Dennis Lehane

Fiction 2023 | 299 pages

Sharp action, short quick dialogue.  This mystery takes place in the context of the first school busing that occurred in Boston schools, in 1974. It is a fight about busing, which it seems neither black nor white families want.  It is a vivid description of racism at that time. It is a battle on the streets in protest.  And a few nights before busing was to begin, a young white woman, 17, a Southie named Jules, goes missing.  Not so coincidentally, a young black man falls under a subway car and is killed that same night.  We follow Jules' mom, the extremely self-sufficient and violent Mary Pat, as she attempts to discover if her daughter is dead or alive, and, if alive, where she is hiding.

That is a great story line!  Unfortunately, Lehane writes with extreme violence and racist language incorporated into his conflict scenes.   As I close the book for the last time, I am fighting the urge to keep my stomach under control, and I needed to go collect a soothing hug.  I cannot believe we chose this book for book club.  I think I will be absent for the conversation.

I would have liked a historical fiction novel about the beginnings of busing.  Regrettably, this is an ultra-violent gratuitous thriller.  I cannot recommend it at all.

November 2024