Small Mercies is set in a particular place (Southie, a poorer neighborhood in Boston) and at a certain time (1974, a time of desegregation), with a blend of genres – crime, thriller, mystery, historical fiction, and social commentary.    The story centers on Mary-Pat Fennessy, an Irish American heritage white mother living in the Projects.     She loses her children to drugs and murder and she relentlessly seeks the truth and revenge for her losses.

Historically the story is set at a pivotal moment when the courts have ruled that the high schools will be desegregated and some students in a white school and some students in a black school will be bussed to blend the two populations.    The community of Southie is an enclave or white, poorer, less-educated people, many of whom have strong racist beliefs and want no part of the desegregation.   Mary-Pat herself has to examine her own prejudices.

As Mary-Pat and the police try to solve two murders (a black youth and her own daughter), they find deep-seated crime which permeates the community with drugs and a code of silence about the crime families who run the rackets and enforce their cover.

As the story unfolds we become uncomfortable with the overt racism, the greed, the class distinctions, the fear, and the violence that permeates this part of America.    It is American noir, but there are also issues raised that require the characters to do some soul-searching, and readers are also challenged to come to grips with the societal inequalities, prejudices, and criminality that undermines common decency in our cities.

This is another outstanding book by Dennis Lehane and highly recommended, but brace yourself before starting this book.    4.7/5 stars