Saint of the Narrows Street

By: William Boyle

Narrated by: Carol Monda

A family stitched together by one violent, impulsive act. As the decades-long secret begins to unravel, one Italian American family will have to bear the consequences—and face each other—in this thrilling kitchen sink drama, a southern Brooklyn tragic opera of the highest caliber.

William Boyle is the master of Brooklyn-set crime fiction and Saint of the Narrows Street is his magnum opus. For fans of The Sopranos, Jonathan Lethem, and Dennis Lehane.

Gravesend, Brooklyn, 1986: Risa Franzone lives in a ground-floor apartment on Saint of the Narrows Street with her bad-seed husband, Saverio, and their eight-month-old baby, Fabrizio. On the night Risa’s younger sister, Giulia, moves in to recover from a bad breakup, a fateful accident occurs: Risa, boiled over with anger and fear, strikes a drunk, erratic Sav with a cast-iron pan, killing him on the spot.

The sisters are left with a choice: notify the authorities and make a case for self-defense, or bury the man’s body and go on with their lives as best they can. In a moment of panic, in the late hours of the night, they call upon Sav’s childhood friend—the sweet, loyal Christopher “Chooch” Gardini—to help them, hoping they can trust him to carry a secret like this.

Over the vast expanse of the next eighteen years, life goes on in the working-class Italian neighborhood of Gravesend as Risa, Giulia, Chooch, and eventually Fabrizio grapple with what happened that night. A standout work of character-driven crime fiction from a celebrated author of the form, Saint of the Narrows Street is a searing and richly drawn novel about the choices we make and how they shape our lives.

©2025 William Boyle (P)2025 Recorded Books

Truth hurts, sometimes it kills.

Tragic Brooklyn story that leaves you wondering if life has always been hard there. What is one to do when something they’ve done cannot be undone? Brilliantly narrated by Carol Monda, truly one of the best storytellers in the business.

Great Narrator

I enjoyed the listen. The narrator kept me glued to the time, the place, the people. The story was a bit predictable. The ending… although true to the story left me wanting.

Brooklyn MF’ers be crazy

Brooklyn MF’ers be crazy. Good story, wacky ending. I like this author. Brooklyn is f-ed.

Can't wait for the mini series!!!

Fantastic scene setting, details...I felt like I was there. Great pacing. Carol Monda's authenticity lends such realism to the narrative. The unusual choice of present tense also adds an immediacy. I'm already casting the roles!!

Decent people stuck in a terrible situation

Spoiler alert: I’m not giving details of exactly what happened, but I can’t help but describe how this story made me feel, and in doing so, providing the general path of this book.

This is a very well written and performed story, but I can’t say I liked it. In fact, there was very little to enjoy in this sordid and heavy tale. It’s very depressing and left me with a hopeless feeling for these characters. It’s realistic, and paints a seedy side of life.It portrays a neighborhood in which young men & some young women succumb to bad behavior and just go down from there, forsaking even their families. However, the three main characters are not evil
people, but with so much badness all around them, the possibility of not being affected by it is very slim.
They made a bad choice out of desperation, fear, and fierce protectiveness that takes their lives down a path of forever being haunted. Their backs were against a wall, they were very young, and they couldn’t see a better way out of the dilemma in which they struggled, although most people probably would not have done what they did. They didn’t act quickly enough in the beginning, and that pushed them into the poor action they took.
I felt extremely sorry for the young woman at the center, and the young man who helps her. They are good people, but in the world in which they lived, it was inevitable that they were doomed for sadness. Life is tough in certain areas. and it’s hard to imagine living with much joy in such a place.
I kept hoping that something would turn up to end the story on a decent note. An epilogue with at least a bit of peaceful
closure would have helped, but under their circumstances, the harsh ending is more probable. At least we could have been provided with the aftermath of the injured person at the end.