Achilles? The Illiad? It's Homer! Read a book!
Dennis Lehane has been one of my favorite authors going on twelve years now. I first started reading his books while I was in high school, and quickly worked my way through his series of detective novels featuring Boston PIs Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro. Gone Baby Gone, his fourth novel, is generally regarded as the series highpoint, and it was made into an excellent movie with Casey Affleck a few years ago. My favorite though has always been the second book Darkness Take my Hand. A huge step up stylistically from his debut novel, it really sets the template for the rest of the books to come. Plus it features serial killer clowns driving around Dorchester in a murder van, how can I not love it?
For the past ten years Lehane has seemingly tried to leave his mystery roots behind him. Claiming that he didn't want to turn into another Robert Parker churning out the same tired old book every eighteen months, he instead branched out, writing a few period novels, as well as achieving a successful career in Hollywood writing for shows like "The Wire." In fact he had made it clear in several interviews that he had no intention of returning to Kenzie and Gennaro, saying they weren't returning his calls. Which left me both surprised and a little worried when I saw that his latest work was a direct sequel to Gone Baby Gone. Would he have lost his handle on the characters voices in the preceding years? The answer I'm happy to say is no.
The story of Moonlight Mile picks up the characters lives in the present day, have aged ten real time years since we last saw them. Patrick and Angie, having just reconciled at the end of the last book, are now married with young daughter. Patrick has taken up a job doing freelance detective work for a big company that caters to the rich and powerful of New England who wish to keep their tawdry scandals discreet. He's fairly miserable as the story begins, as he and Angie are living paycheck to paycheck, and he finds himself both wishing for and disgusted by, the prospect of working for this investigation firm full time. One day on his way to work he is confronted by the aunt of Amanda McCreedy, the girl he found over twelve years ago, and had ripped away from the caring couple who kidnapped her from a neglectful drug addled mother. Amanda is now sixteen years old, and has disappeared again. And everyone seems to think Patrick owes it to her to find her again.
Its a very enjoyable story, and works both as a sequel and as a capper to the entire series. It earns bonus points from me for a key scene that occurs in the trailer park that is less than a mile from my home. I'd highly recommend this book to anyone who has enjoyed spending time with these characters in the past.
For the past ten years Lehane has seemingly tried to leave his mystery roots behind him. Claiming that he didn't want to turn into another Robert Parker churning out the same tired old book every eighteen months, he instead branched out, writing a few period novels, as well as achieving a successful career in Hollywood writing for shows like "The Wire." In fact he had made it clear in several interviews that he had no intention of returning to Kenzie and Gennaro, saying they weren't returning his calls. Which left me both surprised and a little worried when I saw that his latest work was a direct sequel to Gone Baby Gone. Would he have lost his handle on the characters voices in the preceding years? The answer I'm happy to say is no.
The story of Moonlight Mile picks up the characters lives in the present day, have aged ten real time years since we last saw them. Patrick and Angie, having just reconciled at the end of the last book, are now married with young daughter. Patrick has taken up a job doing freelance detective work for a big company that caters to the rich and powerful of New England who wish to keep their tawdry scandals discreet. He's fairly miserable as the story begins, as he and Angie are living paycheck to paycheck, and he finds himself both wishing for and disgusted by, the prospect of working for this investigation firm full time. One day on his way to work he is confronted by the aunt of Amanda McCreedy, the girl he found over twelve years ago, and had ripped away from the caring couple who kidnapped her from a neglectful drug addled mother. Amanda is now sixteen years old, and has disappeared again. And everyone seems to think Patrick owes it to her to find her again.
Its a very enjoyable story, and works both as a sequel and as a capper to the entire series. It earns bonus points from me for a key scene that occurs in the trailer park that is less than a mile from my home. I'd highly recommend this book to anyone who has enjoyed spending time with these characters in the past.
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