Reading order · 6 books · 1994 to 2010 · Set in Boston
Kenzie and Gennaro Books in Order
Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro are private investigators who grew up together in the working-class Boston neighbourhood of Dorchester and run their agency from a church belfry. Their cases drag them into the city’s violence, backed by their dangerous friend Bubba Rogowski.
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Series facts
- Books
- 6
- Published
- 1994 to 2010
- First book
- A Drink Before the War
- Latest
- Moonlight Mile (2010)
- Setting
- Set in Boston
The reading order
Every Kenzie and Gennaro book in publication order. Choose a title for its cast and summary.
6 books · Set in Boston
- 1A Drink Before the War1994With Patrick Kenzie and Angela GennaroPatrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro are hired by powerful politicians to find a cleaning woman who has stolen documents from the State House, and find themselves in the middle of a gang war.Buy on Amazon
- 2Darkness, Take My Hand1996With Patrick Kenzie and Angela GennaroA psychiatrist hires Kenzie and Gennaro to protect her son from the Irish mob, and they find themselves hunting a killer with links to their own past.Buy on Amazon
- 3Sacred1997With Patrick Kenzie and Angela GennaroA dying billionaire hires Kenzie and Gennaro to find his missing daughter, after the last investigator he sent also disappeared.Buy on Amazon
- 4Gone, Baby, Gone1998With Patrick Kenzie and Angela GennaroFour-year-old Amanda McCready disappears from her mother’s apartment in Dorchester, and Kenzie and Gennaro reluctantly take the case.Buy on Amazon
- 5Prayers for Rain1999With Patrick KenzieA young woman Patrick once helped dies in an apparent suicide, and he sets out to find out who drove her to it.Buy on Amazon
- 6Moonlight Mile2010With Patrick Kenzie and Angela GennaroTwelve years after Gone, Baby, Gone, Amanda McCready, now sixteen, has disappeared again.Buy on Amazon
Do you need to read them in order?
Read in order, starting with A Drink Before the War. Moonlight Mile follows on from Gone, Baby, Gone.
Who appears in which book
The series’ main characters, book by book. Lead means the book is told around them; minor covers cameos.
| Book | Patrick Kenzie | Angela Gennaro | Bubba Rogowski | Devin Amronklin | Amanda McCready |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 A Drink Before the War | LLead | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 2 Darkness, Take My Hand | LLead | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 3 Sacred | LLead | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 4 Gone, Baby, Gone | LLead | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 5 Prayers for Rain | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 6 Moonlight Mile | LLead | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor |
Characters in the Kenzie and Gennaro books
5 characters from Dennis Lehane’s chart, with the number of Kenzie and Gennaro books each appears in.
| Character | Books | First in this series |
|---|---|---|
| Patrick KenzieBoston private investigator | 6 | A Drink Before the War 1994 |
| Angela GennaroPatrick’s partner, later his wife | 6 | A Drink Before the War 1994 |
| Bubba RogowskiArms dealer and their loyal friend | 6 | A Drink Before the War 1994 |
| Devin AmronklinBoston police detective | 6 | A Drink Before the War 1994 |
| Amanda McCreadyMissing four-year-old, later a teenager | 2 | Gone, Baby, Gone 1998 |