Prayers for Rain audiobook

Patrick and Angie have gone up against a lot of very bad people in their time as detectives. They’ve tangled with gang members, serial killers, the Irish and Italian mob, a religious cult, corrupt politicians, child molesters, and a variety of other evil sons-of-bitches. In Prayers for Rain, they meet their most sadistic and diabolical villain yet.Angie has gone to work for another detective agency, and Patrick is operating solo. Without Angie around, he’s losing his taste for the job, though. However, he gets very interested when Karen Nichols hires him to help get a stalker off her back. Karen is the type of person who seems too nice and innocent to exist in the world. She just wants to marry her boyfriend and lead a normal life. Patrick and his personal wrecking crew Bubba manage to *ahem* 'persuade' the stalker to leave Karen alone and consider it a job well done. Karen sends Patrick a check signed with little hearts on it. Case closed.Six months later, Patrick hears that Karen has committed suicide. He realizes that he forgot to return a call she made to him months before, and he’s shocked to hear that Karen’s life imploded after he last saw her. Her boyfriend was hit by a car and is in a coma. She lost her job and her home. He’s even more shocked to hear that Karen ended up on drugs and became a prostitute before she finally stepped off a building. Patrick can’t believe that the woman he met could fall apart so fast and starts looking into what happened. Fortunately for him, Angie is willing to come back and help out.What they find is that Karen’s life was systematically destroyed by a mysterious figure. But why would anyone go to so much effort to crush a woman whose biggest dream was being able to afford a Toyota Camry? As Patrick and Angie try to figure out who ruined Karen’s life, they’re contacted by the man who did it. Now he’s threatening to do the same to them if they don’t back off, and he’s more than capable of making good on the threat. Wow. It’d been several years since I’d read the Patrick & Angie novels, and I’d kind of forgotten how good Lehane was at creating creepy and effective villains as well as his knack for keeping you on the edge of your seat. I especially liked that while he never made Patrick and Angie superheroes, that they’re also not victims. If someone screws with them, they go on the offensive, and their motto is that payback is a bitch.This one also has more of Bubba than the other books, and the big crazy bastard is in rare form here. Whether it’s using a tennis racket to negotiate with a stalker or escorting Patrick to a Mafia barbecue or schooling the detectives on the fine art of walking point in hostile territory, Bubba is always highly entertaining in a demented way. He is definately among the best of the bad-ass friends in the realm of ficional private detectives.Now that I’ve re-read all of the P & A novels, I can not wait for the release of Moonlight Mile next month so I can find out what they’ve been up to for the last ten years.

