Desegregation of public schools has been passed in 1974 South Boston, and turmoil is unleashed through violent protests and rallies. This is the turbulent backdrop for this story and the neighborhood in which it takes place is just as much a character as any other.
As Lehane describes, in Southie, everyone has nickname, helps little old ladies cross the street, and loves the church (but aren't so fond of mass). They're Irish and Roman Catholic. Every guy has a thousand-yard stare, and every woman has an attitude. They're the friendliest people you've ever met. Until they aren't. Such is the case with Southie housing project resident Mary Pat Fennessy.
On the eve of the new bussing law, Mary Pat's seventeen-year-old daughter Jules goes missing. She learns that her daughter was involved in an incident where a black teen, Auggie Williamson, was killed. Mary Pat also finds out that Jules was in a relationship with a married man heavily involved in the Irish mob. He is one of many who rule the roost in Southie by circulating drugs, violence, and terror.
Mary Pat's already lost so much: her son died of an overdose soon after returning from Vietnam and her second husband recently left her. Now she has good reason to believe that her daughter is dead. Mary Pat is a woman with nothing left to lose and everything to make right. She also knows that the crew she's dealing with has a lot of cops on its payroll and so Mary Pat becomes a vigilante of sorts.
The fear and rampant racism pervading the community take center stage. At one point Mary Pat talks about it like this: "When you're a kid they tell you lies and that that's the Way. And as a kid you think I don't want to be outside of the Way. I gotta live with these people my whole life. And it's so warm in there that you embrace it. Then you dig in because now you got kids, and you want them to feel warm. And you spread the same lies to them."
Mary Pat is hell-bent on fixing things and getting revenge no matter what the fallout, and Detective Bobby Coyne is right behind her investigating the death of Auggie Williamson. This thrilling plotline coincides with the blatant bigotry of the times. But that bigotry is tinged with glimmers of hope, and that's part of why this story is so powerful. Dennis Lehane's Mystic River still stands as The Best Book I've Ever Read, but this is Lehane at his absolute best and I loved reading it.
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