Darkness, Take My Hand by Dennis Lehane is a dark mystery in Boston. Darkness, Take My Hand is the second book in the Kenzie and Gennaro series. This book is a dark and gritty mystery involving the mob and dangerous serial killers. Darkness, Take My Hand is a tension filled thrill ride. Serial killers are playing a deadly game hunting the children of the parents who stopped them years ago. Lehane writes a great mystery. The reader can follow along and knows as much as the characters trying to solve the case. I like a mystery that gives the audience a chance to solve it and Darkness, Take My Hand. This book was a reread for me I remembered for the final hidden killer was and what the mystery involved. Even though I read this book 20 years ago there was a lot I forgot and got to rediscover. The pacing of this story is very good and does not let up. The book has some slow moments but those scenes are laying tension and setting the reader up for twists. There are so many twists and turns, and a big reveal at the end. There’s a powerful breakdown scene. Patrick has to break another character to show how dangerous the situation is. He reveals how scared he is for them and how guilty he feels for putting them in that position. Darkness, Take My Hand is the second book in the series. I feel you could start this book without reading A Drink Before the War. You would be fine. There are callbacks to incidents that happened in the first book. Patrick is more emotionally shut off due to events in the last book. Five side characters return from A Drink Before the War. Darkness, Take My Hand was published July 12, 1996.

Plot Summary: Patrick Kenzie is still shaken from having to shoot and kill a suspect last year who threatened his partner. Angela or Angie Gennaro beat up her wife beating husband and started the divorce process. A client hires them when a lady claims to be a mafia enforcer’s girlfriend. She comes to Angie in need. She says her boyfriend will kill her. Patrick gets called in with the girl in trouble who has his same last name. The woman also receives a candid photo of her son from the mafia enforcer. Patrick and Angie use their connections to get a meeting with a mafia boss Fat Freddie. Patrick lays it out to the boss and Kevin the enforcer in question. Kevin denies it and Patrick and Angie believe him., but the accusation angers Kevin and he tells Patrick to watch his back. The case is going nowhere when a friend they grew up with is found crucified. The friend, an actress, turns out to be the girl in trouble the same girl the client reported. Who made the girl pretend she was in trouble with the mafia? Why did she use Patrick’s last name? Everything is connected to a serial killer rotting in jail who wants to take revenge and has trained someone to do that. This mystery gets personal fast. Can Patrick and Angie solve the case before the killer targets the people they love?

What I Liked: I liked how dark the story turned out. I liked how everything was connected and made sense in the end. The mystery did not keep any information hidden, we knew everything the private eyes knew. The breakdown scene was the highlight of the book. Patrick is trying to protect his girlfriend but only making things worse. She doesn’t want to go into protective custody because she doesn’t know the danger that she’s in. He must make her but adds his fear and ruins their relationship to save her and her daughter. The villains are terrifying. Two side characters shine Bubba and Phil. Bubba gets to show how vicious he is when you threaten someone he cares about and has threatened. Phil is finally sober and trying to redeem the monster he was with Angie. The killings were vicious and very bloody. The spicy moment was fun and well-earned, but too brief. I like how the story of Othello focusing on Iago to explain darkness. I also loved how the name Iago worked as a code.

What I Disliked: The ending was good but way too long. There was some tension and good build up but the killer’s lament went on and on. They did a profile on the final killer. It featured small feet and a stocky body. I did not imagine the person who fit that profile.

Book Recommendation: Darkness, Take my Hand is a fun dark thrill ride. Lehane writes gritty crime drama so well. Lehane has had four of his novels adapted to movies and I want to see this get adapted. I was able to visualize this story so well. It has a lot of cinematic elements. Darkness, Take My Hand is a reread for me and for some reason I hated this book only two stars 20 years ago. I don’t know what I was thinking this book is great.

Rating: Darkness, Take My Hand by Dennis Lehane 4.4 out of 5.