Books

Darkness, Take My Hand
The Decoy
Survival of the Fittest
L.A. Requiem (Elvis Cole Novels)
Is Harry Still on the Boat?
Three Great Novels: Strip Jack / The Black Book / Mortal Causes
Three Great Novels: "The Poet", "Blood Work", "Void Moon" Vol 2
Dead Run (MIRA S.)
Tales of Unease (Wordsworth Classics)
Gone Bamboo
The Resort
With No One As Witness
A Dark Night Hidden (Hawkenlye Mystery S.)
Three Great Novels 2: "The Next Accident", "The Survivor's Club", "The Killing Hour"
A Cry in the Night
Figure of Hate (Crowner John Mystery)
Harem
Limestone Cowboy: A DI Charlie Priest Mystery
The Mushroom Man
Seduction in Death
Divided in Death
A Killer in Winter: The Ninth Chronicle of Matthew Bartholomew
The House of Shadows
Torpedo Juice
Lord Peter - a Collection of All the Lord Peter Wimsey Stories

Darkness, Take My Hand (Patrick Kenzie/Angela Gennaro Novels)

Average customer rating:

An epic in 500 pages
If you enjoyed "A Drink Before the War", than you will absolutely love this book.
Lehane at his best
Excellent, Compelling and Gruesome
A Truly Dark and Intense Tale That's Well Worth It

Darkness, Take My Hand (Patrick Kenzie/Angela Gennaro Novels)
Dennis Lehane
Manufacturer: HarperTorch
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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Similar Items:

A Drink Before the War
Sacred
Gone, Baby, Gone: A Novel
Prayers for Rain (Patrick Kenzie/Angela Gennaro Novels)
Shutter Island

ASIN: 0380726289

Amazon.com

In Darkness, Take My Hand, Dennis Lehane gives readers an authentic view of the Boston suburb of Dorchester, the scene of A Drink Before the War, winner of the Shamus Award from the Private Eye Writers of America. Dorchester, a solid blue-collar town with no shortage of good spots at which to sully up to the bar for a beer, is tarnished by a 20-year string of strangely similar killings. Patrick Kenzie, a local, becomes the improbable hero of this tale when he makes it his business to solve the slayings. The characters he encounters in Dorchester, with their distinctive accents and colorful pasts, make this mystery not only thrilling, but wildly entertaining.

Book Description

The master of the new noir, Dennis Lehane magnificently evokes the dignity and savagery of working-class Boston in this terrifying tale of darkness and redemption.

Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro's latest client is a prominent Boston psychiatrist running scared from a vengeful Irish mob. The private investigators know something about cold-blooded retribution. Born and bred on the mean streets of blue-collar Dorchester, they've seen the darkness that lives in the hearts of the unfortunate. But an evil for which even they are unprepared is about to strike as secrets long-dormant erupt, setting off a chain of violent murders that will stain everything—including the truth.

Customer Reviews:

An epic in 500 pages.......2007-05-25

Dennis Lehane's A DRINK BEFORE THE WAR was the book that pulled me into mystery fiction as a reader. I loved Kenzie and Gennaro's blue-collar personas, the snappy dialogue, the vivid imagery, the deep secondary characters, and the deft balance of humor. It amazed me that mystery fiction could be so deep and touching, and I immediately bought the next book in the series, DARKNESS, TAKE MY HAND.

DRINK convinced me to read more mystery fiction, but DARKNESS convinced me that I wanted to write it for a living.

This book has everything DRINK has and then some: Memorable and sympathetic characters, crisp dialogue, excellent visuals, humor, the mafia, a serial killer, and best of all, a story that reached back all the way into Kenzie's and Gennaro's childhoods and rounded out the proceedings with an epic feel. Not to mention the climactic finalé that reverberated through each one of the remaining books in the series. The suspense is thick, the action is whiplash, and the emotion is real and poignant. It has literally become the template upon which I've crafted many of my story ideas.

My only complaint is that, with the ending in view, I guessed who the killer was. That took a bit of punch out of it, but the story quickly jumped past that and launched into the phenomenal climax.

Lehane would revisit some of the same themes from DARKNESS in his breakout novel, MYSTIC RIVER, themes which actually began in much more diluted form in DRINK. In my opinion, however, the success of MYSTIC started here with DARKNESS, showing that Lehane had the stuff to move his audiences and keep them in tension at the same time. He's since started moving away from the mystery format, which is a shame, because the world needs more quality epics like this one. Before you pick up MYSTIC RIVER, buy DARKNESS and see for yourself where it all began.

If you enjoyed "A Drink Before the War", than you will absolutely love this book........2007-02-26

The second book in the Patrick Kenzie series opens with Patrick taking inventory of the violence and destruction that has just re-shaped his life after the case in "Darkness" is closed. Lehane uses this foreshadow technique with confidence because he knows the story will live up to the emotional and physical devastation Patrick is feeling in the very first chapter.

After the first chapter, the book takes you on a tense journey through a nightmare of undesirable characters immune to personal suffering. The mood is dark and the violence intense. As usual, Lehane keeps the tension tight by combining multiple plot lines; keeping the reader constantly on edge and wary of every corner turned and every character encountered.

