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Summary: Lehane did it to us again!
Review: Dennis Lehane does it to us again! Just when you think you have everything figured out, this book goes to places I could never have imagined. Gritty, violent, and always thought-provoking, I could not put it down.
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Summary: Simply incredible
Review: Dennis Lehane has written four exceptional books. Gone Baby Gone continues the tradtion of each book getting incrementally better. I literally could read each book monthly because they are so outstanding. Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro are two of the most original characters in modern mystery fiction. Gone Baby Gone continues Lehane's examination of the shades of grey that we face in our society. You will not be disappointed with Lehane's books!
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Summary: Brilliant as usual
Review: Last summer, four-year old Amanda McCready was abducted from her Boston apartment. Police officers Remy Broussard and Nick Raftopuolus, members of the Crimes Against Children Unit, are assigned the official case. Meanwhile, the missing girl's Uncle Lionel and Aunt Beatrice hire private investigators Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro to find the child. The four investigators surprisingly cooperate with one another, knowing it is in the best interest of Amanda. The lifestyle of Helene, Amanda's mother, becomes the focus of the investigation. Helene has been with a drug lord and hung out with drug gang members. The local and federal law enforcement agencies do not seem concerned about another lost child, especially one from Angela's background. Instead, she seems more like a pawn in a game they are playing and evidence points to her most likely being dead. When a second abduction occurs, the fabulous foursome knows that they are racing the clock to save at least one lif! e and maybe, if they're very lucky, two. GONE, BABY, GONE is a dark and gory social commentary that will be devoured by fans of action-packed thrillers with a deeper message. Shamus-award winning author, Dennis Lehane, has written his best work in an already strong resume. He manages to combine loads of action while leaving readers left pondering personal and community moral questions for years to come. When a writer can run you through a non-stop thriller and still leave the reader thinking about serious social commentary, that author has reached the nirvana of his career. To Mr. Lehane: stay, baby, stay and bestow us with more works like this one. Harriet Klausner
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Summary: Lehane's best one yet, but DARK.
Review: Lehane just gets better and better. While many series writers fall into the formula trap, this has not happened to Dennis Lehane. His protagonists, Angie and Patrick, are real people who have struggles, within their relationship and with the dark side of life. And Lehane paints a very DARK side in this novel, which deals with all of the awful things that can happen to children and with the question of whether or not children are best placed with biological parents. Plenty of plot twists keep the reader engaged and on the edge of his/her seat. What is the next step for Patrick and Angie??? Considering the ending of this book, I can't wait to see. If you are a fan of hard boiled mysteries, this comes with my heartiest recommendation.
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Summary: Hail the New King!
Review: Dennis Lehane is the finest gritty mystery writer and Gone Baby Gone is no letdown. Wait till you get to the scene in 'the house'... you'll see...
Rating: 
Summary: The Emperor Has No Clothes
Review: I have reached the point of mystification with Dennis Lehane. After reading "Mystic River", I was very excited, thinking that I had found a great new American author. For someone like me who can literally read a book in just a few hours, this was a happy feeling, because I am rapidly running out of books to read! However (you knew there was going to be a however, didn't you?) ... "Shutter Island" was so-so, and THIS book was, well, just awful. How in the world did this guy write "Mystic River", which is a masterpiece and is technically flawless, yet crank out a limping book like "Gone, Baby, Gone"? At first, I enjoyed this book, as the pacing was fast, the story was fresh, the characterizations were right on, and the writing was technically tight. Then, around the time that the female sidekick breaks into a criminal's place to wire it (ummm .... OK), the story simply fell apart. I could no longer tell what the heck was going on. Then, even worse, the book started tasting dated, as Lehane threw in mid-90's and even early-90's references galore, such as references to Ren-N-Stimpy. What the ... ? I know he wrote the book mid-90's, but as every author knows, unless you are writing a historical novel, you don't put in pop references unless you want your work to age like brie from K-Mart. That is one reason why "Mystic River" will be around for centuries. There are no cheap pop references in it whatsoever. Then, Lehane gets on his VERY high horse about "save the children" or whatnot and the suspension of disbelief is wrecked. I agree with his sentiments but not with his heavy-handed writing technique. It just doesn't work. THEN, and IMHO worst of all, the female detective gets the baby-rabies, and starts moaning on and on about "creating a beautiful baby with love energy" or some such claptrap. It just made no sense at all. A hard-boiled private detective acting this way, with no warning whatsoever? Maybe if he had worked it into the story a little more, but as it stands, it's not plausible. Maybe if she was cracking up or something; I just don't know. He never explains or justifies it, and that's why I finally put the book down. I think this book may have been part of some MFA project of Lehane's, as it screams, "I have an MFA in creative writing!" I dunno about that though. All I know is that this book does not live up to the hype, and does not live up to the talent level Lehane displayed so beautifully in "Mystic River". If you like good writing, avoid this book.
