William Morrow and Co. 1996
Brazil: Companhia das Letras
Mainland China: Huawentianxiav
Finland: Tammi
France: Editions Rivages
Germany: Diogenes
Hungary: Agave Konyvek Kft.
Italy: Piemme
Japan: Kadokawa Shoten
Korea: Goldenbough
Netherlands: The House of Books
Russia: Atticus
Spain: Ediciones Salamandra
Sweden: Albert Bonniers Forlag
Taiwan: Faces
Thailand: Nanmeebooks
United Kingdom: Transworld
Audio
Sweden: Bonnier Audio
Film
20th Century Fox/Miramax Television
Awards
One of the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association's 100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century
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Darkness, Take My Hand
The master of the new noir, Dennis Lehane magnificently evokes the dignity and savagery of working-class Boston in this terrifying tale of darkness and redemption.
Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro's latest client is a prominent Boston psychiatrist running scared from a vengeful Irish mob. The private investigators know something about cold-blooded retribution. Born and bred on the mean streets of blue-collar Dorchester, they've seen the darkness that lives in the hearts of the unfortunate. But an evil for which even they are unprepared is about to strike as secrets long-dormant erupt, setting off a chain of violent murders that will stain everything — including the truth.
The New York Times Book Review:
It took only two books for Dennis Lehane to stake out the blue-collar Boston suburb of Dorchester as prime territory for a new private-eye series ... The author nails the distinctive accents and character traits of the all-too-human working stiffs who pace out their lives between Carney Hospital and the Black Emerald bar.
Orlando Sentinel:
Stunning ... a story that chills to the bone.
Milwaukee Sentinel:
It's got the mark of a master, the kind of direct, clear but nuanced prose that carries the reader along into a believable (and extremely violent) world.
Publishers Weekly(starred review):
Outstanding ... unpredictable ... Lehane's voice, original, haunting and straight from the heart, places him among the top ranks of stylists who enrich the modern mystery novel.
John Dufresne:
Stunning and shocking, relentless and terrifying ... Darkness, Take My Hand is everything a contemporary crime novel ought to be and more. It's creepy, chaotic, uncomfortable, and riveting. It's funny too, but you're almost afraid to laugh. You may want to put this book down to catch a breath, but you won't be able to.
Booklist (starred review):
An explosive story ... heartstopping ... terrifying. Lehane's perfectly crafted plot leers, teases, taunts, and lulls, scattering bits of humor and heartbreak among the soul-chilling episodes of death and destruction. A tour de force from a truly gifted writer.
Boston Globe:
For Lehane, local color is not mere decoration but the very wellspring of character and thus of action. His thriller grabs us with its blunt talk and breathtaking pace, but what leaves a lasting impression is the brooding authenticity of its atmosphere.
People:
A crackling thriller, which could have been scripted by Raymond Chandler had his beat been Boston's Back Bay instead of Brentwood, California ... A sense of place as palpable as the pungent tang of garlic in the North End air, haunting characters, and a gracefully elegiac style that lingers long after you've closed the covers.
Mostly Murder:
A truly excellent book ... It gets my vote as crime novel of the year ... Lehane is an enormously gifted writer, perhaps one of the best two or three hard-boiled authors to come along in the last decade ... His prose is that good, his characters are that well drawn, and his story is that well told.
Kirkus Reviews:
Terrifying ... The passion of Lehane's neighborhood nightmare can hardly be denied. And he's created a villain who's both surprising and grimly fascinating: the kind of figure one hates but can't stop reading about.
Washington Times:
Masterful ... Gritty and sometimes hilarious ... If Mr. Lehane proved last time out he knows what he is doing stylewise, in this book he adds the substance.