The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne

De: Ron Currie

Narrado por: Lisa Flanagan

“Darkly funny, shocking, and unblinking, The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne is a tour de force”—C.J. Box, author of Battle Mountain

“An explosive thriller that leaps from the blocks and races to the finish…Babs Dionne herself is nothing short of a human keg of dynamite.” –Justin Cronin, author of The Ferryman

"A furious page-turner that kept me up way past my bedtime.” –Matthew Quick, author of The Silver Linings Playbook

When crime matriarch Babs Dionne’s youngest daughter is found dead, she will stop at nothing to uncover the truth—or get her revenge.

Your ancestors breathe through you. Sometimes, they call for vengeance.

Babs Dionne, proud Franco-American, doting grandmother, and vicious crime matriarch, rules her small town of Waterville, Maine, with an iron fist. She controls the flow of drugs into Little Canada with the help of her loyal lieutenants, girlfriends since they were teenagers, and her eldest daughter, Lori, a Marine vet struggling with addiction.

When a drug kingpin discovers that his numbers are down in the upper northeast, he sends a malevolent force, known only as The Man, to investigate. At the same time, Babs's youngest daughter, Sis, has gone missing, which doesn't seem at all like a coincidence. In twenty-four hours, Sis will be found dead, and the whole town will seek shelter from Babs’s wrath.

The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne is a gripping, propulsive, darkly funny thriller, with a ferocious matriarch at its bruised, beating heart. Award-winning author Ron Currie delivers an unforgettable crime saga about love, duty, and vengeance.

©2025 Ron Currie (P)2025 Penguin Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

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“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

“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

Pretty exceptional, especially for this transplant

I came to Maine in 1974, having grown up in New Jersey till 1970 and then living briefly in Colorado and Vermont. I was familiar with racism, but I'd no sense that the Franco-American population occupied the niche that the African-American occupied in New Jersey. Ron Currie has written a book from the inside of the Franco-American experience, with almost entirely female characters, that made me long to have had a family that cared so much about each other and felt so connected to their larger community. I especially liked the vicious portrayals of the white protestant gentry and realized that I had met those caricatures in the flesh. I'm pretty impatient with a lot of contemporary novels, but not this one.

Compelling Realty

One of the best novels ever read! The characters and story lines so real. Performance put you in the action. This author is a master smith of descriptive phrases!!

It was difficult to listen to because of all of the hurt, addiction, poverty and racism,but it was compelling

That it was dealing with difficult topics that are all to present in rural areas as businesses move out

Loved it

I met Mr. Curry at the airport in Wichita,Ks. We discussed books and I bought his book. I enjoyed it.

Mainiacs Marcia

I liked the story & characters. Reader was excellent in all aspects of story. Novel story of woman with a deep hatred for her abuse by corrupt policeman.

Love in all its heart breaking forms

Disliked all the swear words but recognize that profuse swearing is part of the American culture now!

Thoroughly enjoyed this

The pacing, characterization, overall story were highly enjoyable despite the difficult topics.

I would recommend this book

Opinion of a Central Maine Native

I was born in Waterville and grew up 20 miles north. Though not French-Canadian, my family roots run deep in Central Maine and Maritime Canada. My grandparents were farmers and woodsmen and my parents worked the mills & factories before transitioning to other trades that provided more job security. The author captures the culture of this area of the country, both the pain and the beauty, with amazing accuracy and depth.

Great Author, Great Book, Great Narrator

Ron Currie Jr. is already one of my favorite authors. I’ve never read anything of his that I didn’t like. If I had to describe his genre, I guess it would be sharp, modern, dark comedy-ish?

I really hope someone picks this book up for a movie. The way he paints rural Maine is spot-on, and his characters are deeply human and intense.

The book is a bit is strange, which I love. It is a bot violent, but only for the right reasons. It’s darkly funny in all the right ways. The dialogue feels real, the pacing moves along nicely, and the whole thing lingers with you—in that quiet, unsettling way Currie does so well.

Love strong women! Babs is a work of fictional art!

Such a good listen on the way to sin city. Loved the narrator loved the story