You wanted to play? Well, hide-and-seek is over. Let the real games begin, motherfucker. I can't say this is exactly what I wanted it to be....because it wasn't. But not for one minute did I not enjoy it. Is that weird? This book took me a week to read, which doesn't bode well for what I thought of it-But then I take into account how busy, tired, meh I've been and it about evens out with my mood. The verdict?? When I felt a distance at the beginning, I should have stopped. I drank some more Beck's, fingered the cardboard coaster, felt a grin fighting to break across my face. I glanced at Angie. The corners of her mouth twitched, too. "Don't look at me," she said."Why not?""I'm telling you-" She lost the battle and closed her eyes as the smile broke across her cheeks. Mine followed about a half second later. "I don't know why I'm smiling," Angie said."Me, either.""Prick.""Bitch."She laughed and turned on her chair, drink in hand. "Miss me?"Like you can't imagine."Not a bit," I said. I've been in no mood for tedious and detailed books seeing as I am tired beyond reason all the time now, and when I picked this up and felt like I was getting nowhere (knowing these books like I do and loving them all) I should have known to call it quits and save it for a vacation or a holiday. But I never learn my lesson it seems... "You don't kill a guy for trashing a woman's car.""Yeah?" Bubba said. "Where's that written?"I have to admit he had me there."Plus," Bubba said, "you know, he gets the chance he'll rape her."I nodded."I hate rape-os," Bubba said."Me, too.""It'd be cool if he never did it again."I turned in my seat. "We're not killing him."Bubba shrugged. But here's the thing: Even after saying all that, I still love this book and my Patrick. I may not have gotten the full enjoyment because of my mood, but it can't possibly stunt the deep love I have for these characters or this series. She pulled her hand back, stuffed it in her pocket as if it were burning."I-"She stepped back from whatever she saw in my face. "Don't say it."I shrugged. "Okay. I do, though.""Shh." She put a finger to her lips, smiled around it, but her eyes shimmered with moisture. "Shh," she said again. And, sadly, again I don't really have time to be writing a review, but I wanted to put one out anyway-Because my Patrick and Bubba and Angie deserve one. Patrick's love for Angie is unparalleled and makes my heart hurt with his want. "Do you hate my hair?" Angie whispered."No. It's just...""Short?" She smiled."Yeah. I don't love you because of your hair, though."She shifted slightly, turned her shoulder into the holes between rungs."Why do you love me?"I chuckled. "You want me to count the ways?"She didn't say anything, just watched me."I love you, Ange, because...I don't know. Because I always have. Because you make me laugh. A lot. Because..." He'd do anything for her-even die for her, if it kept her safe. "Because since you left I have these dreams that you're sleeping beside me. And I wake up and I can still smell you, and I'm still half dreaming, but I don't know it, so I reach for you. I reach across to your pillow, and you're not there. And I gotta lie there at five in the morning, with the birds waking up outside and you not there and your smell just fading away. It fades and there's-" I cleared my throat. "There's nothing but me left there. And white sheets. White sheets and those birds and it hurts, and all I can do is close my eyes and lie there and wish I didn't feel like dying." And this is the basis of everything, isn't it? Holding on dearly to those few people you cherish, keeping them safe and out of harm's way. But that isn't easy with a psychopath hell bent on ruining peoples' lives, forcing them to become shells of themselves. So when Patrick is threatened, and all those around him threatened if he doesn't back off, what does he do? Well...I'll tell ya: He's Patrick, so no, he doesn't fucking back off. Would you expect any less? The clerk behind the counter, far from being the dweeby, bespectacled, balding type one would expect to meet in a tax assessor's office, was tall, well built, blond, and judging by Angie's furtive glances at him, something of a male babe.Himbos, I swear. There ought to be a law that keeps them from ever leaving the beach. So, yeah, I probably ruined some of this book, but I also just couldn't wait. Patrick's dedication, loyalty, conviction to do right by those wronged when they don't have anyone else to fight for them, his love for his friends, his partner, Angie, and his all around spunk are something I've been missing wholeheartedly are something I admire and force me to say I'm not sorry I pushed it. So, you know, there's only one left and it looks like, at this point, I'll be waiting for a good time to read it, because I wouldn't dare ruin the final Patrick book. That would be a huge mistake...even Patrick would agree with that. ;)For more of my reviews, please visit:

After finishing the fifth in his exploits of Kenzie & Gennaro, I can confidently say that Dennis Lehane doesn't just have my number- dude's straight up got me on speed dial. What's more, I had my defenses up this time around. I don't forgive easily, and (to my own detriment) part of me* was still feeling petulant about my Gone, Baby, Gone -induced melancholia. I don't trust myself to say much about this one without ruining surprises (pleasant or otherwise). There will be more Bubba Rogowski , even an extra dose of what makes the beloved bruiser tick. So, in summation, I'll likely be subjecting myself to more of the twisted sweet torture of Lehane-land deviance soon enough. ____________________________________________* An emotionally-stunted part that should not be acknowledged when it comes to evaluating the quality of literature (Gone, Baby, Gone is an excellent read).

I love Dennis Lehane’s Boston duo— I remember devouring them after reading my first Lehane novel (Mystic River— read the book, then watch the movie). So I was pretty shocked to discover that I missed the last few books of the series. After downloading this entry, I worried it might have been too long, or maybe I wouldn’t like the characters anymore. What was I thinking? It didn’t take more than a chapter in abs so kept announcing to any one passing by (my poor Mister since we’re empty nesters now) that Lehane’s writing and his rumpled, almost always down on his luck private eye was still as charming as ever. That streak of integrity (in between some violent scenes) still gets me. Mr Lehane— I’m so sorry I doubted you. I loved the premise, the characters and the poetic justice of the ending. Pick it up for the mystery, pick it up for the characters, pick it up (after Mystic River or Shutter Island— but DO NOT SEE THE MOVIES FIRST) for the plotting, but definitely don’t forget this series!!

