Rating: 
Summary: Ultra-violent, ultra creepy, you'll want a shower afterwards
Review: This is not Lehane writing in the intellectual, psychological vein of "Mystic River," which I found brilliant. This is one of his Kenzie/Gennaro mysteries. They're darker (if you can believe it), pulpier, extremely violent, but highly readable page-turners. I have to admit that, for me, all the killing (psychotic torture, in this one) became more than a bit wearing, and ultimately produced an "oh,come on -- enough already" attitude on my part. I guess serial killers really do exist, but the plot of "Darkness, Take My Hand" ended up being just a bit too ridiculously unbeleavable, in my opinion. And I'm beginning to sour on Pat and Angela, whose morals are at best questionable. (Are all cops and PIs in Boston truly this cavalier about justice and the worth of human life -- even the bad guys? And if their good pal and psycho bodyguard Bubba is comic relief, I guess I have no sense of humor.) Lastly, the main villain's identity was pretty clear from mid-book. All-in-all, in "Darkness" Lehane is trying to muscle in on Hannibal Lecter territory, with limited success. It's a good disposable read, but one that's highly flawed.
Rating: 
Summary: competent Lehane mystery falls short of 'classic' status...
Review: 'Darkness, Take My Hand' is certainly a book not for the squeamish, as are Lehane's other books. In it we have our Boston private eyes (a man/woman pairing who, naturally, form something beyond a professional relationship) embroiled in a mystery where psychopaths mutilate residents of an inner Boston neighborhood. As the story unravels we understand these criminal monsters actually have their origins many years earlier, with a direct relationship to one of the private eye's own childhood. This book is filled with Lehane's characteristic plot twists, and the story matures nicely to a fine conclusion.But this book is not great. I felt the prose was somewhat weaker than in other Lehane novels; this man is capable of writing *literature*. But 'Darkness...' seems to be relatively devoid of witty dialogue or sparkling prose, unlike for example 'Prayers for Rain'. However Lehane is still in fine form with wonderful characterizations. Bottom line: a nasty and disturbing story of depravity and corruption. Not amongst Lehane's best but still a very worthy read.
Rating:
Summary: An Aptly Titled Mystery
Review: Dennis Lehane is an acclaimed mystery writer whose recent novel, Mystic River, has been made into a current hit movie. Before Mystic River, however, Lehane was exploring Boston's dark and gritty underside in a series featuring PI's Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro. Darkness, Take My Hand, is the second of the series and the first Lehane I've read. The novel starts simply enough with a request from psychiatrist, Diandra Warren, who has received a threat against her son and who wants the PI duo to discover the nature of the threat. At first, Patrick and Angie seem to be normal human beings simply doing a job, though sexual tension between the two is suggested, but as the novel progresses both are revealed to have had troubled lives touched by, yes, darkness. But violence soon erupts in a series of murders, dismemberments, and other grotesque events. With them emerges a passel of pathological misfits, all of whom seem to have some connections with one another in their dark corner of Boston. The FBI enters the picture; so do the local police. The book is not the type to read hit and miss inasmuch as the complexities of plot and the large cast of nasties are difficult to keep track of. Sex is also present in graphic terms and scenes. Lehane seems to be saying that we can never escape the past, the hurts, the disappointments, the brutalities of life. This is not a book for the squeamish or those whose idea of mysteries is the British-style cozies of gentility and manners. So be forwarned. But if you like dipping into the darkness (there, I've used that word again!) of the soul and the depraved thoughts, words, and deeds of some members of the human race, then read this novel. If not, leave it on the library shelf.
Rating:
Summary: It's so close to five stars, but
Review: one of the characters is so terrible. I don't understand the allure of Angie Gennaro. She is so perfect, apparently, that whenever she leaves the room - which seems to happen so often it might be a plot device - other characters simply have to gush to Kenzie about how great she is. She seems a little rude, self-centered, and co-dependent but who wouldn't be if one was so lucky to be absolutely perfect. Other than that the book is great. I think the types of mysteries that Lehane writes - dark, brooding, complex, and psychological - are my favorites. He doesn't explain to much - except about Angie's perfectness - and it feels like you're getting a glimpse into the criminal world that's far more fascinating than having everything neatly explained and packaged.
