Rating: 
Summary: Good
Review: Let me just say this was a good story with very likeable characters, and writing that really puts you at the scene of the action. Patrick, Angie, Paul, Oscar, Devin, Patrick, Angie, Paul, Bubba and the villains are all very fun and well written. I actually liked the villians, but was very happy to see them go. And Lehane uses some thought provoking social commentary to create some depth for his leads. Nice. I like what Dennis Lehane is trying to do with his character's personal lives and professional flaws to make the story realistic and believable. It works pretty well, but I often had to forcefully put myself in Patrick Kensie's shoes to understand a situation or give reason for an error in judgment. The conversation with myself: 'Ok, now if I was Kensie and it was the middle of a night of pleasure that was just interrupted by a phone call, maybe I, forgetting that a genius killer has threatened or killed everybody in my circle of friends, would have unhesitatingly answered the front door at 2:00 in the morning.' Of course there is more to it than that, but I felt like I was a step or two ahead of the detective through out the book, "Dude, you better send somebody over to protect that kid". It felt like Lehane was creating suspense for the reader that the main character was oblivious to. It required effort from me to justify the detective's stupidit... um... perspective. Regardless, 'Darkness, Take My Hand' is a good, fun book.
Rating: 
Summary: Start here and read the whole series
Review: In the last 30 day I've read all five of Lehane' Kinzie/Gennaro books, finishing Prayers for Rain last night. Lehane has created a terrific franchise in the mystery/thriller arena with his realistic and (more importantly) entertaining pair of detectives. You like these people he's created and believe their motives for what they choose to do as they trek through the plot. Clearly I've found a lot of compelling entertainment in these stories. The first book in the series, A Drink Before the War, really sucked me in, being in the same vein as the Elvis Cole series by Robert Crais which I also recommend. Both series are consistently well-written, a clear step (or two) above pop/trash/beach fiction, funny, intelligent stories where the plot make sense, and the characters seem frighteningly real. It turned out that the first Kinzie/Gennaro yarn was the lightest. Each one after has ratcheted up the twists and turns, but kept the personality of the characters growing and building. The stories definitely got blacker and bleaker in the depraved actions of the bad guys. By Prayers for Rain, the villain is a hardcore-fulltime psychopath, and Patrick and Angie are a-little-further-than-borderline vigilantes. After racing through five of the books in so short a period, I am struck with a sense of vulnerability. If some bad dude makes it their career to mess with you, and if they have no normal limits to their behavior, you're just screwed. How can a normal, follow the rules type of citizen even comprehend the introduction of aggression and violence into their regular lives? Unless you have friends to help you out like Kenzie and Gennaro you might as well move out of the country and hope you're never found. Read these, you'll like them.
Rating: 
Summary: A depressing, very unpleasant page-turner
Review: The primary purpose of my review is to echo the review provided by C-C-Peterson. I, too, started with the first novel in this series, and found the violence in that novel to be excessive, but appropriate to the overall plot. However, the gore, sadism, and the time spent being dragged through the muck of human evil in this second novel left me repulsed and gloomy. The killers in this novel are evil personified, and if the author is to be credited with anything, it is that he accurately portrays what might happen to those who survive such an encounter. I felt a little like that myself when I finished the book. I read noir for entertainment, but I think I stumbled into something darker than noir. I finished the book to be sure they got the bad guys and that they would all die; I think I stayed engaged for much the same reason people stare at an accident on the highway.
Rating:
Summary: Darkness, Take My Hand
Review: Lehane follows up his Shamus-winning A Drink Before the War (1994) with a second case for the private-detective team of Patrick Kenzie and Angela Dimassi Gennaro. This time, Patrick and Angel are called on to defend a psychologist against some nasty members of the Boston Irish criminal community. Although the threat appears to be forestalled, a budding young actress from the old neighborhood is found murdered, and is later strangely implicated in the torture and death of the psychologist's son. Multiple crimes follow with the lethal signature of a long-jailed sociopath, a cop's son reared on those same mean streets. Panic sets in. The FBI commandeers the case. Angie finally divorces her abusive husband as Patrick struggles to protect his lover and her daughter from the murderer. But domestic difficulties pale as the increasingly terrifying wave of violence seems to point toward long-hidden secrets in Boston's Irish-American community, and motives (a long dance of betrayal and revenge among Irish cops and crooks) reach out from one generation to destroy the next. Though there's an unseemly lack of subtlety to Lehane's sex scenes and violent set pieces, the passion of his neighborhood nightmare can hardly be denied. And he's created a villain who's both surprising and grimly fascinating: The kind of figure one hates but can't stop reading about.
Rating:
Summary: It's getting better and better.
Review: This is the 2nd book in the Patrick Kenzie/Angela Gennaro series and I'm happy to say I think it's better then the first one. This time a the client is a Boston psychiatrist running scared from the mob. During the investigation they find out a serial killer is involved and the case is specially focussed on Kenzie. It's a good book, they redirect scenes from: A drink before the war, so you really get into the series. 4 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Stayed Up All Night!!!!!
Review: I read this book in a matter of two days. It was my first Dennis Lehane book and it certainly is not my last!!!! I actually happened to find this hardcover treasure at a book store on clearance, and I am so glad I did! The characters of Angie and Patrick are so real and their commraderie (spelling?)is what makes the story flow. I love the whole "serial killer" stories to begin with, and this one had my hair standing on end!! A must read for all mystery lovers. This is the new master of suspense!
Rating:
Summary: Another Lehane Blockbuster
Review: This was probably the most intense of the Kenzie/Gennaro series. I lived in Dorchester for four years. I know all the places mentioned.
It is hard boiled and certainly not for the squemish.
A twenty year killing spree. The idea of the Waterfront Condo shrink coming from the old neighborhood never occured to me.
This one kept me guessing and kept me from putting it down.
Rating:
Summary: Dark, filled with suspense - hard to put down.
Review: Once again,in Darkness, Take My Hand, PI's Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro agree to take up a case. This time they really earn there money, in what is a very dark, chilling and page-turning second novel. After first agreeing to try and protect the son of a promient psychiatrist, they soon find themselves immersed in a web of horrific executions. The dialague, especially between Patrick Kenzie and the FBI agents assigned to the case, is taught, lean and adds to the suspense which for me, made this book hard to put down.
Rating:
Summary: almost too dark
Review: While I thought the book was very well written, and I enjoyed it, it really was almost too dark for me.
Rating:
Summary: WOW!
Review: This book was awesome. It's the first one that I read in the Patrick Kenzie/Angie Gennaro series and of course I have to read them all! Dennis Lehane makes the characters interesting and he really knows how to write a story that keeps your attention. With all the twists and turns as it unravels you have keep reading and find out who is behind all of the killings and why. He'll surely be getting added to my list of favorite authors. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a great mystery/suspense read.
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