I took a Lehane break after Gone, Baby, Gone. I needed to read lighter books with stories that didn't make me feel like breaking down or getting angry because of stupid laws that make children's lives miserable.But I decided to read the next one when I saw that I need to return the Lehane books I had at home to the library. I could return them and then borrow them again but I thought what the heck lets at least read this one! Anyway, this book was a lot easier to read, the story is good, really good, just a hell of a lot lighter than Gone, Baby Gone, that doesn't mean that the story was fluffy and sweet, just that I could read it and it didn’t make me furious or sad. Well, the part with the dog hit me hard. But Bubba showed in the end what he feels about people hurting dogs.It's a fast read, as always with Lehan's books. I feel the same way when I read Harlan Coben. Suddenly you are halfway through the book and you just started it. The reason I didn’t give it 5 stars, in the end, was because the ending was a bit predictable. It just wasn't that surprising, it was more an “ of course it has to be this way” not an “ OMG WTF?” a moment. He must have had a partner, he couldn't do everything by himself and where did he get the information, it was a logical ending, but not a perfect mind-blowing ending like Darkness Take My Hand.

Patrick Kenzie is approached by a woman named Karen Nichols who asks him to scare off a stalker. After Kenzie, along with the always terrifying Bubba Rowgowski, put the fear of God into the guy, Patrick considers the matter settled. About four months later, Karen leaves a vague message on Patrick’s phone asking for help with something. In a rush, Patrick deletes the voicemail and promptly forgets about it. Not long after, Karen is found dead after an apparent suicide. Kenzie’s guilt over ignoring Karen’s call begins to get the better of him as he sets out to discover why Karen killed herself – or if there is more to her death than meets the eye.I initially thought the premise was a little thin and thankfully, so did the majority of the people Patrick talked to at first. Luckily, Patrick’s instincts are as sharp as a can-cutting Ginsu knife and the case turned out to be a worthwhile pursuit. So worthwhile that Patrick even managed to bring Angie back into the fold following the soul-crushing events of Gone, Baby, Gone. I was worried as the chemistry that Bubba, Angie and Patrick share could be the basis for countless novels and I had hoped Lehane wouldn’t screw around with it by taking Angie out of the equation. However, he knows these characters inside and out and together they form a rare ensemble that any crime fiction writer should aspire to create, so it would be foolish to mess with a good thing.Patrick’s unwavering determination drives the story as he comes face-to-face with an absolute psychopath of a villain. The scenes they share together were the very definition of hostility with both men trying to show how little they were shaken by the other’s threats. I’d be lying if I didn’t have a goofy grin plastered on my face on more than one occasion – it was that kind of nervous/anxious laughter you get where you’re not sure just who was coming out of it alive.While the Kenzie & Gennaro series is as strong a crime/detective/mystery series as you’re going to get, it isn’t a case where its sum is greater than its individual parts. Each novel can stand alone as an excellent work of fiction worthy of any reader’s time. I still have one more to go (Moonlight Mile) before I catch up to where Dennis Lehane left off. Hopefully he has more planned but with a ten-year gap between books five and six, I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Awesome penultimate offering ; featuring the reunion we wanted. If you want to read a series you can enjoy over and over again, with great characters and characterization, then Lehane is your guy. He is the definition of being readable. If you wanna check out contemporary fiction but the typical route is not your thing, then this series is perfect in between. So enjoyable. So enjoy.Codicil: I remember reading this book back in 2009. And I remember rereading it in November of 2016. I fondly recall now how I just wanted to read something light so I picked this up and ended up reading the entire series. This book definitely a solid follow-up to his excellent Gone Baby Gone novel. The Book was better, just FYI. If you are unaware of the letters, you might like Ben Affleck's outing and ousting, but that was his comeback, originally, I did like the movie immensely when I first viewed but not after reading the book. This book though, was a comeback for the duos, a return of sorts, but a welcomed one. A surprise, I'm sure, but a welcome one. Hehe, Gods, that movie sucked ass too, not in a good way. Ah, this book, I remember you, such a funny little boy. Wait, no, that's not right. Write. Match-cut to this November in the spectacular of now. Prayers for Rain? Oh okay. But it is not the Same. It's the affection of a different kind, not an infliction. And Blind Mermaids are still a thing, best believe it, thank the Galilean for that. In the end, all I managed to do is I was able to put the Ghost back in the ink of my words. Not now but Before Sunrise, Sunset, Midnight, a different rain was falling a little differently on my skin that's still the same. Pretty much. But this series and the MCs, I like a lot, I do.

