William Boyle Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Anthologies

William Boyle is a reputed American writer famous for writing mystery, fiction, thriller, suspense, and crime novels. He is known to have written many successful standalone novels in his writing career. Some of his very popular works include novels like Gravesend, Death Don’t Have No Mercy, The Lonely Witness, etc. Author Boyle made his debut as an author with Gravesend in 2013. The book was released the number 1,000 story in the collection of Rivages/Noir in France. It was also shortlisted for the 2017 Prix Polar S.N.C.F., and received a nomination for Grand Prix Literature Policiere. In addition to this widely popular novel, author Boyle has penned a few short stories, most of which have been published in France only. The latest novel that author Boyle has completed writing is called Lonely Witness. It is out in the market from the Peagus Crime. This publishing house has entered a contract with author Boyle to reissue his debut novel, Gravesend, which is expected to get published in the last quarter of 2018. Author Boyle was born and brought up in Brooklyn, New York, United States. Currently, he resides in Oxford, Mississippi, United States.

Boyle developed the fondness for reading and writing at a very young age. He likes to read the works of prominent writers like Megan Abbott, Raymond Carver, David Goodis, Flannery O’Connor, Sara Gran, Willy Vlautin, Larry Brown, George Pelecanos, James Cain, Carson McCullers, Charles Portis, Denis Johnson, Jim Thompson, Ace Atkins, John Frante, Manchette, Donald Westlake, Charles Willeford, etc. He takes inspiration from each of the books he reads and always tries to come up with unique stories. In a very less time in his career, author Boyle has managed to get the support of a large of readers. The number of his fans has grown multiple folds over the last few years. Knowing that he has grown so much as a writer makes Boyle very happy and excited. He wishes to continue writing exciting stories for his fans for many more years to come. As of now, Boyle is working on the development of several stories and is expected to finish them and release very soon.

The debut book written by author William Boyle is entitled ‘Gravesend’. It was released by the Broken River publication in the year 2013. The lead characters of this book are shown as Ray Boy Calabrese, Conway D’Innocenzio, Alessandra, Eugene, and several others. At the start of the book’s story, it is shown that Ray Calabrese gets released from prison after serving 16 years for his involvement in a young man’s death. Conway D’Innocenzio is the brother of the victim. He is 29 years old and lives in Brooklyn. Conway gets himself wasted everyday at a local bar known as Rite Aid as he cannot get over the death of his brother. He is unable to get over his painful past and waits for the day he will kill Ray Boy and avenge his brother’s killing. And when the day finally comes guns are drawn out and chips put down, however, Conway realizes that he does not possess the courage to murder anyone. Following this realization, Conway heads on a journey of soul searching and self-loathing. He is joined on this journey by Alessandra. She is an unsuccessful actress, who cares very much about her widowed father named Eugene, who is the hellbound nephew of Ray Boy.

When Ray Calabrese arrives in Gravesend, he sees that some people want to murder him, while some others still worship him. However, no other person wants Ray dead than the former con himself. The way author Boyle has described the storyline of this novel shows that he has a lot of experience with Brooklyn’s working class lifestyle. He has communicated very well the small town feeling pertaining in numerous neighborhoods of New York. Boyle’s writing is taut and the movement of the narrative is consistent and certain. More than being a mysterious story, the novel shows how people get affected by place. Most parts of the story are dark, but there are some light rays as well. The characters in the story are well realized. Overall, author Boyle seems to have done a tremendous job in coming up with such a unique story. All these elements helped the book to become immensely successful and reach out to a large number of readers from across the globe.

Another popular book that Boyle has penned is called ‘The Lonely Witness’. This book was published by Pegasus in 2018. It features the central characters in the roles of Amy, Mrs. Epifanio, Diane, Vincent, etc. Author Boyle has done the setting of the book’s plot in Gravesend, Brooklyn. At the beginning of the story of the book, it is mentioned that Amy lives her life alone and keeps herself distant from others. She used to be party a lot some time back, but now, she spends all her time assisting the house bound receive communion in Gravesend. While visiting an apartment on her path owned by an elderly woman named Mrs. Epifanio, Amy learns that Mrs. Epifanio’s usual caretaker has not visited her for the last few days. The caretaker named Diane has a son, Vincent, who informs Amy and Mrs. Epifanio that Diane has flu.

By looking at the behavior of Vincent Amy suspects that there is something wrong and Vincent is hiding it from them. She gives her assurance to Mrs. Epifanio that she is going to find out what is actually going on with Diane and Vincent. Amy sets off on the trail of Vincent and follows him to all the places he visits throughout Brooklyn. She sees a mysterious man in Vincent’s company, who takes him to a dive bar. Initially, the men just seem to have a normal talk while walking. And before Amy could make out what is going on between them, Vincent gets killed. Amy couldn’t understand what went wrong. She seems captivated by the crime as well as the murderer. And instead of calling the cops and reporting about the murder, she picks up the weapon used in the murder and goes on the murderer’s trail. The book is filled with intriguing characters. Boyle description of the plot looks all evocative and character driven. By reading this book the readers face with crime & punishment’s harsh realities on the streets of the city.