Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane

July 19, 2025

Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane

Mary Pat Fennessy spent all her life living in a housing project in South Boston. She raised her children there the same way that she was raised, with the belief that the Irish of her South Boston neighborhood were better than other people. The residents of South Boston have always lived a certain way and they want things to stay that way, and they want those they consider to be outsiders to stay out. But it's 1974 and change is coming whether they want it or not, and they can't stop it, beginning with the integration of the local high school that they all attended and that their children now attend. Mary Pat's daughter Jules is one of the students affected by the plan to bus white students to a Black neighborhood, but when Jules disappears just days before busing is supposed to begin, Mary Pat's focus switches to finding her daughter, whatever it takes. 

Gritty, violent, compelling. Dennis Lehane a great writer, no question. Mary Pat is not always a likeable character - she has a lot of hateful beliefs. But she is a bad ass who will fight for her child, even though you know she is on a collision course with disaster. Filled with morally ambiguous characters, class struggle, hypocrisy and broken dreams, it's a story of bigoted violent adults raising bigoted violent children. Sensitive readers should take note that there are scenes of violence, and brutality, child abuse, racism, drugs, crimes against women. Will appeal to fans to Don Winslow and Jeffery Deaver.

Busing protest in South Boston in the 1970s

The Coworker by Freida McFadden

November 7, 2023

Dawn Schiff and Natalie Farrell both work for Vixed, a nutritional supplement company. Natalie is their top sales associate, while Dawn works as an accountant. Dawn is a bit eccentric, adhering to a very strict schedule, eating monochromatic meals, and obsessing over turtles, but an excellent employee. When she doesn't show up for work one day and doesn't call in, Natalie is concerned, particularly since Dawn scheduled two meetings and didn't show up for either one. She stops at Dawn's house to do a wellness check and is even more concerned when she finds a huge blood stain on the floor. 

Remember that saying about revenge being a dish best served cold? Keep that in mind when reading this novel. Dawn is definitely on the spectrum, possibly has Asperger's. Fast paced psychological fiction with good plot twists and no one is who they seem. Should appeal to readers who enjoyed Gone Girl, The Maid's Diary, and the fiction of Rachel Hawkins and Lucy Foley.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Pomegranate by Helen Elaine Lee

March 30, 2023

Pomegranate by Helen Elaine Lee

After four years of incarceration on a drug conviction, Ranita is about to be released. She longs to return to her two children, but release means leaving her partner Maxine behind. Once back in Boston, Ranita finds it increasingly difficult to avoid old habits and old companions. Ranita remembers her father giving her a pomegranate once. A pomegranate has chambers like a heart that are filled with beautiful jewel-like seed, full of juice that is sweet and tart at the same time, much like life.

Really slow moving story. I liked Ranita's visits with Drew but would have like to know more about why Geneva was the way she was, also about Maxine other than she is a militant black woman. I found the characters to be largely stereotypes. The characters and setting have been done before - nothing new here. Depressing.

Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

You'll Be the Death of Me by Karen McManus

August 25, 2022

You'll Be the Death of Me by Karen McManus

Ivy, Cal and Mateo have been friends since grade school, when they had a memorable day cutting school. Now seniors in high school, after each experiences a devastating event, they spontaneously decide to recreate "the greatest day ever." They cut school for the day and head into Boston, where they unexpectedly encounter a classmate who winds up dead. At least one of them is implicated in the murder, and they find themselves trying to stay one step ahead of the murderer, the police, their parents, and the news media, while they attempt to figure out who the killer really is.

Lots of drama here of all varieties, which is to be expected since this is a young adult book (and YAs love their drama). There are several narrators here. I listened to the audiobook and it was easy to differentiate which character was speaking. I've read several of the author's books, and I think this is the last one. They all have a similar flavor, but YAs in particular will like them.

Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia

October 11, 2019

Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia

With her morbid interest in death and horror, Tuesday Mooney has always had a problem fitting in and making friends (except her home town is Salem, MA, so it's pretty hard to believe that she couldn't find a place there).  Her introverted nature makes her an excellent researcher for a philanthropic foundation.  When an extremely wealthy Bostonian named Vincent Pryce dies unexpectedly at a fundraiser, he leaves behind the clues for a treasure hunt that will reward the winner with a portion of Pryce’s vast fortune.  Another fabulously wealthy Bostonian named Archie approaches Tuesday and wants to team up to try to solve the riddle, promising her several million dollars for her help.  Tuesday isn’t sure about his true motives since he certainly doesn’t need the money, but there appears to be something that Archie wants from Pryce’s vast collections.  When her 13 year old neighbor Dorry figures out the first clue, the three of them decide to join forces.  But the clock is ticking and other teams have almost certainly figured out the clue as well, so time is of the essence.

I had a number of issues with this book – after a good beginning and plot set-up, it just sort of fizzled out.  The author became more concerned with having the main characters hook up with their love interests (which added nothing to the plot - note to authors:  unless you're writing a romance, there does not have to be a love interest for the main character(s)).  Part of the problem is that the author seemed to want to write something that was both The Westing Game and Ready Player One, and ended up with something that was neither.  The treasure hunt isn’t really a treasure hunt, since there are precious few clues and not much game playing.  Early in the game, Tuesday’s team has what could be a huge advantage, but they decide not to use it because “Vincent would have wanted us to play fair.”  Gag me.

(N.B., if you enjoy books about games, Ready Player One by Ernest Cline is a fabulous book about a treasure hunt set in a future time - read that instead.)

Also, the title is incorrect.  Tuesday does not talk to ghosts – she wants to talk to one particular ghost, her best friend Amy, and may actually have succeeded once, but even Tuesday admits that Amy’s voice in her head isn’t telling her anything she doesn’t already know – it’s just responding in the snarky way Amy would have when they were teens.   A better title would have been The Pryce Inheritance or Games with Friends or Girl Seeks Ghost.  Just a suggestion.  

(Amy went missing one night when they were 16.  Amy wanted to go hang out at the local lighthouse and Tuesday stayed home because it was a cold, rainy night.  Amy vanished without a trace, and Tuesday has spent her life wondering if Amy would still be around if she had gone with her, or if she would have disappeared, too.)

The text reads like it is intended for a young adult or juvenile audience rather than for adult readers - you could give this to a 14 year old or your grandma and not worry about offending their delicate sensibilities (wait a minute - I'm old enough to be a grandma - scratch that). There are a lot of implied morals like "play fair," "help others," "work together," "follow your dreams," etc.  There are also loads of stereotypes that are easy for a YA audience to recognize:  the brilliant goth girl who is too cool for words but secretly fears no one likes her, the gay guy who wants to be a singer, the rich guy who hates his family's money and wants to live a simple life, the evil brother who will stop at nothing to get what he wants, the schoolteacher who marries a very wealthy man and can't handle being rich, the super-quirky rich man, etc.  Nothing new here.

Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an e-ARC in return for a review.