Sacred by Dennis Lehane is a dark mystery involving a cult and a dark family secret. Sacred is the third book in the Kenzie and Gennaro series. This book is a wild ride, that went to places I did not suspect. The book starts with a bang as Kenzie and Gennaro are kidnapped within the first chapter. They get an offer they can’t refuse, it’s more money than they have made before but way more dangerous. The pace of Sacred is great once the story gets going it does not stop. The twists and turns are throughout the book. The story is about two missing people one is a missing girl a dying father wants back before he dies. The second person missing was the first detective on the case and Patrick Kenzie’s mentor. This case is personal. The ending was the best in the series so far. The ending is very brutal and satisfying for the audience. Sacred has one heck of a chase scene that kept my heart rate. It involves multiple cars, guns, and a rainy night. The bad guys are well written and they all get what they deserve in the end. Kenzie and Gennaro are the heart of this series. There was always something holding back their relationship until now. Will the build-up in sexual chemistry pay off or fizzle? This whole series is a reread for me and I’m loving it. My rating for this book has not changed over the years, but my ranking of books in the series has. Sacred by Dennis Lehane was published on July 23, 1997.

Plot Summary: Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro can tell they are being tailed. They would have escaped if there weren’t two tails. Patrick and Angela are tied up and blindfolded. When the blindfolds come off, they find themselves in an old-style mansion. They are with a billionaire they have recognized from the news. This billionaire is dying and weak. His wife passed in a car accident they were both in. That is where Kenzie and Gennaro recognize Trevor Stone, the billionaire, from the news reports of the accident. Trevor explains that he only has a little time left and wants Kenzie and Genaro to track Desiree Stone down. Kenzie has not worked on a case since the last one and is unsure about this. Trevor throws out a big number and tells them about the other detective who has also gone missing. Jay was Patrick’s mentor and a great detective, he showed him the ropes early. Jay was disappointed that Patrick never joined his agency but was still proud that he started his private investigation agency. Patrick and Jay still talk but didn’t realize he was missing. Trevor believes his daughter has joined a cult. Patrick and Angela agree to find the daughter but also want to find Jay, as well.

What I Liked: The Kenzie and Gennaro relationship is fun. They have some great will they won’t they moments. This book does pay off on the sexual tension that has been building over the other two books. I did like that incidents from both the previous books were mentioned. The events aren’t just added to catch the reader up but enhance the storytelling. I still stand by that you do not need to read these books in order. It was a nice moment where both plots were mentioned. This book has three great scenes. The car chase scene, the ending scene, and the invading the cult scene. All the scenes are tension filled and intense. I like the characters of Desiree Stone, Trevor Stone, and Jay. All the characters have such great moments. Bubba is my favorite existing side character from previous books. The interrogation scene with Bubba is so powerful. Bubba also has the best monologue about living with pain and friendship.

What I Disliked: There’s a scene where a code word is used that was unnecessary. It over explained too much. Kenzie and Gennaro have good instincts and would have figured it out without a code word. The code word itself took too long to explain. I liked the movie references and what the code meant. However, it just wasn’t needed and hurt Patrick’s detective ability. I did not like what happened to Bubba’s character and felt it was out of the blue. I thought I missed something as Bubba’s story was ending in this book.

Recommendation: This whole detective series for Kenzie and Gennaro is both dark and fun. The way the series balances dark and light is great and makes me keep reading. Sacred was a little more funnier than the past two books but still as serious as it has to be. This story was such a wild ride that I often did not know where the story was going. I recommend you check out Sacred and the whole Kenzie and Gennaro series.

Rating: Sacred by Dennis Lehane I rated 4.1 out of 5.

Ranking: I have read and reviewed 3 books from the Kenzie and Gennaro series. I will rank the books in order from favorite to least favorite: 1) Darkness, Take My Hand, 2) Sacred, and 3) A Drink Before the War.