Prayers for Rain [Import] [Hardcover]

Dennis Lehane (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 419 pages
• Publisher: Morrow; First Edition edition (1999)
• ISBN-10: 0593045645
• ISBN-13: 978-0593045640
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (185 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,772,504 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dennis Lehane was born and raised in Dorchester, Massachusetts. He is the author of A Drink Before the War, which won the Shamus Award for Best First Novel; Darkness, Take My Hand; Sacred; Gone, Baby, Gone; Prayers for Rain; and the New York Times bestsellers Mystic River and Shutter Island.

Mystic River was a finalist for the PEN/Winship Award and won both the Anthony Award and the Barry Award for Best Novel, as well as the Massachusetts Book Award in Fiction given by the Massachusetts Center for the Book. Coronado, a collection of five stories and a play, was published in the fall of 2006 and includes the story "Until Gwen," which was adapted for the stage.

Lehane's work has been translated into 22 languages. He holds an MFA from Florida International University and is the writer-in-residence at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida, where he runs the Writers in Paradise writers' conference. Before becoming a full-time writer, Lehane worked as a counselor with mentally handicapped and abused children, waited tables, parked cars, drove limos, worked in bookstores, and loaded tractor-trailers. He lives in the Boston area.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved them, December 18, 1999

By 

Linda S. Galok (Pittsfield, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Prayers for Rain (Hardcover)

I read an average of two books a week and I never felt a need to recommend any author. I read all of Dennis Lehane's books, except A Drink Before the War and I'm waiting for a responsibility free weekend to read it so I won't have to put it down. I read Sacred twice and found it just as amazing the second time as the first. Dennis Lehane's characters really are characters but they are totally believable. Patrick Kenzie, as the main character, tells you the story but he doesn't make himself an invincible hero, just a guy you wouldn't want to date, but would feel lucky to have as a friend. Angie, as his partner, is, of course, beautiful but even with her aggressive, sometimes belligerent attitude, she's human too, staying in an abusive relationship for 12 years. Bubba, although he's a psychotic criminal, has a soft, fuzzy side that's really likable (from a distance). Some won't like the graphic violence in Prayers or Darkness but I think the media has made us jaded enough to deal with it within the context of the stories. I didn't read the stories in order but I think each book is well written enough to stand on its own. I'm wondering how long Dennis Lehane will be able to keep the series going and hoping one new book a year for the next 20 or 30 years isn't too much to ask.

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Far better than your average genre fiction!, May 11, 2005

By 

Jessica Lux (Rosamond, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Prayers for Rain (Hardcover)

I got hooked on Lehane after Mystic River, and his thriller Shutter Island was absolutely gripping and completely mind-twisting. I had to stay up late one night to finish that, and I couldn't sleep afterwards, so I had to read a Dave Barry book to take my mind off it! I should have learned my lesson, because as soon as I got into Prayers for Rain, I couldn't get the creepiness and mystery out of my head, and I once again had to stay up late to finish the entire book.

I'm a snob who usually avoids genre fiction, and I have a sneaking suspicion this might be found in the mystery/crime genre section, but Lehane is really a league above the other mytery writers I have read. Lehane is a masterful storyteller and has a rock solid plot here. He's very talented with the psychological aspects of crime (very much so in Shutter Island...I fear my review is becoming a big ad for that book!), and I wished he had further developed some of the psychological aspects in this book.

The lesson I've learned about Lehane is that he is such a good and creepy storyteller than I'm no longer reading any of his books in bed late at night. They are only to be digested when I am lying on the beach. If you enjoy thrillers, definitely get this book, and be prepared to be blown away by a well-crafted plot.

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Tremendously Fun Read!, July 10, 2000

By 

Mark A. Schreiber "scribe23" (Birmingham, AL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Prayers for Rain (Patrick Kenzie/Angela Gennaro Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is my first Dennis Lehane book but it won't be my last. As a lover of crime fiction, especially Michale Connelly and James Lee Burke, I simply devoured Prayers for Rain. The dialogue is so snappy, and often so humorous, you don't realize an entire chapter has passed. It took me no time at all to get a sense of Kenzie, Bubba and Ange. These are characters you quickly get to know and care about. Kenzie has a love for the Marx Brothers, and I imagine that comes from Dennis Lehane himself, as the banter between the principals can be very funny. Despite the breezy and punchy style, there's enough darkness to satisfy the hard-boiled. And there is some effective writing here. There were several passages I made note of so that I could relay them to friends, the description and dialogue was that good. If you're going to the beach this summer, or even spending a weekend on the couch, you'll eagerly consume the zero-calorie treat that is this book.