Very bleak and brutal crime story (darker than the first Kenzie and Gennaro story) ( )

The book had a few twists and turns that were a little unbelievable, but I can forgive that because the story, in general, kept me interested. Plus, after reading several books in the series it's like Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro are old friends. ( )

Darkness, Take My Hand is the second book in the Patrick Kenzie/Angela Gennaro novels. I found it difficult to get into the storyline but that change around page 50. Lehane had me guessing of who the actual bad guys were right up to the last chapter. Once again, Lehane has written a powerful book that leaves me wishing all the best for Kenzie and Angie. These are two characters who deserve a happy endning. ( )

In this the second book in his Kenzie-Gennaro detective series, Dennis Lehane begins to show his skills in earnest (surpassing [[ASIN:0156029022 A Drink Before the War]]). The complex plot is well-constructed and expertly revealed. The book opens with Kenzie reflecting on the events to follow and foreshadowing an ominous tale.

Kenzie is called in by a young man's mother to investigate a threat against him by the Irish mob. Kenzie and Gennaro get a sit down meet with the mobsters through their own psycho friend Bubba that leads pretty much nowhere.

Kenzie continues to poke around in Boston's underbelly and nothing he finds is anything but pretty. Dead bodies start to stack up that suggest a serial killer is on the loose - but another killer reaches out to Kenzie from prison. His interview with this inmate called to mind the Silence of the Lambs. Lehane creates a truly disturbed person who causes primal fear even though he's shackled and behind bars.

Are the events separated by some two decades somehow related? And who's calling the tune? The writing is very good, the story is taut and a page-turner. If you are like me, you will soon develop a whodunit theory or two that turn out to be way off course, a sign of a good mystery. Lehane explores the psychology of the extremely violent and how they got that way, but be forewarned, the violence is extreme and not infrequent. Even the survivors are damaged perhaps irretrievably.

With the caveat about the violence, this book is highly recommended. But really folks, Lehane is not kidding about the darkness. A conditional five stars. ( )

The second Kenzie/Gennaro mystery. In this one they try to protect the college-student son of an aquaintance. We learn about Angie's grandfather and a bout her relationship to Patrick's ex-wife (if that was in the first book, I missed it). We also learn more about Patrick's father's horrific past. Other characters recur as well, including Bubba.

As in the first volume, we are confronted with extreme violence and asked to consider its sources. I like the fact that Lehane doesn't expect us to approve of the violence or of all the choices that Patrick and Angie make. There are real costs to the lives they have chosen.

Again we stay in Patrick's point of view and see events through his eyes. So far I haven't caught Lehane coloring the events too much through Patrick's eyes; he seems to see pretty clearly, with a weary worldliness that seems justified by what he has lived through. Yet there are things in Patrick's world, and especially people, who keep him from becoming a total nihilist. He and Angie are interesting characters and I will keep coming back to see them. ( )