Denis Lehane was listed as one of the Times' (London) 50 best crime writers, and this book was the suggested example of his work. I think he deserves his place on the list. The writing is fluent and pacy without too much of the philosophising or observing the beauties of nature that can creep into some crime novels with literary pretensions. The PIs, criminals and police share common backgrounds and many attitudes. In fact the 'normal' criminals - drug dealers, murderers and the like - tend to be portrayed as being as easy to get on with as the street cops. The paedophiles are a different category and are given the full horrorshow treatment which, for me, had the effect of making them less than credible.

The central challenge of the book is how to deal with neglect and indifference to children rather than the intentional abuse of the perverted. What rights should a parent have over their child? How much state intervention in child care is appropriate? Who is to make the decisions? Recent well-publicised cases in the UK have highlighted the pitfalls. To avoid spoilers, let's just say that a question is asked at the end of the book and the author's answer may not be what the reader would choose.

The plot is complex but not excessively so. The characters are well portrayed - I thought at first Patrick and Angie were shaping up to be better balanced and less tortured than many literary detectives, but by the end it's reassuringly clear that they are as screwed up as their rivals. Another reviewer has remarked that the series would better be read in order: given some of the background described in this book, I would agree. I am looking forward to making the acquaintance of Kenzie and Gennaro again, and I'm particularly glad that this isn't the last of the series.

Recommended with little reservation. ( )

he final (?) book in a series featuring private detectives Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro, Gone, Baby, Gone is not quite as good as, say, Mystic River, but it is still a tight thriller. I might have enjoyed it more had I not seen the excellent film adaptation first and thus already knew the outcome. But something about this book disturbed me, and I think the film actually did a better job handling it. Lehane’s worldview is rather bleak, especially concerning children, and Gone, Baby, Gone presents a moral choice that would be difficult for anyone to make: Is it better to save the innocent even at the expense of the law, given that the child protection system is so broken? Because the things that happen to children in Gone, Baby, Gone are so horrific, and the people who seek to protect them clearly love them very much, the moral question presented shades more to black and white than the gray it actually is. Still, Lehane’s question is a challenging one, which elevates Gone, Baby, Gone above the level of a mere detective thriller. ( )

Disclosure: My review may be biased by the fact that I am in love with Patrick Kenzie - too bad he's not real! - but this book was a very good read. Usually I figure out the ending about half way through a crime novel, but this one had some intriguing twists and turns that kept me guessing right to the end. ( )

Great novel. It pissed me off, though. Kenzie's delusions of being a highly moral and upright citizen got in the way of good sense, and the only consolation for me was the idea that perhaps he knew that he'd done the wrong thing in the end. People don't change.

It's up for debate, though, and I'm not one to open up a can of worms. It's brilliant writing from Mr. Lehane as usual, but I hate moral dilemmas. That's why it gets only three and a half stars. ( )

Gone Baby Gone is set in Dorchester, MA, with working class P.I.'s among working class cops and working class criminals. Everyone knows everyone else. Sort of. Yet a baby is missing, the mother is a loser, and it all seems hopeless. The leads come to dead ends time after time,and all seems lost until a second resurrection of the crime with new hope and the possibility of closure. Some awkward writing in the middle sounds hackneyed and labored, but the overall story is complex and vivid. And the ending is full of delicious contraditctions and moral ambiguities that leave you asking more questions than ever. Well done.