Rating: 
Summary: Improper Bostonians
Review: My next key-strokes after finishing this review will be to order the other Lehanes. This is his first. A crooked hypocritical Massachussets politician hires Patrick Kenzie to look for a cleaning woman who has disappeared. Kenzie is an idealistic but cynical child abuse survivor, divorced, crossed in love,hard-drinking, and torn between his liberal convictions and the harsh realities of crime. Boston is vividly described.
It is a page-turner but is not light entertainment and is somewhat depressing.I'd recommend it for a long flight rather than beach or bed reading. The humor is sardonic and bitter, and there are seriously treated themes of racism,and corruption. Many violent and horrible deaths are graphically described. Children are tortured and sodomized. Policemen are emotionally burnt-out and alcoholic.
Rating:
Summary: my summer winner
Review: Lehane does a great job of addressing some very serious and complex social/cultural issues (racism, gang warfare, phsical and sexual abuse, particularly in the city of Boston) within the context of a "mystery" or detective novel. This is a far cry from an Agatha Christie "whodunnit," as Lehane makes sure to keep the mystery aspect of the book quite simple, choosing instead to bring the personal issues of the detectives and the social issues of the city to the forefront. He manages to do that without sounding like an op-ed piece or a shrink trying to turn his case load into a novel. The story holds up on its own, but it doesn't have to do so. Lehane writes some very gritty, realistic dialogue between the two main characters, and the nature of their relationship is intentionally ambiguous and a bit uncomfortable at times. In short, this is a great first novel, and I am eagerly anticipating reading more from Lehane.
Rating: 
Summary: I shake my head...
Review: as I try to understand what all the rave reviews are about this book. I literally had to force myself to read it thinking I must be missing something or that that something will come along eventually and make me say, "Great book, great story!!" NOT!! I found this story to be very non-engaging and no where near the page turner I thought it was going to be. I was glad when it was over but then am forcing myself to read another Lehane book just to make sure I'm not being over reactive. I did not enjoy this book, or the writing, the characters were annoying. Oh well... I guess I can give it one star for effort.
Rating: 
Summary: This guy is gifted!
Review: I started in the middle of the series then went back to the beginning, which helps. What a good writer he is! All the characters (and they are characters) in his books are well described and their interactions are superb. Love Bubba! The mysteries are all good and the relationships are poignant. The aura of Boston neighborhoods were vivid. I read all of them except Mystic River. I am sure it is good, but I am not up to that yet. Well done, Dennis!
Rating:
Summary: Great thriller
Review: I picked this book up for a book report a few years back, and came back to it about a year ago, and since then, I've bought the rest of the Kenzie/Gennero series and the latest book "Mystic River" which I think is a great departure for Lehane from the detective theme. "Drink" is a great book for someone just entering the genre of thrillers.-Jack
Rating:
Summary: A DRINK BEFORE THE WAR
Review: I've turned so many friends and coworkers of mine on to Dennis Lehane's books. The best part is to hand them A Drink Before the War and wait a few days for their reaction. They all come back and say how great it was, etc, etc. Then I hand them Darkness, Take My Hand, the second in the Kenzie/Gennaro series, and my smile grows wider because I know how much better it is than the first. In fact, that's the trend. Just when you think you've read perhaps the best book you've ever read, the next one is even better. You truly, truly care abou the characters, and the subplots are so engrossing that you'd read the next book just for the sake of that. I've never before read a novel where I have to close the book after a chapter and catch my breath. Lehane makes me do that regularly. These books go beyond mystery fiction. They are classic contemporary novels that just happen to have a crime element to them. Get this book NOW and start the journey.
Rating:
Summary: Just a taste.
Review: Start here and let Lehane take you on a thrill ride you won't want to get off. I dare anyone to read just one of his books, once bitten, you're hooked! This, the first in his Kenzie/Gennaro stories sets up characters and personalities you'll want to spend your evenings with. A great read.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: This is Lehane's first book, and what a devastatingly brilliant book it is too. It introduces us to Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro and their private investigation business in their hometown of Boston. The Boston we get to see, though, is the lower working class and slum areas of town. This is a hardboiled thriller to the core. Patrick Kenzie is haunted by memories of his abusive father; Angie Gennaro is married to an abusive husband. Together they have a fantastic chemistry in which they can virtually read each other's minds. Kenzie and Gennaro are hired by a local Senator to find a black cleaning woman who was in his employ until she disappeared with some important documents. The case is simple, find the woman and return the documents. The woman is found, but from this point on, things start to go wrong, and it's clear that Kenzie and Gennaro haven't been told the whole story. They soon find themselves caught up in a gangland war where survival is looking less and less likely. The dialogue is witty and sharp, the story is very well paced and the characters are very believable and all too real-life. I have read all the other Kenzie-Gennaro books before this one (shame on me for reading this out of order) and rate it very highly in comparison. In actual fact, it would have been of great benefit if I had have read this book first as it puts into perspective events that occur in the later books.
Rating:
Summary: Lehane writes a literary conscience
Review: If I sat and thought about how many ways I liked this book, I am sure I could come up with some erudite breakdown, point by point. However, as it is, it is 1:15 in the morning, and I have just finished one of the best books I have ever read. Not only is this the first book in the exciting Kenzie/Gennaro series, but it is also a scathing commentary on racial issues. Then, maybe just to show off, Lehane plays a little running commentary, about right and wrong, good and bad, designed to give this novel a literary conscience. If that sounds like a load, well, remember it is 1:15 in the morning. Patrick Kenzie's narration is filled with such wry wit and humor; you cannot help but like him. Do yourself a favor, and read this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Kind of disappointing
Review: I approached this book with high expectations, and there were things I liked. Kenzie's wisecracking narration was always entertaining, and he and Gennaro were interesting main characters. But the plot was simplistic, the violence was cartoonish and over the top (too many Uzi shootouts), and the bad guys weren't motivated by anything other than Lehane's apparent desire to provoke readers' moral outrage.
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