In "A Drink Before The War" Lehane introduced us to Patrick, Angie and Bubba, but in "Darkness" he breaths life into them. Amidst all of the human destruction that occurs during a case to stop a serial killer who brings his viciousness right into Patrick and Angie's life, Lehane fills out his main charters and makes them much more complex than in the first novel. Even Patrick's father becomes more dimensional and may even have had some redeemable traits (maybe).

Some themes emerge in "Darkness" that Lehane explores deeper in "Mystic River", but most of the book is an in your face mystery that concentrates on the rage and violence that can be summoned in all of us, and the effects it has if unleashed.

Lehane at his best.......2006-07-24

Darkness, Take My Hand by Dennis Lehane is one of the great unsung mystery novels of the late 20th century and should be on everyone's Best OF lists. The characters of Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro are great --in love, at war with one another, passionate and angry and real. The story of the shrink running from the Irish Mob BEGS to be a movie, and yet no one has ever taken a run at it. That is just a waste. I recently re-read this book and found that it reads just as great the second time around.

Excellent, Compelling and Gruesome.......2006-07-21

Fortunately, the gruesomeness is not overdone, but comes close. Lehane, however, is a master craftsman and keeps you guessing till the end. The plot unfolds in a timely fashion, the characters are highly credible and the reader only marvels at the creativity of the author. This is a gritty novel with a little leavening morality thrown in that helps put everything in perspective. One of the best thrillers I've read in a long time.

A Truly Dark and Intense Tale That's Well Worth It.......2006-05-24

In the right circumstances, do we all have a capacity for violence? Lehane's second outing in the Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro series is a truly dark and intense tale. First, the two are hired by a woman, who believes that the mafia is threatening her son's life. But things aren't as they seem, and suddenly a series of crucifixion murders grip the Boston neighborhood. One of the victims is the woman's son. The police and FBI question Kenzie and Gennaro but are left dumbfounded. Kenzie only hope is to confront a deranged serial killer who is imprisoned for similar killings. The incarcerated psychopath will only talk to Kenzie, and it's clear that he has intimate knowledge about Patrick and the people he loves.
By the end, I really liked the book, particularly the clever unveiling of murderer. This was one mystery that had some substance. Patrick Kenzie struggles with his own capacity for violence and also realizes how quickly he can lose those whom he loves. The pace was a bit slow at the start, but the rousing finish easily made up for it. Another criticism is the sheer number of people that the reader is introduced to at the start of the book. This was especially true of the laundry list of murder victims. Overall, the mystery is well plotted and the writing is taut, but my main problem with this book is that I didn't really like the main protagonists. Patrick is extremely loyal to his numerous friends, but I can't see why he has so many. Angie also seemed quite flat and unimpressive. In the end, the story was so compelling that it really didn't matter.

A Drink Before the War/Darkness, Take My Hand

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A Drink Before the War/Darkness, Take My Hand
Dennis Lehane
Manufacturer: Avon Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Sacred
Prayers for Rain (Patrick Kenzie/Angela Gennaro Novels)
Gone, Baby, Gone: A Novel
Shutter Island
Mystic River

ASIN: 006117226X
Release Date: 2007-01-30

Book Description

With novels like Mystic River and Shutter Island, Dennis Lehane has dramatically altered the landscape of the crime thriller—while boldly overstepping the boundaries that have long separated mystery from literature. Now two of his sensational early novels have been combined in a single volume—two gritty and mesmerizing masterworks of suspense featuring the private eye duo of Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro—brilliantly showcasing the unique voice and dark, exhilarating vision of a crime fiction phenomenon.

4 Titles By Dennis Lehane Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro Series (1-4) : 1. A Drink Before the War 2. Darkness, Take My Hand 3. Sacred 4. Gone, Baby, Gone

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4 Titles By Dennis Lehane Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro Series (1-4) : 1. A Drink Before the War 2. Darkness, Take My Hand 3. Sacred 4. Gone, Baby, Gone
Dennis Lehane
Manufacturer: Harper Torch
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Product Description

multiple books ship as one item. save on shipping/handling charges.

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Darkness, Take My Hand
Dennis Lehane
Manufacturer: Morrow/Avon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Average customer rating:

Darkness, Take My Hand
Dennis Lehane
Manufacturer: HarperTorch
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Average customer rating:

Darkness, Take My Hand
Dennis Lehane
Manufacturer: Avon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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Darkness Take My Hand 1ST Edition
Dennis Lehane
Manufacturer: WILLIAM MORROW & COMPANY INC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Darkness, Take My Hand
Dennis LEHANE
Manufacturer: Morrow
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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DARKNESS TAKE MY HAND
LEHANE DENNIS
Manufacturer: AVON
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Lehane Fiction Collection Six-Book Set (A Drink Before the War; Darkness, Take My Hand; Sacred; Gone, Baby, Gone; Prayers for Rain; Mystic River)

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Lehane Fiction Collection Six-Book Set (A Drink Before the War; Darkness, Take My Hand; Sacred; Gone, Baby, Gone; Prayers for Rain; Mystic River)
Dennis Lehane
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Book Description

Lehane Fiction collection Six-Book Set
For a limited time get six of Dennis Lehane's books in one easy-to-order package, including Lahane's now classic Mystic River.

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