Prayers for Rain (Patrick Kenzie/Angela Gennaro Novels)

Insane (2010-06-03) : 5/5
i love dennis. so glad he decided to create these cases with Patrick and Ange, cant forget Bubba too. Dennis takes something that may seem like a typical murder mystery and then adds a shot of cocaine to it. i cant get enough.
If you like this book... (2010-04-21) : 4/5
If you like this book, you may also enjoy the book False Memory by Dean Koontz. Both are very well written and I enjoyed the many plot twists and the suspense.
Interesting Story... (2010-03-10) : 3/5
I had just read Shutter Island and decided I wanted more of Lehane's masterful suspense writing so I chose to order this book. It starts off with lots of action, some mystery, and it really gets the reader involved in the characters early on. However somewhere around the middle of the story the action got a little too complex. Many characters are introduced and it cause some distraction from what is happening in the story. I think if this was a SHORTER story that got more to the point it would have been more enjoyable. I appreciate the idea of leading the reader in different directions, but I found myself disinterested at some points. If you are a Lehane fan and enjoy his quick wit writing, then this is a good book, but I don't think it's his best. Shutter Island is hard to top.
And They Lived Happily Ever After.... (2010-01-29) : 5/5
This is an excellent ending to the Kenzie/Gennaro series. It would be interesting if Lehane ever writes another contemporary novel, unlike his two most recent period novels, to at least have Patrick, Angie and Bubba appear in cameo roles.

Here is my take on where they are now in 2010: Patrick and Angie close their private investigation business. They marry and have two kids, a boy and a girl. The kids attend Catholic school, despite Patrick's objections. Bubba discovered that he is a computer savant. After hacking into the IRS computer system and wreaking havoc, he is arrested. Instead of going to jail, he is hired by the feds as an anti-hacking expert. He is also married to Vanessa. Angie is head of campus security at Boston University. And Patrick, well, he is a nationally acclaimed novelist. His early books drew heavily from his days as a private investigator. Patrick, Angie and Bubba have not been shot, stabbed or beaten up since 1999. Okay, Bubba still punches Patrick when Patrick calls him Ruprect!



What I like most about this book is that Bubba is a major presence throughout the book. In previous novels, he only made brief, albeit spectacular, appearances. We learn about Bubba's childhood and young adulthood. This gives us at least a partial understanding of why he is the way he is now. Most importantly, we learn why he is so devoted to Patrick and Angie and it is heartbreaking.
Torn between 3 or 4 stars (2010-01-15) : 3/5
This is my first Lehane novel, although I've seen both the films Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone and thought both were well done. I blazed through this novel in only a day or so, which means it at least kept my interest going however the overall experience was less than satisfying. The authentic-sounding snappy dialog present in Gone Baby Gone seems to have been replaced in this book by superficial comments and inane chatter. The entire plot, which I thought started off ok, eventually deteriorates into a mishmash of violence and unconvincing twists and characters. The reuniting of the two detectives, both professionally and romantically, was utterly underwhelming and not very believable to me. However, I have already bought another Kenzie/Gennaro Lehane book to see if my dislike for this one was just a fluke so I liked what I read enough to give the series another try.