Bone in the Throat

Written by Anthony Bourdain

Narrated by Kaleo Griffith

A wildly funny, irreverent tale of murder, mayhem, and the mob.

When up-and-coming chef Tommy Pagana settles for a less than glamorous stint at his uncle’s restaurant in Manhattan’s Little Italy, he unwittingly finds himself a partner in big-time crime. And when the mob decides to use the kitchen for a murder, nothing Tommy learned in cooking school has prepared him for what happens next. With the FBI on one side and his eccentric wise guy superiors on the other, Tommy has to struggle to do right by his conscience and avoid getting killed in the meantime…

Stuffed with charming characters and peppered with Bourdain’s wry humor, Bone in the Throat is one satisfying feast of a novel.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Mar 15, 2016
• ISBN: 9780062447999

Anthony Bourdain

Anthony Bourdain was the author of the novels Bone in the Throat and Gone Bamboo, the memoir A Cook’s Tour, and the New York Times bestsellers Kitchen Confidential, Medium Raw, and Appetites. His work appeared in the New York Times and The New Yorker. He was the host of the popular television shows No Reservations and Parts Unknown. Bourdain died in June 2018.

Reviews for Bone in the Throat

[susandennis-139327 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Regular readers of this page might remember a few weeks ago, I reviewed Tony Bourdain's non-fiction book about working in restaurants. I started then looking for his two mysteries and finally found them when they were recently re-issued. This one is great. Tommy Pagana grew up on the fringe of the mob. He's an up and coming chef who's not interested in entering the family business. But, it's an uphill battle. The real gem in this book are the characters and the way the author makes them rise up off the page. This guy knows how to write.

[herschelian · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Chose to read this as a tribute to the late, great Anthony Bourdain, as I had never read any of his fiction. I had only read his non-fiction works about cooking and eatingWonderful culinary romp through the mob-controlled restaurants of Manhattan. More blood and gore than I usually enjoy, but pertinent to the story. Hilarious in places, and infuriating in places. Loved reading the book. It would make a great film.What a loss that he is no longer with us. RIP Anthony Bordain.

[whiteice-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Nice, easy read.

[marcella2010-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Edgy work of fiction. Well written.

[bookczuk · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

One of the books I purchased from The RAvenous Readers in the last days it was open. Love Bourdain's TV show and liked a memoir he wrote after this. Pat, from RR, said she enjoyed his foray into mystery, so I thought I'd give it a try. It was fine, not great, but fine. I have another and will be curious to see how his writing improves. (His language is pretty f--- heavy, but hey, he was writing about chefs and about gangsters. He's excused.

[laytonwoman3rd · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Gruesome, gristly, profane, provocative, and awfully funny. Bourdain has a talent for dialog, for setting the scene and for making the macabre comical. This crime novel is not for the squeamish, and beyond the butchery one expects from mob hits, it includes some kitchen shenanigans that will make you want to eat in for a while. I understand this was written (or at least published) before Bourdain's non-fiction Kitchen Confidential, but it describes many of the same behind-the-scenes restaurant practices with a potful of mayhem thrown in for good measure.

[pbandy_4 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A good read for a couple of days at the beach, coincidentally this is where I read it. Bourdain's wit shines through in two characters which seem to be Bourdain's own personality split in two: Tommy and his heroin addict friend. There is little mystery to the plot, however it is an enjoyable read if taken for what it is: a fun crime novel that takes place in Bourdain's home, the kitchen of a NYC restaurant. The hilarious interactions and sexual escapades of the crew of the struggling restaurant are enough to make this book well worth the read. This is no hard-boiled chef's novel or an existential examination of the interactions of a chef and the mob, it's a fun and sarcastic adventure laced with a few capped knees and removed digits.

[missteacher_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Though this is Bourdain's first novel, it is the second one I have read (after The Bobby Gold Stories). The beginning felt awfully formulaic, with a thug roughing someone up because they owed the boss money. This book is also centered around a restaurant, but delves much deeper in to dealings with the mafia and the workings of a kitchen. The characterization in this book is thorough, and the dialogue is witty, realistic, and quick. Bone in the Throat shakes the reader up more, and is suspenseful to almost the very end instead of falling flat and just kind of trailing. It is difficult to review this book without comparing it to Bobby Gold because they are so similar, but all in all, it's a better read.

[jontseng · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Not up to the high standards set by Kitchen Confidential, and not the definitive Chef novel. That has still to be written.

[5eva5 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I love Anthony Bourdain's food writing and his dry wit when it comes to food. A great mystery writer, he is not. This is somewhat entertaining, but humdrum as food writing and humdrum as mystery. If the two parts had been even slightly merged this may have worked, but they're so separate you wonder why they were ever part of the same plot. Just having a guy chopped up with a nice knife doesn't justify placing the plot in the kitchen. Too bad, but I think I'll stick to Bourdain's straight-up food writing in the future.