Sacred

Rating:
Summary: "Black as White, Up is Down"
Review: In the third installment of Dennis Lehane's Kenzie/Gennaro series, Patrick Kenzie and his partner Angie Gennaro take a trip to Florida to track down the depressed and grieving daughter of a dying billionaire named Trevor Stone. They end up taking the job after being drugged and kidnapped by Stone's henchmen. Quickly, the job becomes more than they had originally bargained for.

First, they discover that Desiree, Stone's daughter, got mixed up in a shady counselling center that is tied to an equally shady church. Kenzie's mentor, Jay Becker, managed to disappear while pursuing this case himself. To top it off, one morning Kenzie wakes up to find all his credit cards cancelled, his bank account frozen, and the IRS on his back. Things start to get personal for Kenzie and his partner, on more than one level.

This book is notably different than its predecessors in the series. Unlike 'A Drink Before the War' and 'Darkness, Take My Hand,' the events of the book are not limited to the greater Boston area. Kenzie and Gennaro track Desiree and Becker down to Florida. It is in Florida that most of the twists and interesting events take place. Another difference in this novel is the lack of Bubba. Bubba is a gun running mountain of a man that is extremely protective of Kenzie and Gennaro. He appears for about three chapters before heading to prison to serve out a one year sentence on weapons charges.

The third difference is the atmosphere. Lehane still manages to sneak in political commentary concerning wealth and power, but it is less pointed. The novel is not as dark. If 'A Drink Before the War' was the urban gangster novel of the series, and 'Darkness, Take My Hand,' was the serial killer novel of the series, then this was the surreal "what is going" on novel. As Gennaro says, "black is white, up is down." The book is full of plot twists. Nothing is as it seems, and things continually change up until the last four or five chapters of the book.

I highly recommend 'Sacred.' It probably deserves five stars, but I felt it wasn't quite on par with the previous two novels of the series, so I gave it four. Lehane is one of the best crime novel authors out there. I recommend reading this series from the beginning in order to understand some of the details and back story that are alluded to, but you could start with this novel if you wanted.

Rating:
Summary: Lighter-hearted, but not quite a "comic caper"
Review: I've seen this promoted as a "comic caper", and it rather starts that way. For Lehane, it is lighter and maybe it's as close to comic as he's capable of being.

Our two detectives are kidnapped and subsequently hired to trace down an obscenely rich man's daughter. It turns out that the last detective hired to find her, not so coincidentally the detective who originally trained Kenzie, has also disappeared. This leads the pair first through a phony counseling center which is tied in with a religious cult and then to Florida which state is lightly satirized, but no more so than Lehane's native Boston, and then after a couple of plot twists, back to Boston.

There are a lot of references to the previous book and some out and out spoilers, so I definitely advise you to read the first two books before you read this one.

I don't mind his lightening things up, nor do I mind his having a bit of fun at Florida's expense because he says nothing about it that my friends & relatives in Florida haven't said. But I do mind his going overboard in the final third of the book and handing us an ending that's too incredible to believe. And that ending is the reason for the three stars.

However, the ride through the first 2/3 of the book is indeed enjoyable, and I won't discourage you from reading it, but be prepared.

Rating:
Summary: I have only just begun, but this is great stuff!
Review: I love Stone Barrington, but Patrick is everything stone is and more. I haven't finished this book and I am already hooked. It is a great story wrapped up in some incredibly subtle humor. I was cracking up all the way to and from work. I am glad I bought all of the other unabridged Lehane books on tape.

Rating:
Summary: Could be better
Review: Weak plot but still the same smart dialogue and that is the book's saving grace.

Rating:
Summary: Weak plot plus smart-aleck sleuth equals a dull book
Review: I read Lehane's first two books and enjoyed them immensely. But Sacred was so bad that I am very angry that I wasted several hours reading it. The plot seemed to be an afterthought to the smart-aleck, wisecracking dialog of Kenzie. I was also turned off by the condescending put-downs of Florida. Lehane's provincial adoration of Boston detracts from his stories.

