Rating: 
Summary: Not perfect, but close
Review: This is the third in Dennis Lehane's series of Boston-based, hard boiled-but-hip private eye novels featuring the team of Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro. This time, he refreshes his formula by taking his characters to a new locale, the Tampa-St.Petersburg area in Florida. What remains constant, however, is that Lehane has crafted another action-packed mystery thriller that once started is hard to put down.In each successive book, Lehane has further developed his ability to create plot lines that feature the twists, turns, and surprises that characterize only the very best action/mystery novels. In *Sacred*, he keeps the reader guessing right up until very close to the end of the book, and for this reason alone, the novel can be highly recommended. But Lehane does not just tell a good story, he writes exceedingly well and has a gift for describing characters, places, and human emotions that is rare within the detective genre. And to add frosting to the cake, in this novel he includes, almost in passing, some apt critical social commentary regarding the rapaciousness of the current "globalization" trend within the corporate world and Americans' overall obliviousness to the dark underside of this ongoing phenomenon. Is the book perfect? No, there are some minor shortcomings, in my opinion. The ending is a bit on the theatrical side (perhaps the book might someday become a Hollywood film?) and I confess that I found the turn toward deep romantic engagement between Patrick and Angela more boring than gratifying. In terms of further developing the nuances of his main characters, Lehane has essentially taken a vacation in *Sacred*. Maybe next time. Let me add that I was surprised to see that there is apparently an ongoing misconception among readers of this book that Lehane made a "glaring error" by including a clue involving the title of a 1965 Bob Dylan composition, "Positively Fourth Street." In fact, Lehane made no such error. On page 174, the clue offered by detective Jay Becker was, "Bob Dylan in St. Pete. . . Songs, not albums." Yup, "Positively Fourth Street" was indeed a well-known Bob Dylan song, so what's the problem? Overall, *Sacred* is a darned good read, a page-turner that stands head and shoulders above most other books in its genre. Consequently, I'm looking forward to moving on to the next volume in the Kenzie/Gennaro saga, "Gone, Baby Gone."
Rating: 
Summary: Sacred
Review: I enjoyed "Sacred". Dennis Lehane is one of the finest authors out there today. This one is not as good as his other novels, but is worth your time.If you want a good suspense novel, read Dennis Lehane.
Rating:
Summary: Solid, fast-paced read
Review: I have read 3 of Lehane's books and have enjoyed them all. The dialogue is always entertaining and the characters are intriguing. I recommend this to anyone that enjoys a fast-paced and twisting storyline with a healthy amount of sexual innuendo.
Rating:
Summary: Thrilling
Review: If Dennis Lehane wrote page after page of grocery shopping ...I'd still read it in one sitting. Angie and Patrick are, alas!, not real, but boy, are they fun! The dialogue is crisp, the rogues are, well, rough, the good guys are not entirely good and the bad guys (you get the drift)... A page turner for me.
Rating: 
Summary: Not as Taunt as "Darkness Take My Hand"
Review: I'm hooked on Lehane, however this episode lacks the tension of "Darkness Take my Hand", and the usual turn of the phrase that was first introduced in "A Drink Before the War". I suspect this is a "watershed" story for the author, as he tries to start writing himself a pension though creating a series. (P.S. Patrick drives a '59 Porsche in "Drink" which becomes a '63 in "Darkness". Also, I believe his crib moves from the second floor to the third in these stories.)
Rating:
Summary: Excellent thriller!
Review: You have to love Lehane's work, it is brilliant! This is another excellent offering that brings the reader back into the lives of Patrick and Angie, two PI's, that are so damn good you would definately want them working for you, if they were real! Lehane has excellent character development and such razor-sharp dialogue between all his characters, that you forget that they are not real people. The story goes at break-neck speed and has great twists and turns, that you would never see coming. Apart from all of these sensational aspects, the one thing that Lehane is really good at is introducing humour in this genre. I have never read brilliant thrillers that have a great humour in them as well - probably as good as Janet Evanovich, but with more realistic drama. Sacred is basically about Patrick & Angie being hired by a terminally-ill very rich man looking for his daughter who has disappeared..along with the best PI that money can buy. Patrick & Angie spend their entire time trying to trace both of them, but along the way encounter cults and a high body count. This is not really along the same lines as Lehane's 'Darkness, Take my Hand' or 'Gone Baby Gone', but Lehane has such a high standard that it would be too difficult for him to write 5 star books constantly. If you love crime/thrillers with a bit of humour thrown in along with a dash of the 2 most brilliant PI's that are around, then you will love Sacred!
Rating:
Summary: A well paced read.
Review: Two years ago I plodded thru his "Darkness, Take My Hand" and it just did not electrify me. All the feedback put me in the vast minority. Now after reading "Sacred" in one day I understand why Mr. Lehane is getting raves. This is a momentum book...a bit slow developing, but about a third of the way thru it picks up speed and goes nonstop to the ending. The conclusion does require a major suspension of disbelief, but that does not diminish the chase. For me, the payoff was the chase rather than the finale. The red herrings and misdirections kept me guessing and turning the pages. The building action was such that Mr. Lehane left me hanging at the end of a chapter, forcing me to read "just one more chapter"...and then one more etc. Just three sittings to complete "Sacred." As a Floridian I particularly enjoyed the scenes in the Tampa Bay area. That made me wonder if the Florida setting made the difference in my enjoyment of Mr. Lehane. I will sample another of his works shortly to see if it is the author or simply the book that won me over. I hope it's the former as it would be wonderful to have another writer whose books are impossible to put down.
Rating:
Summary: Well done thriller.
Review: This is the first book I have read by Lehane, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I found it to be a tight novel with real characters and written intelligently. The twists are (for the most part) not forced and force the reader to re-examine details several times before understanding their importance. I am a big fan of Michael Connelly's books and this book has many of the same kind of appealling characteristics. In fact, stylistically it reminded me of Connelly's Trunk Music. After reading (listening to) this one, I plan to get the other books in the series. Great work.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic first Lehane experience
Review: Thanks to recommendations about authors and books I picked up Sacred and did not put it down until I just finished it. I read Sue Grafton, I read Lawrence Sanders (the real author) and now have a fantastic new author to read. Thank you
Rating:
Summary: Not his best work, but stick with it
Review: Maybe Lehane was tired when he put this one together. I don't know. Sacred is not in the same league as A Drink Before the War or Darkness, Take My Hand, but it does move fast and gives us some more character development of Angie, Patrick and a bit more of Bubba. That character development alone, is handy when you get to his later novels (Gone, Baby, Gone and Prayers for Rain). Although the story is on the predictable side, we still come away knowing Lehane's main cast a bit better and he's always good for the sharp-as-a-tack wit. I absolutely love the way his books make me laugh -- not something you expect in this genre.
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