Rating: 
Summary: A great read
Review: After the events of DARKNESS, TAKE MY HAND, Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro close up their private detective agency in order to recuperate. Angie is grieving for the death of her ex-husband and Patrick wants to give her as much time as she needs to regroup. Billionaire Trevor Scott is a desperate man who does not like to wait. He is desperately searching for his daughter who has gone missing for several weeks now. He had hired Jay Becker, Patrick Kenzie's mentor, to find Desiree. Mr. Becker does his job and when he is ready to report to Mr. Scott he disappears. Trevor kidnaps Angie and Patrick since they were not taking his calls or accepting any new cases. He tells them that he is dying and he needs to see his daughter one last time. Mr. Scott believes that Desiree is still grieving from the death of her mother as well as her boyfriend so that she alienated herself from her family. He also tells them about Jay's disappearance. Patrick and Angie are intrigued and take the case. They forgot only one thing. Just like in most mystery novels, the client does not tell the private investigators the truth and that is just the case here. What follows is a roller coaster ride that sends Kenzie and Gennaro to a cult, a fraud scheme, and warped family values. These two classic characters are witty and a joy to read. Lehane takes them out of their Dorchester neighborhood in Boston and sends them to sunny Florida. They hate it because they do not know anybody in town. It will make the job of finding Desiree and Jay a bit harder but they manage. Once they find Ms. Stone the reader learns that she has a lot of issues with Daddy. She will do whatever it takes to get even. This novel had one of the best endings in which all the villains get their just desserts. You cannot help yourself in rooting for Angela. Patrick then decides what to do with the crooks with a devious plan. This book is second best to GONE, BABY, GONE, and it is highly recommended. Bubba even makes an appearance on this novel before having to spend a year in jail. He is always a hoot. If you have never met Bubba Rogowski now is the time. You do not want him to come over to your house to introduce himself.
Rating:
Summary: devilishly twisted
Review: Another Kenzie and Gennaro mystery - though slightly less satisfying that what I expect from Lehane. I continue to like the relationship between Kenzie and Gennaro - a relationship that avoids the sterotypical male-female detective team scenarios. Lehane is outstanding at managing that relationship and developing these characters into remarkable people. I particularly like their dialogue. What distresses me is that it seems each book in this series drags us deeper into the mire of human perversity and evil. There is a fascination for evil in Lehane's writing that sidles up to the prurient. This is not true of Kenzie and Gennaro's reactions which exemplify horror, disdain, sorrow and pain. It's in the narrative explicating the next new horror that this seems so troublesome. Don't get me wrong. Clearly if I weren't fascinated by this sort of thing, I wouldn't be reading books by Lehane. On the other hand, writing about such evils is risky. In the hands of a bad writer like Philip Margolin, this fascination with evil borders on pornographic exploitation where the reader senses that the author is more excited than merely fascinated by the brutalization of human beings. Lehane does not cross that line, but with each book he steps closer to the line.
Rating:
Summary: Can this man write or what?!
Review: "Sacred" is another awesome story of Patrick Kenzie & Angie Gennaro's adventures and again I found myself not wanting it to end. Creepy Billionaire Trevor Stone wants them to find his missing daughter Desiree and leaves them no choice but to take the case. Along the way it takes them to Florida and they realize that nothing is as it appears to be and aren't sure who to trust except each other. Dennis Lehane is a master storyteller and everyone should put this on their list of must read's now!
Rating: 
Summary: Lehane Avoids Sophomore Slump, But Not Third Book Slump
Review: _Darkness, Take My Hand_ was an amazing book--how often does a writer not only avoid the dreaded "sophomore slump," but actually turns out an even better, stronger book? Unfortunately, he doesn't avoid the slump altogether, he just delays it a bit. _Sacred_ is something of a disappointment after the one, two punch of his first two Kenzie/Gennaro books. It isn't as dark and there's quite a bit more humor on display--maybe that's the problem? I wasn't looking for Carl Hiaasen--I mean, when I pick up a Lehane, I'm expecting the dark, grim approach to life that the first two books set as the standard. This isn't a bad book--it is incredibly fast-moving (I still can't believe I read the whole thing in one day)--but it is probably the weakest book by Lehane that I've read (besides the first two Kenzie/Gennaro's, I've also read the amazing _Mystic River_--not nominated for the Edgar? He wuz robbed!).
