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by Ron Currie
A mythic, propulsive novel about the tangled fates of a matriarchal crime family in Maine.
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 crime saga like no other, with a ferocious matriarch at its bruised, beating heart. With sharp wit and profound empathy, award-winning author Ron Currie, delivers an unforgettable novel exploring love, retribution, and the ancestral roots that both nurture and trap us.
Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award 2026
Here is an interesting award recognizing distinguished fiction that tells American stories in a uniquely American voice, one that reflects Mark Twain's incisive curiosity and humanity. Celebrating its tenth year. Longlist 2026 Are You Happy?: Stories — Lori Ostlund Atavists: Stories — Lydia Mille...
-Anne_Glasgow
"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 Reviews (starred review)
"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)
"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
This information about The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Ron Currie is the award-winning author of five novels. He has won the New York Public Library's Young Lions Award, the Addison M. Metcalf Award, the Alex Award, and the Pushcart Prize. His books have been translated into fifteen languages, and his short fiction and nonfiction have received recognition in Best American anthologies. As a screenwriter he worked most recently on the Apple TV+ series Extrapolations and has developed projects with AMC Studios, Amblin Television, and ITV America. He lives in Portland, Maine, and teaches in the University of Southern Maine Stonecoast MFA program.
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