Sacred

A Novel

De: Dennis Lehane

Narrado por: Jonathan Davis

Dying billionaire Trevor Stone hires private detectives Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaroto find his missing daughter. Grief-stricken over the death of her mother and the impending death of her father, Desiree Stone has been missing for three weeks. So has the first investigator Stone hired to find her: Jay Becker, Patrick's mentor.

Patrick and Angie are led down a trail of half-truths and corruption into a world in which a therapeutic organization may be fronting for a dangerous and seductive cult, a high-tech private investigation firm may be covering up lethal crimes, and a stolen cache of millions in illegal funds may be tied to both disappearances and a tanker full of heroin. Nothing is what it seems as the detectives travel from the windblown streets of Boston to the rum-punch sunsets of Florida's Gulf Coast. And the more Patrick and Angie discover, the more they realize that on this case any wrong step will certainly be their last . . .

Snappy dialogue, explosive action scenes, and original characters have become Dennis Lehane's trademarks. With Sacred, Lehane confirms his status as today's hottest young author of first-rate mysteries that are also smartly written literary novels.

©1997 Dennis Lehane (P)2011 HarperCollinsPublishers

Once again, too much of a good thing.

What did you like best about Sacred? What did you like least?

The relationship between Patrick and Angie is very well written. They have become almost like real characters in my life, which is evidence of good writing. Their dialogue is witty and the feeling between them is deep and complicated. The problem with the book is something I have said before about Mr. Lehane: he just doesn't know when to stop. The second half of the book is gigantic padding, with gore and viciously murdered bodies flying around everywhere. The plot twists become so outrageously overwritten as to become cartooonish. What starts out as a clever idea, the cult-like church which preys on young people with trust funds, is pushed so far beyond the limit that the whole thing devolves into utterly unreal "murder-for-hire" stuff which has been done to death. A book half the length of this one would have been far, far, far, far....you get the point.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Anticipating the next question, I feel that the narrative skills of Jonathan Davis are so good that in some ways it doesn't matter that the book is weighed down by tired cliches. His voice is rich and very easy on the ears, as it were. He is funny (all right, Mr. Lehane is funny, too) and deadly serious and true to all of the material. Next to Edoardo Ballerini (high praise, indeed, coming from me), he is the best narrator around. Maybe Victor Bevine, the narrator of Timothy Hallinan's books, is just a little bit better.

What about Jonathan Davis’s performance did you like?

I just answered this question. I like just about everything he does. The book would be much less enjoyable if read by a narrator of lesser skills. I will look for other books that Mr. Davis has narrated.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

That is too complicated a question to be answered easily. One of Mr. Lehane's books, The Drop, was recently made into an extraordinarily watchable movie. It was the last work that James Gandolfini ever did, and knowing this makes his performance even richer than it is. Plus, the lead actor is Tom Hardy, who is, again, IMHO, one of the best actors around today. Go see him in any other movie you can find him in. You'll be delighted and amazed with his virtuosity as an actor, and his ability to climb into various characters. At this, he is almost as good as Cate Blanchett, which is saying a whole lot, believe me. I think that she is the best actor alive today.

Any additional comments?

One of the best things about The Drop is that it is half the length of Mr. Lehane's other books. I didn't know this when I saw the movie, but it proves without a doubt that, in some areas of life, less is indeed more. Brevity is the soul of wit, as some famous guy once said.

Better than the first two in the series!

I loved every minute of it! Great writing from beginning to end. The descriptions were so detailed, you felt as if you were watching a movie! Can’t wait to start the next book in line!

A pure page-turner

It starts off with a thinly veiled parody of scientology, but you will never anticipate the plot twists Lehane has in store for you. Lehane is a gifted writer who just happens to write mystery/thrillers. I judge my audible purchases by the ones that force me to take detours from my driving destination in order to listen a bit more. Or force me to stay on the treadmill a few minutes longer. This one did that. Repeatedly. Davis does an excellent job with the narration. Highly recommended.

Pretty good

But needed a good editor. Those endless descriptions of women’s beauty were grating and utterly irrelevant to the story.

Good ending, though!

Wise cracking dialogue gets tiring

The story is good but listening to it wears thin. I may try to read it some time in the future and skim the dialogue.

Great story

Lehane is a fantastic story teller. Kept me guessing the whole time. I've listened to the first three in three weeks. On to #4...

well needed comic relief

we really needed this after the depressing conclusions we usually have. this is a much needed breath of fresh air.

excellent

this is a great book by a good author extremely well narrated. Kenzie for prez

My favorite in the series so far

I really enjoyed the book, the narration and growth of the characters in this volume

Great read!

Would you listen to Sacred again? Why?

Dennis Lehane is an excellent writer, he keeps me listening into the wee hours of the morning. This book was very good, twists, and especially at the end. Absolutely never saw it coming.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

It seemed pretty straight forward, the job was clear and seemingly a simple lost and found kind of thing, but as great books do, the twists kept me thinking "whoa".

What does Jonathan Davis bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The performance is excellent, the inflections…the hesitations…all keep you engrossed and wanting more.

Any additional comments?

Great book.