I don't have many regrets, but one that I do have is having watched Mystic River when I did.I had been very familiar with Dennis Lehane at the time, and the opportunity came to see the movie even though I hadn't read the book yet. Call it a weak moment, but I went ahead and watched it. I loved it, and only later realized it is considered his best work.Of course, I can't read it now, at least until I've totally forgotten the movie.So until then, I'm picking through his work, and I've very much enjoyed this series so far. I devoured Prayers for Rain. It was great to get back to these characters, especially Bubba, and the story was just complex enough to get the brain buzzing but digestable enough to make this a speedy read.This isn't the best of the series. Darkness, Take My Hand takes that honor, but it was a great diversion and a reminder of what a thriller writer should be, and why I should keep reading him.

** spoiler alert ** I must confess... I am not a fan of the hard-boiled American "Private Eye", who relies more on his physical prowess than mental powers to catch criminals. Hercule Poirot and his little grey cells, and the cosy drawing-room British murder mystery where violence almost always takes place backstage, is more to my taste. Given my usual predilections, I might never have discovered Dennis Lehane, had Martin Scorsese not made a movie out of Shutter Island. I wanted to see the movie; and since I make it a point never to see a mystery movie without reading the book, I read the book-and was hooked.Lehane writes beautifully (I mean, it is not great literature, but one does not look for it in a murder mystery); Prayers for Rain will hook you and pull you in from the first page, and the pace never lets up. The breathtaking pace is not built through incessant physical action, but rather through the steadily increasing tempo of dramatic tension. The book is so well structured that succeeding scenes almost naturally flow out of their predecessors. We never feel that somebody is building the narrative, rather it is flowing by itself. The novelist is almost invisible.The characterisation is also superb. Even the secondary characters are well-delineated. Lehane takes pains to build the world of his story. And in the creation of Wesley Dawe, the author has succeeded in creating a truly evil villain, somebody who will really makes us shudder.Are there flaws? Sure, for a purist. There are some loose ends which are not tied up cleanly. The "omnipotent" mailman as a literary device is straight out of G.K.Chesterton. Also, to make Wesley's and Scott's plans work, Lehane had to create a lot of co-conspirators, which makes the story rather far-fetched.However, all these can be ignored. The sheer pace and energy of the narrative will carry you through, bug-eyed and dry-mouthed, till the last page is turned, when the final twist will blow you away. The novel thrills... and what more does a "thriller" require to do?

It may not be the best in the series ― that would undoubtedly be Gone, Baby, Gone ― but it is a personal winner. Some cat-and-mouse, cracking dialogues, and background Bubba tales.

Private I, Patrick Kenzie, has a client who is being targeted by a stalker and she asks for help. Kenzie confronts the stalker and seems to be successful in discouraging him from continuing, case closed. But six months later when he learns that she has jumped naked to her death he wonders whether he was not as successful as he thought and decides to look into it. What follows is match with a unknown and diabolical monster has hounded her to jump and is soon trying the same things on Kenzie as he and is partner Angela hunt him down. My first Lehane and not my last!

Un bel thrillerone classico, originale il giusto, veloce il giusto e scritto ancor piu' giustamente bene. E' il Lehane pastoso e mai sonnolento che piace anche quando non brilla per innovazione ma che compensa con una tecnica e con una classe superiori. E poi ci sono i personaggi principali: azzeccati e simpatici, si fanno persino perdonare per gli odiosi gigioneggiamenti che tanto piacciono agli americani.

Another winner by Lehane, the premise was good, the suspense was nerve-racking, but the only thing preventing me from giving this book 5 stars is the abrupt ending, other than that it was a great book!Prayers for Rain takes place shortly after the events of Gone Baby Gone, Patrick Kenzie is now working solo, and Angie Gennaro deciding to end their partnership and their personal relationship, and is now living out of Dorchester, working for an investigative firm. Kenzie is drawn into the investigation of the suicide of a former client, Karen Nichols, who has killed herself by jumping off a Boston Landmark naked. At first according to Kenzie it seems it was done because when Karen asked for his help earlier, there was a pedophile stalking her, but when Kenzie seemingly averted the crisis, Karen ends up dead. Now Kenzie, (and I will mention that he's not flying solo for long, after hearing about all the details, Angie jumps back into their partnership) is on the trail of a sadistic madman who drove Karen to her death, and a madman that the law can't touch, but Kenzie and Gennaro can. As they look more into Karen's background and family history, they realize they're not chasing an ordinary killer, and they must put all their skills to practice in order to bring him to justice.Some of the story was very hard to follow, I had to keep flipping back to find out what was going on, but in the end it all started to come together, like connect the dots. Towards the end I couldn't put it down!