Dennis Lehane

A Novel

Small Mercies

This book had my heart racing, unable to put it down from start to finish. A raw look into segregation, gangs, and an initiative called busing in South Boston. I’m still shocked this occurred so recently in the 1970s. 

Kaitlyn Wendler

armoni mayes

so this is not really a thriller, more of a drama. maybe i was misinformed that it would be more of a thriller atmosphere so of course i was bored throughout waiting for it to pick up…but then it didn’t lol

Trip Dunham 

oston, verano de 1974. Una noche, Jules, la hija adolescente de Mary Pat, se queda fuera hasta tarde y no vuelve a casa. Esa misma noche, un joven negro aparece muerto, arrollado por un tren en misteriosas circunstancias. Los dos sucesos parecen no tener relación, pero Mary Pat, impulsada por la desesperada búsqueda de su hija, empieza a hacer preguntas que molestan a Marty Butler, jefe de la mafia irlandesa, y a los hombres que trabajan para él. Ambientada en los calurososy tumultuosos meses en los que la desegregación de las escuelas públicas de la ciudad estalló en violencia, Golpe de gracia es un magnífico thriller, una brutal descripción de la criminalidad y el poder, y un retrato inquebrantable del oscuro corazón del racismo americano.

Golpe de gracia

Miguel Angel Palmer Salva

Ricardo Gonzalez

“Small Mercies is thought provoking, engaging, enraging, and can’t-put-it-down entertainment.” — Stephen King The acclaimed New York Times bestselling writer returns with a masterpiece to rival Mystic River—an all-consuming tale of revenge, family love, festering hate, and insidious power, set against one of the most tumultuous episodes in Boston’s history. In the summer of 1974 a heatwave blankets Boston and Mary Pat Fennessy is trying to stay one step ahead of the bill collectors. Mary Pat has lived her entire life in the housing projects of “Southie,” the Irish American enclave that stubbornly adheres to old tradition and stands proudly apart. One night Mary Pat’s teenage daughter Jules stays out late and doesn’t come home. That same evening, a young Black man is found dead, struck by a subway train under mysterious circumstances. The two events seem unconnected. But Mary Pat, propelled by a desperate search for her missing daughter, begins turning over stones best left untouched—asking questions that bother Marty Butler, chieftain of the Irish mob, and the men who work for him, men who don’t take kindly to any threat to their business. Set against the hot, tumultuous months when the city’s desegregation of its public schools exploded in violence, Small Mercies is a superb thriller, a brutal depiction of criminality and power, and an unflinching portrait of the dark heart of American racism. It is a mesmerizing and wrenching work that only Dennis Lehane could write.

Lindsay

Will Holland

THE TIMES THRILLER OF THE MONTH APRIL 2023 'Small Mercies is thought-provoking, engaging, enraging, and can't-put-it-down entertainment' Stephen King 'A jaw-dropping thriller... a resonant, unflinching story written by a novelist who is simply one of the best around' Gillian Flynn New York Times bestselling author Dennis Lehane returns with a masterpiece to rival Mystic River - an all-consuming tale of revenge, family love, festering hate, and insidious power, set against one of the most tumultuous episodes in Boston's history. 'Mrs. Fennessy, please go home.' 'And do what?' 'Whatever you do when you're home.' 'And then what?' 'Get up the next day and do it again.' She shakes her head. 'That's not living.' 'It is if you can find the small blessings.' She smiles, but her eyes shine with agony. 'All my small blessings are gone.' In the summer of 1974 a heatwave blankets Boston and Mary Pat Fennessey is trying to stay one step ahead of the bill collectors. Mary Pat has lived her entire life in the housing projects of 'Southie', the Irish American enclave that stubbornly adheres to old tradition and stands proudly apart. One night Mary Pat's teenage daughter Jules stays out late and doesn't come home. That same evening, a young Black man is found dead, struck by a subway train under mysterious circumstances. The two events seem unconnected. But Mary Pat, propelled by a desperate search for her missing daughter, begins turning over stones best left untouched - asking questions that bother Marty Butler, chieftain of the Irish mob, and the men who work for him, men who don't take kindly to any threat to their business. Set against the hot, tumultuous months when the city's desegregation of its public schools exploded in violence, Small Mercies is a superb thriller, a brutal depiction of criminality and power, and an unflinching portrait of the dark heart of American racism.

Small Mercies A Novel

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