Rating:
Summary: Over the top
Review: It's hard to believe the same person who wrote MYSTIC RIVER also wrote SACRED. In MYSTIC RIVER Lehane takes the time to introduce us to the characters, one of the best expositions I've read. In SACRED he starts in the middle of the action, Kenzie and Gennaro being kidnapped and drugged by a ruthless billionaire who wants them to find his missing daughter.
All of the characters are overblown: Kenzie and Gennaro might as well be twins, both of them hard-boiled detectives who don't shrink from violence. Gennaro breaks a woman's nose with a right cross at one point.
The story is also melodramatic and corny in spots. The 'sacred" in the title refers to Kenzie and Gennaro's burgeoning romantic relationship. At one point Gennaro is buried alive up to her neck, and the only thing that saves her, besides a conveniently-placed rock, is her sacred love for Kenzie. Blech!
Lehane has little regard for suspension of disbelief. The billionaire is way over the top. He's about to die, he wants to have himself cryogenically preserved, he's able to destroy Kenzie's credit rating and clear his bank account with a phone call. He has a coterie that will remind you of mafia soldiers.
Another thing that bugged me was Lehane's constant references to previous books I hadn't read. He assumes you're a fan or you wouldn't be reading SACRED. I picked up two paperbacks in a bookstore after I'd read MYSTIC RIVER, hoping for a repeat performance. I didn't get it.

Rating:
Summary: Sacred
Review: YA'Dying billionaire Trevor Stone has his thugs kidnap sleuths Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro and bring them to his mansion so he can hire them to find his missing daughter, Desire. She is supposedly grief-stricken over the death of her mother and the impending death of her father but it becomes clear that she may not be the sweet and beautiful daughter her father describes. Patrick's mentor, Jay Becker, was the first investigator on the case but he has also disappeared. Patrick and Angie follow the trail to Florida after a brief encounter with a group of religious swindlers who may be involved with the disappearances. Every person they meet adds more confusion and conflicting information to the puzzling case. The intricate mystery of the changing identity of Desire, dangerous car chases, bloody shoot-outs, and the humorous dialogue between Patrick and Angie, all with subtle romantic overtones, will keep YAs happily turning pages.'

Rating:
Summary: Positively Fourth Street.....
Review: .....was indeed a Bob Dylan song and an excellent clue for Jay to give Angie and Patrick!! Just part of the little details and nuances that Lehane brings to the Kenzie/Gennaro series--and why I keep coming back for more!! I am attempting to stretch this series out until I hear that Lehane has a new one coming but the only thing saving me right now is the fact that I don't have Gone, Baby, Gone in my house.

Lehane's writing is addictive. The interplay between Kenzie and Gennaro feels authentic. And the mysteries (in my gullible-reader view anyway) are sound.

Sacred is a bit "lighter" than previous Lehane novels I've read, but I find that the mystery and plot don't suffer and that "light"ness lends itself toward making me care more for Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro.

This is, indeed, a good thing.

Rating:
Summary: A step below Darkness Take my Hand
Review: Sacred is Lehane's third novel and it is good and entertaining but fails to live up with the action and suspense established by his second novel, Darkness Take my Hand.

Patrick and Angie are detectives back on the case trying to find the missing daughter of a rich tycoon. The title of the book and the summary on the jacket lead me to believe this story would revolve around a religious cult. But it doesn't at all. Patrick and Angie don't know who to trust as they follow lead after lead looking for Desiree, the daughter.

This entertaining book has plenty of twists. It seems to be sort of a let up from the last one where the case invaded the personal lives of the two detectives. Some of this story almost plays out like a comedy, and it lacks the gritty realism that made Lehane's last book so enjoyable.

After four Lehane novels, I have to admit he is a good author and I plan on reading his last two soon.

Rating:
Summary: A Little Less Hard Hitting. Still Excellent.
Review: I found this one, didn't have as much hard hitting action as the others. Not a criticism, an observation. The twists and turns are what you look for in this one. I keep waiting for more.