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A review by lafate
Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I will not give any spoilers. I went into this book knowing it took place during the busing crisis in Boston in 1974. I knew it was a thriller because Dennis Lehane is good at writing them, although this is my first book by him.
The main character, Mary Pat Fennessy is a tough cookie who has lived a tougher life. The Boston Public Schools are about to be desegregated and she and the mostly Irish American South Boston community are not happy about it. Her daughter Jules goes missing. a young Black man is murdered. The city is in turmoil. The stage is set.
As a Bostonian I remember the times. we no longer lived in Boston, but I knew what was happening about busing. Dennis Lehane captured the city pretty much perfectly. The narration is excellent. I think Mary Pat's Boston accent was a little off in the beginning, but by about a third of the way in it sounded authentic. When Jules calls Mary Pat Ma she sounded just like me calling my mother Ma.
I highly recommend this book.
The main character, Mary Pat Fennessy is a tough cookie who has lived a tougher life. The Boston Public Schools are about to be desegregated and she and the mostly Irish American South Boston community are not happy about it. Her daughter Jules goes missing. a young Black man is murdered. The city is in turmoil. The stage is set.
As a Bostonian I remember the times. we no longer lived in Boston, but I knew what was happening about busing. Dennis Lehane captured the city pretty much perfectly. The narration is excellent. I think Mary Pat's Boston accent was a little off in the beginning, but by about a third of the way in it sounded authentic. When Jules calls Mary Pat Ma she sounded just like me calling my mother Ma.
I highly recommend this book.