Dennis Lehane has combined elements of the historical family epic, the crime thriller, and literary fiction to produce a very entertaining and thoughtful novel, one that also reminds us that greed, racial intolerance, fear of the "other," political duplicity, and even terrorist bombings are not unique to today's US of A.
The time is 1918-1919 and the place is Boston. The story focuses on Irish-American Danny Coughlin, a beat cop who is the son of one of the most powerful police captains, and Luther Lawrence, a young black man who is on the run from a gangster's revenge. During one eventful year the two men and the city of Boston see the influenza epidemic, terrorist bombings, labor unrest, mob violence, and the police strike of 1919. Ultimately, however, this is the story of two men who both come to realize that the key to a satisfying life lies in the love of family.
Lehane has a very engaging writing style, with striking, yet unobtrusive, metaphorical language and the ability to create extreme tension as called for by plot developments. The ending is perhaps a bit overly sentimental, but it is satisfying nevertheless.
For me, the primary benefit of this book is that it is a reminder that our country has undergone periods of unrest, fear, and intolerance before and has survived. In that way it is encouraging in this time of strife and polarization. Then again, it is kind of discouraging to think that maybe human nature is so flawed that history will keep repeating itself.
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