Small Mercies (2023 novel)

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Small Mercies
Small Mercies (2023 novel).webp
Author Dennis Lehane
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreMystery/crime
PublisherHarper
Publication date
2023
Media typePrint
ISBN 978-0-06-212948-2

Small Mercies is a crime-mystery novel by American author Dennis Lehane.

The novel takes place in Boston in the summer of 1974, and centers Irish Mob conflicts, a missing teenaged white girl, and a Black man's lynching, in the days approaching the first day of school during the Boston busing crisis. Lehane has signaled that the novel "may be his last." [1]

Critical reception

Small Mercies was well received by critics. The New York Times emphasized Lehane's unsparing portrayal of bigotry in 1974 Boston, stating, "Lehane spares nothing and no one in his crackerjack new novel, Small Mercies. ... It zeros in on bigotry that ought to feel dated but doesn’t." [1] NPR praised the novel's timeliness and its exploration of racism, noting, "At once a crime novel, a deep, unflinching look at racism, and a heart-wrenching story about a mother who has lost everything, this narrative delves into life in the projects at a time when the city of Boston struggled with the desegregation of its public school system." [2] Kirkus called the book “a taut, gripping mystery [that] is also a novel of soul-searching, for the author and reader alike." [3]

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References

  1. 1 2 Maslin, Janet (May 9, 2023). "In Dennis Lehane's Boston, Hope and Hate Are Black-and-White Issues". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  2. Gabriel, Iglesias (28 April 2023). "Dennis Lehane's 'Small Mercies' is a crime thriller that spotlights rampant racism". NPR. National Public Radio. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  3. "Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane". Kirkus Reviews. Kirkus Media LLC. 25 April 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023.