Small Mercies

The brilliant new novel from New York Times bestselling author Dennis Lehane.

At the heart of the book is a masterly psychological study of racism . Lehane (who was a writer on The Wire ) provides top-notch dialogue, an absorbing mystery and an evocation of a historical moment foreshadowing America's 21st-century ethnic divide

Dennis Lehane, the author of Mystic River , uses Mary Pat's search for answers to illuminate wider issues of racial tension, drug use and sexual inequality that still plague America. His real accomplishment, though, is his portrait of a mother both "irretrievably broken and wholly unbreakable", one he draws without smoothing over Mary Pat's own flaws and blinkered attitudes. You'll be lucky if you read a more engaging novel this year

A brutal, thrilling and relentlessly clear-eyed portrait of a city riven by fear and hatred

Lehane's latest is a multifaceted affair, delivering an unsentimental account of a city at war with itself and a nuanced investigation of racism, class and cultural identity. Fundamentally, however, it's a powerful story of a woman who has stripped of everything she holds dear and who, with nothing left to lose, has nothing left to fear... Mary Pat Fennessy might be Dennis Lehane's single greatest creation '

Aficionados argue about who currently inhabits the top tier of American crime fiction...two names jostle for pole position: Dennis Lehane and Don Winslow . Both writers provide a perfect balance of detailed characterisation and state-of-the-nation underpinnings in their work... Lehane has said that his work is always about hope, however dark the scenarios, and that quality shines throughout this ambitious and multi-layered novel

' Small Mercies is thought provoking, engaging, enraging, and can't-put-it-down entertainment'

Small Mercies is a jaw-dropping thriller, set in the fury of Boston's 1974 school-desegregation crisis, and propelled by a hell-bent woman who's impossible to ignore. Thought-provoking and heart-thumping, it's a resonant, unflinching story written by a novelist who is simply one of the best around

Lehane is now well established as one of America's finest crime writers , who superbly blends uncompromising social history with uncompromising tales of what people driven to the limit will do. As ever, Small Mercies is populated with a wide-ranging collection of unforgettable people

Excellent and unflinching... [ Small Mercies ] has all the hallmarks of Lehane at his best: a propulsive plot, a perfectly drawn cast of working-class Boston Irish characters, razor-sharp wit and a pervasive darkness through which occasional glimmers of hope peek out like snowdrops in early spring

A truly exciting, engaging and enraging narrative ...Lehane's ear for dialogue and emotion is incisive so all the characters come alive by deft turns of phrase and mannerism. There is wit that keeps the novel's dark tragedy and violence from overpowering the reader. Historical detail is realised with an uncommon vibrancy. Clipped short chapters are not written but carved, so there is not one superfluous word. Lehane has considered every sentence... This is Dennis Lehane at the height of his writing powers; for to miss this novel would be unforgivable

[A] ferocious crime novel... Land[s] like a fist to the solar plexus... Full of booby traps, but the metaphorical kind that blow up futures instead of limbs... [As] in the best mysteries, the detective herself is cracked open and remade

Beautiful. I was blown away by how Dennis Lehane was able to bring such a deeply unfamiliar world into my heart. Small Mercies is hilarious and heartbreaking, infuriating and unforgettable

Without flinching, Dennis Lehane shines a lantern on a dark story, one the reader will not forget

Dennis Lehane peels back the layers of his characters like a sculptor finding the face of an angel in a block of stone. By a true master at the top of his game, Small Mercies is vintage Lehane . Beautiful, brutal, lyrical and blisteringly honest. Not to be missed

Dennis Lehane is a supernova and this is a novel that will throw your entire goddamn solar system out of alignment . Lehane has gone from strength to strength but never has he been more truthful, more heartbreaking, more essential. In the midst of our racial nightmare Small Mercies asks some of the only questions that matter: 'What's gonna change? When's it gonna change? Where's it gonna change? How's it gonna change?' This book is impossible to put down and its dark radiances will stay with you a long, long time

This taut, gripping mystery is also a novel of soul-searching, for the author and reader alike

Powerful, unforgettable...[a] remarkable novel about racism, violence, and parental vengeance

A complex, multidimensional tragedy of epic proportions . . . Lehane straddles the line between historical fiction and thriller as dexterously as anyone, and this is his best work so far

One of the great diabolical thriller kings

I would follow Dennis Lehane anywhere

Lehane writes expert, compelling thrillers that dive into mysteries much more universal and more urgent than just a whodunit ; he's one of the game changers who smashed the imagined boundary between genre and literature, proving that we can have the best of both at once

His ability to create crystal clear portraits of humanity and then place them in the darker side of life is a writer's true gift

Dennis Lehane is the author of bestsellers Mystic River , Shutter Island , Gone Baby Gone , and Live By Night , all of which have been made into award-winning films. He is one of the most celebrated and critically acclaimed authors of his generation and the recipient of the Shamus Award for Best First Novel, the Edgar, Anthony and Barry awards for Best Novel, and the Massachusetts Book Award in Fiction. His work has been translated into over three dozen languages. He has written for The Wire , Boardwalk Empire , Bloodline , and the forthcoming Mr Mercedes , based on the Stephen King novel. Dennis was born and raised in Dorchester, Massachusetts, and lives in California with his family.