Small Mercies

Written in 2023 by acclaimed mystery and crime author Dennis Lehane, Small Mercies is set in South Boston and outlines the many struggles of Mary Pat Fennessy as she searches for her missing daughter in a city rocked by two of the darkest periods in Boston history: the 1974 busing riots and the murderous reign of crime boss James “Whitey” Bulger. Lehane originally made his reputation with contemporary crime thrillers such as Gone Baby Gone (1998) and Mystic River (2001), but his more recent novels have explored the history of South Boston, including The Given Day (2008), which highlights the infamous 1919 police strike in Boston, and Live by Night (2012), which takes place during Prohibition.

Whereas Lehane’s other historical novels focus on multiple generations of the fictional Coughlin family, Small Mercies is a stand-alone novel that sheds a penetrating light onto many contemporary issues, such as racial discrimination and violence, incidents of police violence, and the widespread effects of organized crime. Boston had to revisit Bulger’s crimes when he was arrested in 2011 after a long disappearance, and his former associates and victims appeared as witnesses or observers at his 2013 trial. High-profile incidents of police violence across the country also forced many cities, including Boston, to confront their own legacies of racial discrimination, and thus, the plot of Small Mercies is relevant to many ongoing social issues.