Rating: 
Summary: A Tour to the Dark Side of Human Behavior
Review: This is Dennis Lehane's second outstanding novel and once again we're taken on a tour of the dark side of human behavior. Sometimes I even found myself rooting for the bad guy. But there is no question about it, if you're a reader of mystery, suspense or thriller books, you simply can't ignore Lehane. In "Darkness" Patrick and Angie come back from Lahane's hugely successful debut novel "A Drink Before the War," and they're hired to shadow a college kid because his mother fears for his safety and the surveillance job quickly turns into a life and death situation for the duo. Bodies keep piling up. There's a link to a killer from the past, but it can't be him as he's still in jail. Patrick and Angie (who thankfully is shed of her abusive husband by now) have to make it through this case alive and it isn't going to be easy. One thing of note about this book, Lehane lets us get a hundred pages into the book before he introduces the serial killer, quite a refreshing difference than the usual opening of a brutal murder on page one seen though the killer's eyes. Lehane skillfully brings us along with his characters and we find out what's going on as they do. Great writing. Five stars, even though there was a little to much of the icky stuff for me, I still couldn't put it down. Review submitted by Captain Katie Osborne
Rating:
Summary: Not Easily Forgotten
Review: Dennis Lehane kept me up late last night. I had begun reading 'Darkness, Take My Hand,' and I couldn't put it down. The prologue sets up what promises to be a very tragic story, and Lehane delivers. The prologue leaves a few questions unanswered, and you have to read through the novel to find out what the answers really are. The second novel in the Kenzie/Gennaro series finds Patrick Kenzie accepting employment from a woman who has recently received a threatening phone call and a picture of her college son in the mail. Quite simply, she wants Kenzie and his partner Angie Gennaro to find out who is stalking her. Kenzie and Gennaro suspect that the ghoulish Kevin Hurlihy of the Irish mafia in Massachussetts in involved. A quick meeting with the Irish mafia casts a cloud over this suspicion and subsequent work on the case raises new suspects. An old acquaintance of Kenzie's is murdered in grizzly fashion, and Kenzie is left wondering if this has anything to do with the case he is working on. From this point on, the novel becomes somewhat complicated. The investigation into the threatening calls and photographs grows to include a serial killer or maybe two. The police force, FBI, and Kenzie's walking terror of a friend named Bubba all get involved. Other crime fiction writers would do well to study Lehane's work. He has mastered the ability to create suspense and tension in a way that so many other authors in the genre have not realized yet. Kenzie and Gennaro, plus the law enforcement officers that work around them, actually do detective work and do not wait for all the clues to conveniently fall in their lap. Lehane finds ways to include twists that aren't quite as shocking as surprising as say James Patterson's, but highly effective. The novel is very dark and comments on the social depravity of Kenzie's surroundings. Gritty is probably an appropriate adjective for this novel. I would recommend this novel to anyone that likes crime fiction or a good suspenseful story. It is a page turner. A word of caution though, it is very graphic in many descriptions of violence. This novel is not for the ultra-squeemish. It also has some sexually explicit scenes and would not be appropriate for some younger readers. The writing in this novel is simply superior and I give it my highest rating.
Rating:
Summary: Apt and Meaningful Title
Review: For a detective thriller, this isn't exactly light reading. Like the title warns you, it is indeed dark, and peers into a darkness within the souls of the characters. The prologue sets us up to be prepared for some rather serious and unhappy occurances in the book...maybe not what we expect, but still we're warned that this book won't be all fun and games. The woman who hires Kenzie fears that she and her son are being targeted and this leads him eventually into the tracking of a serial killer who may have been involved with murders that occured 20 years ago. Eventually, he finds connections even with his own family and neighborhood. There's an undercurrent in the novel touching on how violence poisons the inner being of all involved, a theme that apparantly is recurrent in Lehane's books. There's genuine literary quality in Lehane's writings. There's also a tragic and fatalistic aura about his stories. Kenzie is faced not only with the challenge of doing the jobs he's hired for but also with the challenge of retaining his own soul, his own feeling of rightness. This works both as a well plotted mystery and also as a walk on the very dark side of human nature.
Rating:
Summary: I was hoping for more...
Review: Yes, this is an interesting neighborhood for a PI tale, but good grief, the violence and gore are somewhat overdone. Futher, there are some big holes in the plot, and too many convenient wrap-ups, to make this a plausible story. I was hoping for more...
Rating:
Summary: Took a Chance and liked it!!
Review: This was my first DL. It was a good suspense story and the scene with the enforcer describing how he "jumed on a man's back in order to break his spine" still bothers me.
Rating:
Summary: Patrick Kenzie returns
Review: Darkness, Take My Hand is the second book in Dennis Lehane's series about Patrick Kenzie. The first book, A Drink Before the War, was also Lehane's first novel and it won the Shamus award. Patrick Kenzie is a cynical, often funny, sometimes poignant Boston PI who works out of an old church belfry with his partner Angie Gennaro, and who now has a girlfriend, Grace, who has a daughter, Mae. In the beginning, Patrick is contacted by a woman who has, among other things, anonymously received a photograph of her son in the mail and is concerned about his safety. Patrick and Angie tail her son for several weeks, and it isn't long before they're worried about their safety as well. Throw in the Mafia, the FBI, and a few serial killers, and you have Darkness, Take My Hand. As with the first in the series, this book is a startling portrait of Boston, beautifully drawn by a man who grew up in the areas he writes about. But Darkness falls just short of War in most other respects. The plot is messy, tangled in places, and my credulity was strained by how far reaching the web is which has ensnared Patrick. There are many killers in this book. However, the lead characters are real and sympathetic. We care about them. We don't want the darkness to take them away, even as it takes their hands... Regrettably, I have found most seconds in a series fall somewhat short of the first. Darkness, Take My Hand is no exception. But it is also funny, sad, and very, very dark. Worth reading.
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