Prayers for Rain

Prayers for Rain by Dennis Lehane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When a former client commits suicide, Patrick Kenzie goes digging into her background to find out why. What he finds is a blackmailing stalker that anticipates his every move. Even after being reunited with Angela, can Patrick put a stop to the blackmailer's reign of terror?

Wow. After Gone Baby Gone, I assumed the Kenzie and Gennaro series would be on the decline. I'm not ashamed to admit I was wrong.

Prayers for Rain starts with Patrick at his lowest point and sees him clawing his way back to the land of the living. His case sees him reunited with Angela and spending a lot of time with Bubba Rogowski, all the while learning more than he ever wanted to know about the Nichols family.

Like all great mystery writers, Lehane showed me the way with one hand while picking my pocket with the other. For great whacks of the story, I had no idea what was going to happen next and the big twist really made me feel like a rube.

The villain of the piece was very chilling and his competence made him that much more frightening. Angie and Patrick were soon back to their old selves. I may have let a chuckle escape when they were engaged in some banter with a witness and she said "You two have a pretty act going." Bubba Rogowski showed himself to be right up there with Hawk and Joe Pike in the Bad Ass Friend hierarchy at the climax of this one.

Even though I'm giving this one a five out of five, it's not all peanut butter and honey sandwiches. After making Wesley seem like such a bad ass, the end was a little too easy. Also, it could have been longer. Other than that, I'd say this one was almost as good as Gone Baby Gone.

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