Shelby *trains flying monkeys*'s Reviews > Darkness, Take My Hand

"Darkness," I said, "take my hand. Take Me away from this place." and Darkness did.

It's pretty good for a series when the second book of it is even better than the first. (A Drink Before the War) This book is that. I got really attached to the characters of Angie and Kenzie in the first book and this book cemented that fictional bond. You live in these books when you read them. Not that it's always a good thing, this book crept even my non-feeling ass out.

Kenzie and Angie take a simple case where a psychiatrist thinks she has made a mob family angry. Now she feels that her son is being targeted so she wants my heroes to follow up with the mob guys to see if they will play nice.
I really wasn't in the mood to play cute with a bunch of cut-rate psychopaths who'd seen The Godfather too many times and thought they were respectable.

So they start following her son around just to make sure that no bad guys are lurking in the shadows.


Then once they realize the guy is just a sex fiend and is not being stalked they go to mommy and relay what they find.

Then shit starts to hit the fan. Bodies start piling up. Come to find out there is a serial killer that is back to hunting.
Or as Angie so delicately puts it, The waste management of some formerly animate tissues.


People that Kenzie loves are starting to be targeted. In the first book you are introduced to his memories of his abusive father, we learn more about who his father is in this book. He wasn't just abusive-he was bat-shit crazy.


The investigation into the killings also led to a prison where we get introduced to a character who reminded me of this guy.


Then we have Angie, she is divorcing Phil (who used her as a punching bag for twelve years) and we get to see a different side of Phil than we saw in the first book. I hate you Dennis Lehane, but not many authors can take a character that you absolutely hate and turn him into someone human and that you care about.

So what's up with Bubba (our psycho friend of Kensie and Angie's)..he is pretty much up to what he normally does.
So he finally works up his nerve and gets up from the bar and comes over to the table to try out whatever pathetic pickup line he'd use, and then, then your certifiable mutant friend comes out of nowhere and drags him out of the restaurant by his hair. In full view of thirty people, he banged the man's face off a hydrant several times."

Bubba, you naughty boy. I'm trying to forget what ever happened in one part of this book Bubba, cause you the man and all.


So if you are in for a read that you need to buckle your seat belt for cuz it's going to be a bumpy ride. Pick up this book. It's frigging awesomeness.


PS I know this review does not make a whole lot of sense. I tend to do that on my favorites....fangirling gets in the way.