4.5 stars for the detective genre book! Woo hoo! It's been a while since I've read a great detective book, and this was it. Totally loved it. Loved the connection of the detectives, Angie Gennaro and Patrick Kenzie, but who wouldn't? The banter is wonderful and reminded me a little bit of the characters on Castle, which I also love. As far as detective novels go, this one is definitely high on my list - I look forward to reading more in Lehane's series and reading more by him as a result!

Outstanding first in a series. Complex ethical questions drive the main characters to investigate. Not your b/w approach to solving crimes. Combine that with masterful prose and unrelenting pacing, you have a masterpiece.

No question the writing style is effective. Just didn't like the plot or most of the characters.

This is a thriller that is gritty, full of action, and fast paced. It is also the first book in a series that features private investigators Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro. As the story opens, the investigative team is hired by a group of politicians to retrieve documents that have been stolen by the cleaning lady, who is now missing. As Patrick and Angie set out to track down the missing woman, they find themselves caught up between two rival gangs, and, as they discover just what the highly sought after documents contain, they face their own ethical dilemma about what the proper course of action should be. This type of book is comfort food for me. I love a good detective story that can sustain plot and pacing. Throw in lead characters that make you want to join them again for another adventure, and you have a winner, winner chicken dinner. So far, there are six books in this series by the author of Shutter Island, and I plan on reading every one of them. While not as well written as Shutter Island, this was also the author's first book, and so I look forward to experiencing his transition from adequate and engaging to brilliant mastermind (I absolutely LOVED Shutter Island).

This is a great start to the promising series by Dennis Lehane. Full of political turmoil and fast paced twist, this novel is sure to satisfy thriller fans. Although I felt this is as good as some of his other novels, I really enjoyed reading this.

Totally enjoyable. I've been looking for something to lose myself in for a while, and a sister suggested this author. I didn't buy the final shootout scene and the peace-making with the one druglord at the end; but minor complaints, overall. I like a politically progressive thriller.

This book grabbed me by the throat and didn't let me go. Dennis Lehane spins a fast-paced story with realistic characters: flawed protagonists with mixed motives, and all kinds of villains (some white collar, some wearing gang colors). It is tough and gritty; it deals with real-world ugliness and the seeming hopelessness of the mess that urban America has become: racism, violence, corrupt politics, gang warfare, abuse. The language is quite rough, though I didn't find it gratuitously so. The violence is fairly intense. But it's not just a bloodbath for the sake of violence. This is a book that explores the urban psyche and refuses to seek easy answers. It acknowledges the evil that lurks even within the "good guys" and acknowledges some of the forces that shape the "bad guys," while not letting anyone off the hook.I must also note how I enjoyed the portrayal of the Boston locale, the little details that took me back to times I've spent in that city. Lehane accurately portrayed the good, bad, and ugly -- though, admittely, I never saw quite the level of violence there that occurs in the heat of the gang war here portrayed! This book is the first in a series featuring Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro. I plan to read more!

This is the first book in a series featuring Boston Private Investigators Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro; the film Gone Baby Gone is based on a later entry in the series. It's also the first book by Lehane I've ever read, and certainly won't be the last. First thing I noticed, then forgot to notice as I was sucked in, is that Lehane has a beautiful prose style, not what you usually see in genre fiction. Told by Kenzie in an engaging voice, the characterizations pop off the page and feel real, as does the depiction of Boston. I read in the Wiki that "The New York Times described the book as somewhat cliched but praised the honest approach to racial and class warfare. They also felt that the seriousness of the novel's themes made a jarring contrast with the flippancy of the detective characters." Cliched? Some elements sure were predictable and far-fetched on reflection. But it didn't feel like that to me when reading, maybe because I was so taken with the sense of place and style. I do think the reviewer is right about it being honest about the complexity, intractability and ugliness tangled in the issues of race and class, even if at times heavy-handed. And precisely because of that I think the reviewer missed the point about the so-called flippancy. The Wiki also notes that the title, spoken by a cop to Kenzie and Gennaro before the outbreak of a gang war comes from a BBC comedy series. I don't think the humor undercuts the seriousness--I think it underlines it and makes it bearable--for the characters and reader both. What will bring me to the next book though are Kenzie and Gennaro. I like them, flippancy and all, separately and together. The romance element was well done without feeling intrusive to the overall plot.