Rating: 
Summary: Just okay
Review: The best thing about this book is its description of settings around Boston. It's always nice to see my city featured in literature.Although the story is at times very engaging, it is quite derivative and sometimes predictable. The jail scene is (too?) reminiscent of Silence of the Lambs and there are many other scenes that remind the experienced mystery reader of other, far superior crime novels. I also found the main character often too rough around the edges and sometimes outright repulsive. When he rationalizes the torture and death of the book's most vile criminals, he dissolves most of the sympathy he cultivated with the reader throughout the book. As someone whose job it is to uphold the law, one would have hoped he would have had a more refined sense of justice. Also disturbing are the subtle racial stereotypes that recur throughout the book (see Bubba). The personal relationships between the PI and his girlfriend, as well as the one between he and his partner, are peppered with cheesy dialogue that is sometimes so corny, they border on being embarassing. If you're looking for a semi-suspenseful and quick read with all the typical brashness of the stereotypical PI, (perhaps on a long flight), this is an adequate read. It's about what you'd expect, but nothing particularly gripping or memorable.
Rating: 
Summary: a great novel
Review: Dennis Lehane shows that you can have more than 1 hit in a series. Theis book was amazing it put togather old friends and new enemys unlike moast thriller novels it was not predictable and the outcome will suprise you. You'll find out things about the characters you didn't know in the previous one. Once you start you can't put it down.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent and gripping, but not for the faint of heart
Review: There are soooo many mystery writers out there these days, but there is only a handful who truly produce first-rate work on a consistent basis. Dennis Lehane is definitely a member of this elite, and *Darkness, Take My Hand* demonstrates why. Like Michael Connelly, Robert Crais, and some others in the P.I./lone wolf cop genre, Lehane has written his books in such a way that they are best read "in order," as each book builds on the previous one(s) in terms of the development of his main characters. Consequently, readers should read Lehane's first book, *A Drink Before the War*, before picking up *Darkness, Take My Hand*, which is the second in the series. In most respects, however, *Darkness* is a richer, deeper, and better-crafted mystery than was Lehane's debut novel. He has utilized a well-worn but still effective plot theme here, that of the long-term serial killer. This provides the basis for the mystery element of the book, and also, perhaps unfortunately, the blood-and-guts angle, as well. Yes, there is a lot of gore in this book, and lots of discussion in graphic detail of the depravities of which human beings are capable. Lehane's work is NOT for the faint of heart. What separates Lehane from many other mystery writers, even good ones like Robert Parker, is his sheer literary talent. His writing is gloriously rich, descriptive (particularly in terms of his depictions of the Boston area setting for his stories), and insightful, and he goes to great pains to develop in some psychological depth his main characters, Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro. Consequently, this enables Lehane to take his work well beyond the cliches that are so typical of shamus novels. If you like the work of Parker, Connelly, Crais, Barre, Burke, etc., you should definitely start reading Lehane--in order, of course.
Rating:
Summary: Intense, powerful, gripping
Review: Those are 3 perfect words to describe this novel. You're about to enter the world of Patrick Kenzie, Angie Genarro, and Bubba Rogowski, the trio created by Dennis Lehane. For me, this is far most, the best from all 5 books in this series. The story was absolutely intense. You can't put it down, you want to know what will happen, and when you get to the last pages, you'll be charmed, and the story stays with you. I recommend this book for all of you who hasn't known Dennis Lehane's works. Read it and be enchanted...
Rating: 
Summary: What a Good Read!
Review: I like gritty, murder mysteries and this is a good one. Lehane whips-up a real, grim bunch of dudes for this one. I really liked the author's attention to detail. If I have any criticism is that his psychotic-serial killer was a tad to Hannibal Lector-esque and the story was a bit over-plotted.
Rating:
Summary: What a mystery should be
Review: If there were any justice in the world, Dennis Lehane's books would be monster sellers. Beautifully written sentences, a dead-on ear for dialogue, the shadings of emotions so wrenching a dead man could feel them . . . "Darkness, Take My Hand" is no exception. Patrick and Angie have already become beloved friends to me, and Lehane's eye for detail can genuinely creep me out. Lehane is also one of the very few mystery writers who doesn't telegraph who the ultimate culprit is. Definitely not for the light mystery reader, but Lehane ranks up there with Parker and Paretsky. Great, great stuff!
Rating:
Summary: Great Suspense, Scary Book
Review: Loved this book !! I had read Lehane's first book and enjoyed it, but everyone told me this one was even better. And they were right. Patrick Kenzie an Angie Gennaro are great characters, and Lehane does a good job of developing them above and beyond where they were in "A Drink Before the War". The villains in this book are great too, with a terrific "scare" factor. At one point Patrick meets with the serial killer, and it seemed like a meeting of two of my favorite mystery/thriller characters: John Corey (Plum Island, Nelson DeMille) and Hannibal Lector. Not that they're copies, just similar people. The gore factor in the book is pretty high, too. Not enough to turn you off, but raw enough to really set a scene for a terrifying conclusion.
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read
Review: Well this is certainly Lehane's most violent and gorey book with much to much detail in torture. That said, i found this book really well written and scary and funny at the same time, Patrick Kenzies One Liners, be it said aloud or only in his head keep a certain level of humor to the book. I Recomend that anyone who is willing to read this book, read it first because if you read the other Lehane books before this one, you will already know the outcome to this book and it will be slightly less fun or less of a mystery.
Rating:
Summary: Following the great tradition of Chandler and Hammett
Review: Incredible intelligent and witty hard-boiled detective novel that you will enjoy from the first to the last page. I'm now looking forward to receive all the the other books by Dennis Lehane that I immediately ordered after reading this one. Let me also recommend Richard Barre and Michael Connelly.
Rating:
Summary: ANOTHER TOP-RATE LEHANE
Review: If you like to read mysteries, you would be hard-pressed not to love Lehane's Patrick and Angie combination. These two characters are so alive on the pages that you feel like you're with them every step of the way. This book is Lehane's usual page turner filled with the lowlifes of the world. As Angie says in the book, "I'm tired of dealing with psychotics and deadbeats and scumbags and liars on a continual basis. I'm starting to think that's all there is in the world". This is the crux of Lehane's writing. He writes about people who embrace evil and enjoy the pain of others (this also taken from the book). Patrick actually falls in love in this episode. Dennis Lehane is an absolute standout in this genre. A great read in my opinion.
| 
