Sacred: A Novel

In the third book of the series, our intrepid detective pair, Genaro and Kenzie are finally available to explore their romantic connection. While on a missing persons case, Genaro and Kenzie spend time in urban Florida which exerts its influence on the case and their relationship. Instead of the frigid atmosphere of Boston, the sun heats up their relationship and the story. But a moment of sun in a noir novel must still must form deep shadows. Ultimately the pair are confronted by violence, incest and conspiracy. With their pragmatic view of life and their sarcastic wit, Genaro and Kenzie are able to survive a homicidal family who tries to seduce them into betraying their values and one another. Lehane has a knack for spicy, bizarre characters and endearing relationships. His prose is poetic, almost visionary. His plot construction is impeccable. A non-stop read!

Private Investigators Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro are back. They've closed their office, because of what happened in the last book ("Darkness Take My Hand") and are adamant about not taking on any more cases. At least for a while. But dying billionaire Trevor Stone has different ideas. He has the pair kidnapped, so that they're forced to listen to his proposal. They don't want to, but he offers them twenty grand just to hear what he has to say. Then he tells them about how his darling daughter, who turns out not to be so darling after all, has gone missing in Florida. He's sent PI Jay Becker after her, the man who taught Patrick the biz, but he's vanished as well.This book takes us out of the seamier side of Boston and isn't as dark as Lehane's last two novels. Though this one is a little lighter in tone, it's still full of the twists and turns we've come to expect from Lehane and, like his last two books, this one too is worth every one of those five stars.Review submitted by Captain Katie Osborne

After the events of DARKNESS, TAKE MY HAND, Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro close up their private detective agency in order to recuperate. Angie is grieving for the death of her ex-husband and Patrick wants to give her as much time as she needs to regroup. Billionaire Trevor Scott is a desperate man who does not like to wait. He is desperately searching for his daughter who has gone missing for several weeks now. He had hired Jay Becker, Patrick Kenzie's mentor, to find Desiree. Mr. Becker does his job and when he is ready to report to Mr. Scott he disappears. Trevor kidnaps Angie and Patrick since they were not taking his calls or accepting any new cases. He tells them that he is dying and he needs to see his daughter one last time. Mr. Scott believes that Desiree is still grieving from the death of her mother as well as her boyfriend so that she alienated herself from her family. He also tells them about Jay's disappearance. Patrick and Angie are intrigued and take the case. They forgot only one thing. Just like in most mystery novels, the client does not tell the private investigators the truth and that is just the case here.What follows is a roller coaster ride that sends Kenzie and Gennaro to a cult, a fraud scheme, and warped family values. These two classic characters are witty and a joy to read. Lehane takes them out of their Dorchester neighborhood in Boston and sends them to sunny Florida. They hate it because they do not know anybody in town. It will make the job of finding Desiree and Jay a bit harder but they manage. Once they find Ms. Stone the reader learns that she has a lot of issues with Daddy. She will do whatever it takes to get even. This novel had one of the best endings in which all the villains get their just desserts. You cannot help yourself in rooting for Angela. Patrick then decides what to do with the crooks with a devious plan.This book is second best to GONE, BABY, GONE, and it is highly recommended. Bubba even makes an appearance on this novel before having to spend a year in jail. He is always a hoot. If you have never met Bubba Rogowski now is the time. You do not want him to come over to your house to introduce himself.

This is the third in Dennis Lehane's series of Boston-based, hard boiled-but-hip private eye novels featuring the team of Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro. This time, he refreshes his formula by taking his characters to a new locale, the Tampa-St.Petersburg area in Florida. What remains constant, however, is that Lehane has crafted another action-packed mystery thriller that once started is hard to put down.In each successive book, Lehane has further developed his ability to create plot lines that feature the twists, turns, and surprises that characterize only the very best action/mystery novels. In *Sacred*, he keeps the reader guessing right up until very close to the end of the book, and for this reason alone, the novel can be highly recommended.But Lehane does not just tell a good story, he writes exceedingly well and has a gift for describing characters, places, and human emotions that is rare within the detective genre. And to add frosting to the cake, in this novel he includes, almost in passing, some apt critical social commentary regarding the rapaciousness of the current "globalization" trend within the corporate world and Americans' overall obliviousness to the dark underside of this ongoing phenomenon. Is the book perfect? No, there are some minor shortcomings, in my opinion. The ending is a bit on the theatrical side (perhaps the book might someday become a Hollywood film?) and I confess that I found the turn toward deep romantic engagement between Patrick and Angela more boring than gratifying. In terms of further developing the nuances of his main characters, Lehane has essentially taken a vacation in *Sacred*. Maybe next time.Let me add that I was surprised to see that there is apparently an ongoing misconception among readers of this book that Lehane made a "glaring error" by including a clue involving the title of a 1965 Bob Dylan composition, "Positively Fourth Street." In fact, Lehane made no such error. On page 174, the clue offered by detective Jay Becker was, "Bob Dylan in St. Pete. . . Songs, not albums." Yup, "Positively Fourth Street" was indeed a well-known Bob Dylan song, so what's the problem? Overall, *Sacred* is a darned good read, a page-turner that stands head and shoulders above most other books in its genre. Consequently, I'm looking forward to moving on to the next volume in the Kenzie/Gennaro saga, "Gone, Baby Gone."

If Dennis Lehane wrote page after page of grocery shopping ...I'd still read it in one sitting. Angie and Patrick are, alas!, not real, but boy, are they fun! The dialogue is crisp, the rogues are, well, rough, the good guys are not entirely good and the bad guys (you get the drift)... A page turner for me.