Rating: 
Summary: Another solid showing by LeHane.
Review: After being a longtime fan of Robert B. Parker, I stumbled onto LeHane off a friend's recommendation, and quickly shot through the first three books in the series. After being really impressed with A Drink Before the War and Darkness, Take My Hand, I was a little disappointed by Sacred. While not a bad book (in fact, it's better than 90% of the other stuff out there), it did not live up to LeHane's first two.Gone, Baby, Gone is better than Sacred, and is one the best books I've read in awhile, so what I offer here is not meant at all to dissuade readers. However, it seems that LeHane is starting to really plot-twist his books far too much. Drink and Darkness both had excellent plots, without a lot of whipping around the reader. Sacred jerked the reader around a lot with plot twists and revelations, and Gone does as well. It is sort of disappointing, because LeHane does an excellent job of distilling blue-collar life and making it the subject of private-eye fict! ! ion. This worked really well in the first two books ... lots of plot-jerking was not necessary to keep me hooked. Perhaps LeHane thinks it makes his writing edgier or something to throw suspicion from character to character so quickly, but I think it's somewhaty distracting. (Also, I think LeHane takes a lot more chances with his characters than a lot of other writers, and the fact that meaningful characters do die in his work means that tension need not be artifically supplemented with a lot of plot mechanics.) However, this is essentially throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Gone, Baby, Gone is a great read, largely since LeHane does a great job with developing his characters. Though I would recommend that those interested in LeHane read his books in series (later books will contain serious spoilers, unlike some series detectives), Gone is definitely worth the effort of reading the other three first.
Rating: 
Summary: WOW!
Review: Any voracious reader will occasionally find themselves playing what I refer to as "the library lottery"--stand in the middle of the library's fiction section, let their gaze drift over the amassed titles, and just grab a book at random, hoping that their choice will be, at the very least, a few hours' diversion. So it was one spring afternoon for me when my eyes fell upon "Gone, Baby, Gone." Dennis Lehane? Hmm, never heard of him. The cover blurb looked relatively interesting, and I do try to break out of my rut from time to time, so I brought it home. Three pages into the book, I knew I had hit the literary equivalent of the jackpot. "Gone ..." is the third Lehane novel to feature private investigators Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro, who are struggling with both their personal and professional lives together while they work to find a missing child. As with Lehane's other Kenzie/Gennaro books, it's not necessary to have read others in the series to follow Patrick and Angie's past, although enough references are made to make the reader want to seek out what came before. Lehane has one of the best feels for dialogue in modern fiction, and his plots are tight without being predictable. To the best of my knowledge, I'm one of the few who discovered Dennis Lehane with this particular book (the book I most often hear cited is "Darkness, Take My Hand," his second novel, which is also great). If you've never read Dennis Lehane, you will not go wrong with this or any of his novels. He's one of the best out there right now, and he's on the verge of becoming huge.
Rating:
Summary: Dark, suspenseful read
Review: Dennis Lehane brings his usual blend of dark humor and suspense to this story of a missing child, an addict mother, and a drug drop gone wrong. Lehane's work with abused children obviously contributes to the passion with which he writes about them in this gripping read. It was hard to put down, even though at times the grim details made me want to do just that.
Rating:
Summary: I'm Gone,Baby,Gone--To Get All The Rest Of Lehane's Books!
Review: After reading my first Dennis Lehane book -- Gone, Baby, Gone -- all I can say is I'm hooked! Great plot, very well- developed and real characters and a writing style that makes you want to finish the book in one sitting. I've just gone out and bought two others in the series --Sacred and Prayers For Rain -- and am looking for the others. If you like good,exciting mysteries, especially ones that depict real life situations (i,e, every outcome does not always have a happy ending), than add Lehane to your list of must-read authors!
Rating:
Summary: Could he get any better? He did!
Review: I am a big fan of Dennis Lehane. His protago- nists, Patrick Kenzie and Angie Genarro have had a most interesting relationship in the first three books. Also, the plot lines have been incredibly captivating. How could Lehane tell a better story? Well, he did. I kind of ho-hummed at the beginning of the book with the kidnapping of a 4 year old girl. But after about the first 50 pages the ho-humming stopped. This was a 2 day engrossing read. The plot twists and all the tears I shed have put this on my list of favorite books. Lehane is a master of character, plot, and motive. I honestly couldn't see where this book was going. Can't wait to see what happens to Patrick and Angie in the next one.
Rating: 
Summary: Lehane's voice is just not interesting enough
Review: Lehane's writing is good. That's what draws you in. But ultimately, like the movie Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone is unsatisfying. Not because its themes are dark, but because Lehane either does not know how or is afraid to honestly emote. I will not waste my time with him again. That simple. Read Lashner if you want a good writer.
Rating:
Summary: Haunting!
Review: This is a very well rounded novel. Dennis Lehane has gained alot of steam with each new book and I think this is my favorite of the Kenzie/Gennaro series. I wasn't quite as in love with it as Mystic River, mostly because of the extreme violence and gore it contains but the writing is very solid. The characters are very well fleshed out and real and I liked the bad guys as much as the good guys...and often it was hard to tell which was which! The key here is the moral dilemma this story unfolds and it's brilliant! The ending was perfect and while emotionally I'm in the same camp with Angie I totally understand Patrick's decision. Maybe the most terrifying thing about this book is the recognition of the horror of child abuse and neglect in our culture. It's not too difficult to imagine taking the law into your own hands after witnessing the moral deprivation described in this book regarding children...and thus the dilemma! It's really a great, thoughtful and disturbing read!
Rating:
Summary: Dark and Believable, Frightening
Review: When they are asked to take the case of a missing four-year-old girl, private detectives Patrick Kenzie and Angelo Gennaro are reluctant to take it, but because it's a child they pass on their better judgment and dive into the investigation. Before long they discover that everyone seems to have a secret and no one's talking, still they learn that it's a case all about money, what else, and they arrange a trade, however even though the rendezvous is well guarded, someone starts shooting and by the time it's all over Kenzie and Gennaro are luck to be alive. As always with a novel by Dennis Lehane, it's hard to figure out just who to root for. This chapter's good guy seems like that chapter's bad guy. Mr. Lehane takes us for a walk down to the dark side of human nature, painting people as real as the guy down at the local drug store, your mother-in-law, your husband. He takes off a character's wrapping, tells it like it is, makes you believe. Review submitted by Captain Katie Osborne
Rating:
Summary: Very Good
Review: I was given the book by a friend who knew I enjoyed reading local ficton. what a nice surprise to find it's actually a good book and one that kept me guessing until the very end. The plot was complex but easy to follow along. I loved the local interest and landmark association. There were a few passages more grotesque than I would have liked, but that is what sucks you in to the story. Very good and I look forward to reading more of Lehane's Patrick and Angie novels.
Rating:
Summary: A very good read (or in my case, listen)
Review: This was my second Lehane book on tape (unabridged of course) and I am still loving every minute. The characters in this book are fantastic. Bubba, of course, Cheese Oleman, and of course Patrick and Angie. A well spun story with plenty of people to love, hate and others where the jury is out until the bitter end. What I liked about the story was that not all works out peachy for everyone. There is a lot of hurt in the book, but so too in life. A great read.
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