Dennis Lehane: Darkness, Take My Hand

Dennis Lehane

Darkness, Take My Hand

Christina says:

This review is based upon the German translation by Andrea Fischer.

Psychologist Diandra Warren from Boston is receiving threats from the Irish mafia and hires Angie Gennaro and Patrick Kenzie, two private investigators, in order to protect her son Jason. For some reason, nobody seems to want to carry out the threats. Then, the two investigators are shocked by the murder of an old acquaintance. It bears the signature of a killer who has been in prison for several years, and before they realize what's happening they are involved in a case dating back years into their own past and taking a dimension they wouldn't have dreamed of even in their wildest imagination.

When I first met Angie Gennaro and Patrick Kenzie in the first book in the series, A Drink before the War, I wasn't sure if I wanted to follow the next adventures of the two private investigators from Boston. I liked Lehane's writing and protagonists, but in my opinion, he hadn't much to offer beyond this.

Fortunately, this impression was revoked by Darkness, Take My Hand, the second instalment in the series. There are less cool one-liners and the wild shoot-outs I found so annoying in A Drink before the War are very rare. This time he's telling a good story that is never overpowered by Lehane's very own psycho sidekick Bubba Rogowski running amok from time to time. It required great talent to tie up all the loose ends of this story without making the reader incredulously roll his eyes, a talent the author possesses to a great degree.

Lehane manages to transport feelings without being melodramatic, to be ironic without being annoyingly cool. His prologue is a small masterpiece, telling the reader in a melancholic way there won't be a happy ending, but without taking the suspense away.

As long as Lehane continues to tell stories which at the same time make you think and won't let you sleep at night, and as long as he won't let Bubba run wild, I'll be an enthusiastic reader of his series about Kenzie and Gennaro.

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Christina

Last changes: 12-10-03