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Summary: Amazingly Well Written
Review: Well I have found a new favorite author. I picked up Dennis Lehane's newest book "Prayers For Rain" at the bookstore, and up until that day I had never heard of him before, well thats changed and i finished the last of all his books last night. Gone, Baby, Gone. Follows Patrick Kenzie and Angela Genarro around the Boston area (as usual with all Lehane books) This time in search of a young girl named Amanda McCready who has seemingly disappeared into thin air. With more plot twist's and changes of direction thand a snake this book will have you turned around backwards in no time. This book was well written with beleivable heros who grew up with little money, and even less of secure families, everything a good mystery should be but it is not for those with weak stomachs, with Kenzie and Genaro in the heart of the missing childs department of the Boston p.d., there are more stories of child creulty and neglect than you may want to hear. I suggest that everyone read Lehanes second book "Darkness, Take My Hand" before anyother books, i made the mistake of reading it last, and I already knew the outcome from all of the other Lehane books.
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Summary: Not soon forgotten
Review: Of the three Kenzie/Gennaro novels I have read, this was the most entertaining, if one can describe kidnapping of a child and abuse of kidnapped children by some of the most twisted people in our society "entertaining." Amanda McCready, a four year old, has been kidnapped and her aunt and uncle have sought out the dynamic duo to see if she can be found. They work out a tenuous and sometimes tense relationship with the detectives who are in charge of the investigation, yet little or no progress in finding the little girl occurs. At the half way point in the book, Patrick summarizes what they have accomplished (or not). "This was one of the most infuriating cases I'd ever worked. Absolutely nothing made sense. A four year old girl disappears. Investigation leads us to believe that the child was kidnapped by drug dealers who'd been ripped off by the mother. A ransom demand for the stolen money arrives from a woman who seems to work for the drug dealers. The ransom drop is an ambush. The drug dealers are killed. One of the drug dealers may or may not be an undercover operative for the federal government. The missing girl remains missing or at the bottom of a quarry." As it turns out, the answers are hiding in plain sight, yet it takes time, lives and luck to eventually come up with them. This is no Mystic River (few are) but, it is a good story, well told.
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Summary: Wonderful comeback!
Review: What a comeback! I was left perturbed having last read "Sacred" which bore very little similiarity with "Mystic River" (with its fluid prose and engaging characters). This effort definitely marks Lehane's return to form. "Gone, Baby, Gone" is a rivetting tale surrounding a missing child case that Patrick and Angie take up on the insistence of a grieving aunt. They are joined by a pair of passionate detectives from a unit specializing in crime against children, Sgt. Poole and Det. Brassourde. Together, they uncover a series of unexpected events and relevations that allowed me to finish the book in a single sitting. Apart from its fast pace, we are treated to glimpses of humanity with all her conflicts -- violence, degradation, passion, hope, sympathy, love. Some pages will leave you cringing, others may just melt your heart. Overall, a rewarding and quick read. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Grim but good.
Review: A missing-child thriller with George V Higgins style wisecracking Boston cops and robbers and double double crosses..
It's the fourth in the Angela Gennaro/Patrick Kenzie series, with Kenzie as first person narrator. The action seems to follow on Darkness Take My Hand. I'd recommend starting with A Drink Before the War to get the background. They are recruited into the search by the child's aunt and uncle, while her airheaded junkie single mom seems to enjoy being the center of attention.
The dialog isn't quite up to George V Higgins but Lehane is a greater scene-setter with a gift for creating an atmosphere in half a sentence like "....light sleet fell and spattered windshields and stuck in our hair like lice."
There's a lot of blood and guts and horrific child abuse and murder. Not one happy camper in the book so it's a tad depressing in spite of the flashes of mordant humor.
The plot is complicated and demands attention (you might be able to figure out whodunnit by page 200) so it's best read in one or two sittings, which is difficult at over 400 pages. It's a page-turner but not good bedtime or beach reading. I'd recommend it for a long flight in coach class, or maybe if you're visiting Boston.
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