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A review by ncrabb
Prayers for Rain by Dennis Lehane
3.0
While this book is part of a series, I had no problem leaping into it and feeling as if I belonged there. Karen Nichols is the kind of woman you'd want as a friend or even a daughter. She possesses a kind of sweet innocence that lets her find good in everyone around her. She's squeaky clean, positive about her life, and riding the crest of a happy wave that shows no downward spirals.
But Karen has a little problem, and she has come to private investigator Patrick Kenzie for help. She's being stocked by a guy who, for whatever reason, is trying to drain from her everything that is good and kind and uplifting about her.
Patrick manages to fix the stocker problem or so he thinks, and everyone gets on with their lives. But just as he is about to leave for a sex-saturated vacation with a young female attorney, a phone call comes in from Karen Nichols. She sounds horrible. All that effervescence that once was a hallmark is gone, and she is again asking for help. But Kenzie is so intent on getting off to a vacation start that he essentially ignores the call. Not long after that, Karen leaps to her death, and Kenzie is left to wonder why and how someone of her optimism and good cheer could die so suddenly and violently.
He brings in a couple of friends to help him investigate the death. The girl is Angie, a former lover who, by virtue of her genealogy, has connections to the Boston-area mafia. The other is Bubba Rogowski, a somewhat mentally bent ex-military guy who fears nothing and is great at intimidation. The deeper they dig into Karen's death the more they realize that nothing about her final six months was coincidental. Even her parents have things to hide, and the sociopathic nature of the guy responsible for Karen's downfall keeps him one step ahead of them. Worse yet, he begins to exploit the weaknesses of Kenzie and his team such that those they love are also now threatened similarly to Karen.
So this sounds like a fast-paced page turner, right? If so, why would I be cautious in recommending it to you? Because the violence is neck snapping and gut wrenching. The levels of profanity and vulgar language here is way high. I get that many of you who follow me here are ok with that kind of thing in your books, and so I realize I run the risk of alienating one or two of you who may question why I would bother to write such warnings. But I'm convinced there are people who can take violence and vulgarity in books only in small doses if at all. It's for those folks that I cautiously recommend this. The book is written in a snappy, staccato style that doesn't allow for a lot of wool gathering and mind wandering. If you start it, you'll stay with it. Much of Boston and its environs are vividly described, and the author uses place as a great vehicle to keep you very much engaged in the book. Just
please be aware that the language in here is pretty salty and the violence is graphic in places.
But Karen has a little problem, and she has come to private investigator Patrick Kenzie for help. She's being stocked by a guy who, for whatever reason, is trying to drain from her everything that is good and kind and uplifting about her.
Patrick manages to fix the stocker problem or so he thinks, and everyone gets on with their lives. But just as he is about to leave for a sex-saturated vacation with a young female attorney, a phone call comes in from Karen Nichols. She sounds horrible. All that effervescence that once was a hallmark is gone, and she is again asking for help. But Kenzie is so intent on getting off to a vacation start that he essentially ignores the call. Not long after that, Karen leaps to her death, and Kenzie is left to wonder why and how someone of her optimism and good cheer could die so suddenly and violently.
He brings in a couple of friends to help him investigate the death. The girl is Angie, a former lover who, by virtue of her genealogy, has connections to the Boston-area mafia. The other is Bubba Rogowski, a somewhat mentally bent ex-military guy who fears nothing and is great at intimidation. The deeper they dig into Karen's death the more they realize that nothing about her final six months was coincidental. Even her parents have things to hide, and the sociopathic nature of the guy responsible for Karen's downfall keeps him one step ahead of them. Worse yet, he begins to exploit the weaknesses of Kenzie and his team such that those they love are also now threatened similarly to Karen.
So this sounds like a fast-paced page turner, right? If so, why would I be cautious in recommending it to you? Because the violence is neck snapping and gut wrenching. The levels of profanity and vulgar language here is way high. I get that many of you who follow me here are ok with that kind of thing in your books, and so I realize I run the risk of alienating one or two of you who may question why I would bother to write such warnings. But I'm convinced there are people who can take violence and vulgarity in books only in small doses if at all. It's for those folks that I cautiously recommend this. The book is written in a snappy, staccato style that doesn't allow for a lot of wool gathering and mind wandering. If you start it, you'll stay with it. Much of Boston and its environs are vividly described, and the author uses place as a great vehicle to keep you very much engaged in the book. Just
please be aware that the language in here is pretty salty and the violence is graphic in places.