MOONLIGHT MILE - Dennis Lehane

This is the follow up to Prayers for Rain and has been written ten years after this was published.

In the intervening time, Kenzie and Gennaro have married and started a family.

The plot concerns a teenager who has gone missing,again, this is the same female who went missing in Gone,Baby,Gone as a child. Our investigators deal with many loathsome individuals but without the violence that was evident in the previous story.

This was written as the recession was really starting to bite in the US and the writing reflects this. It is very dark without the humour of previous installments of this series and this is not quite as good as Prayers..., but it is still very good and miles above most which is published as crime thrillers.

The big mistake I have made is not reading this series in order, I have yet to read, Gone Baby, Gone, which is a bugger because this is the ultimate plot spoiler here as it directly relates to Gone..

Worth the time but read this series in order and you won't be disappointed.

PRAYERS FOR RAIN - Dennis Lehane

The initial part of this thriller is genuinely disturbing. A complete stranger accesses the personal information of his victims and then systematically destroys their lives until they take theirs. And whats really unsettling is to gather all this information is not that difficult.

This is the situation facing Patrick Kenzie and his investigative partner Angela Gennaro who must locate the manipulator before he destroys their lives as well.

This is a great thriller and Lehane is up with the very best writers in this genre ever. The plot is sophisticated and he has excellent characterisation.

You are kept guessing until the last page. Lots of humour, very black humour, but it all fits in well with the story. An excellent read.