crime fiction served straight up with no chaser, will be mesmerized by Currie’s latest.” —Library Journal (starred review)
"Filled with idiosyncratic characters, Currie’s stirring, cinematic tale blends mystery, suspense, and domestic drama to incisively interrogate the limits of filial responsibility. It’s a major achievement." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“[T]hat’s what’s so exciting about Babs Dionne: it has all the familiar trappings of a crime novel but packed with immense amounts of thematic beef jerky to gnaw on. . . Like all worthwhile literature, The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne is a novel about the abject horrors of the human condition.” —Typebar Magazine
“Dive into this sad, intense, funny wrenching, superbly constructed saga . . . The characters are complex and stunningly drawn, and Currie tells an irresistible story.” —The Day
“What Dennis Lehane has done for the Irish of South Boston, Ron Currie does for the Acadians of Maine—lifting the lid on a community bound by the fiercest bonds of history, with all its love and pain. Heartfelt, beguiling, gritty, and true.” —Justin Cronin, author of The Ferryman
“A study of families, power, and violence with the sweep and texture of folklore.” —Flynn Berry, author of Trust Her
“Literary thrillers just don’t come any better than Ron Currie’s The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne. It’s profoundly serious and terrifying in equal measure.” –Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Somebody's Fool
"The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne is an ambitious novel that revolves around crime but that's really about class, prejudice, addiction, exploitation, war, trauma, loyalty, friendship, and above all about family. A remarkable achievement that's also a deeply enjoyable reading experience on every page." –Chris Pavone, author of Two Nights in Lisbon
“Ruthless, beautiful, cutthroat, gorgeous, poignant, incendiary, and important, The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne is simply one of the best novels I’ve read in years. It reveals the sharpest truths, the deepest cuts, and the toughest love. I am in awe.” —Ivy Pochoda, author of Sing Her Down, winner of the LA Times book prize
"The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne reads like a French-Canadian The Godfather, with the toughest women this side of Carmela Soprano. Beautifully written, with a wonderfully rendered, authentic Maine setting that you won't find on a postcard, this is the rare novel of equal appeal to fans of Elizabeth Strout and Dennis Lehane." —Michael Koryta, New York Times bestselling author of An Honest Man
"[Currie] never shies away from big questions about morality, history, and what role people play in the history of the universe.” —Mary Kassel, Screen Rant
“Currie’s tale and his powerful writing are reminiscent of small-town sagas by Richard Russo, and are peopled by the same kinds of won’t-let-you-go characters. An immersive book to be savored.” —firstClue
“Ron Currie doing a big family crime novel seems like a ticket to a great time to me.” —CrimeReads
“A gripping tale of love, power, and the inescapable pull of family legacies.” —Storizen
★ 2025-02-15
A matriarch struggles to keep her family alive and well in a drug-sick patch of Maine.
Babs Dionne, the hero of Currie’s bracing fourth novel, has a chip on her shoulder, and who can blame her? In 1968, when she was 14, she was raped by a policeman in her hometown; after she killed him, she was sent to a convent that helped her evade punishment, but that also separated her from her Francophone upbringing. (Her town, Waterville, has a neighborhood named Little Canada in tribute to its Quebecois roots.) Fast-forward to 2016, and Babs’ role as the town’s doyenne—achieved by running the community’s opioid trade, passively supported by police and religious leaders looking the other way—is starting to collapse. One of her daughters, Sis, is a meth addict who’s gone missing; her grandson needs rescuing from an abusive father; another daughter, Lori, is an Afghan war vet who’s shuffling between heroin and oxy. (We first meet her overdosing in a bar bathroom before a dose of Narcan saves her.) Meanwhile, a hitman for a rival dealer has arrived in town, ready to kill anybody standing in his way. The setting is almost relentlessly tragic and violent—oh, and there’s a meth-dealing serial killer on the loose—but Currie’s focus on Babs’ intense care for her family gives the novel an almost cozy temperament. "If you loved like Babs does, it would break you," a friend says, and Babs exemplifies a family that loves deeply if not always wisely. The plot turns on Babs’ efforts during a summer week to resolve a death in the family, protect who’s left, and start a school that’ll support the community’s dying Francophone culture. Nobody will confuse this for an Anne Tyler novel, but Currie has created a charming community to root for, even if, as the title suggests, all victories here are pyrrhic.
A hyperviolent family saga with surprising amounts of humor and empathy.