Rating:
Summary: Another Score For Lehane
Review: I can't stress how good this guys books are. And while I didn't think it was as great as his previous two in the series, it still has moments that take your breath away. Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro are first introduced in his book, "A Drink Before the War." It's so important to start there and read them in sequence. "Sacred" begins in an alomst comical manner for the two detectives but in true Lehane style soon turns gritty and violent. They're asked, rather forcefully to track down a billionaire's daughter who has disappeared along with the original detective who was hired to find her. It just so happens the original detective was Patrick's mentor. These books are fast paced and you'll find yourself staying up late to finish them. What a great set of characters Lehane's created.
Rating: 
Summary: PRETTY DOG-GONE GOOD!!!!!
Review: Dennis Lehane has another good one in Scared. My only complaint is the book was a little to long. It had about 70 more pages than last one. I think some of the talking could have been left out, the action woudl have moved quicker and it would have been better, but then what do I know? Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro are their usual wise cracking selves. Trevor Stone hires them to find his daughter, or does he want her found? Kenzie and Gennaro go from Boston to Florida and back again. People are getting killed all aroung them but the somehow come through it alive. Being shot at, car wrecks, being buried alive, gased, all just in a days work for these two. The ending is very good, I liked what they did. Hope they can hold it together now that they are lovers. Really liked it better when they were just best of friends. I would suggest reading this series in order if you read it. It will be much better.
Rating:
Summary: An Outstanding and Varied Series
Review: Lehane's third novel in the series is outstanding. He somehow manages to avoid repeating himself the way so many other series authors do; his plot twists will surprise even the most sophisticated reader. His protagonists are likable as always. And the happy (in one important respect) ending is most welcome.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing Sacred
Review: With "Sacred," Dennis Lehane returns to the hard-boiled, in-your-face storytelling of his first novel in this series, "A Drink before the War." The story opens with Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro in semi-retirement, trying to recover from the emotional and physical trauma of "Darkness, Take My Hand." After being followed for several days, they decide to confront their tail, only find themselves knocked out and kidnapped. On awakening, they find themselves in the home of billionaire Trevor Stone who offers them $50,000 up front to find his daughter Desiree. Stone has only six months to live and desperately wants to see his daughter again before he dies. Not only has Desiree disappeared without a trace, Jay Becker, the detective hired to find her, is also missing. Drawn in by their sympathy for Stone, their friendship with Becker, and the lure of $50,000, Kenzie and Gennaro decide to come out of retirement and take the case. They manage to trace Desiree to Grief Release, Inc., a 'self-help' organization and immediately run into violent conflict with staff members. Angie breaks into their offices and steals some diskettes that contain incriminating evidence. It appears that Grief Release is a front organization for the Church of Truth and Revelation. 'Therapy' sessions are used to brainwash their victims into revealing extensive financial information that is then used to control them. Not only did Desiree fall victim to the cult, she became involved with Jeff Price, who recruited her. When he stole two million dollars from Grief Release, he took Desiree with him. Soon it appears that Jeff Price and Desire Stone have fled to Tampa, Florida, with Jay Becker in hot pursuit. Suddenly the pace picks up as their investigations in Florida lead to a roller coaster ride of death and betrayal. The more they investigate, the more Kenzie and Gennero realize that they really can trust no one. Lehane, once again, leaves no stone unturned in his efforts to baffle and astonish the reader. Every time that you think you have the story figured, out the plot takes another new twist. Kenzie and Gennaro wisecrack their way through on crisis after another making this a story that is impossible not to enjoy. Another success for Dennis Lehane.
Rating:
Summary: A fun, quick diversion from reality
Review: Ok. This is not literature, but it is a fun read. The action starts fairly quichly, and settles into a good pace. This was the first book by Dennis Lehane I have read, and I wish I would have read the other Kenzie - Gennaro books first. I wish I would have had more insight into the characters, but it did not hurt the book too much. Sacred's splash of mystery, quick pace and decent plot twists make this book a good read. It will not induce any bouts of deep thought, but every now and again it is good to have a change of pace. Read it.
Rating:
Summary: You'll stay up late with this one
Review: This book ROCKS! Much better than your average mystery, and the plot keeps twisting. I'm not quite finished reading it yet (almost) and I'm dying to leave work early to find out how it ends. BUY IT.
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