Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane (2023 fiction)

Small Mercies brings back memories of Lehane's 2001 unforgettable Mystic River.  This is also set in Boston, but at a very specific time—summer of 1974 when forced integration of Boston schools was about to go into effect. The people of Southie, the Irish American enclave, were infuriated that their high school children were to be sent to a predominantly African American school. Public protests were loud and sometimes violent. Senator Edward Kennedy was spat upon for favoring bussing. At the same time as the political temperature was rising, a young black man had car trouble and left his car on the street as he went to the subway. He was seen by a group of white teenagers, chased, and later found dead near the subway tracks. This is just the beginning of this gritty novel that spares no time sugar coating crime and loss. Mary Pat is a mom who has lost a son to drugs and lives in an environment where crime surrounds her. As she searches for her missing daughter, she recognizes the racist foundation of the attitudes she grew up with and passed on. Lehane uses every bigoted slur imaginable. This is a hard-hitting novel, not for the weak of heart. Yet, in our day, there may be lessons to be learned. 

Reviewed by Robin Olivier