Dennis Lehane has written several award winning novels which I have truly enjoyed. He even wrote Mystic River which became a movie and won Academy Awards for Sean Penn and Tim Robbins in 2004. This time he has written a fantastic saga about Boston in 1919 during and after World War I. Danny Coughlin is the son of the police chief in the north end, and this is that family's story combined with the story of Luther Laurence, a black man who has killed a crime boss in Tulsa, and is working for the Coughlin family. And, of course the beautiful Irish maid with the shady past fleshes out the magnificent story. Danny is sent undercover to report and subvert the threatening police strike which would be the first in the country. Due to the dreadful conditions, Danny defects and incenses the entire police community. The city is full of social turmoil, political chicanery, red baiting and racial prejudice. They have experienced the Spanish Flu Pandemic, the Boston Molasses Disaster, and the inevitable strike at a very high cost. The book is rich in characters that we're all familiar with: Governor Calvin Coolidge, Babe Ruth, Eugene O'Neil, Jack Reed and a young lawyer from the Department of Justice, J.Edgar Hoover. The beautifully portrayed Irish American family, like all families, deals with love and betrayal, father and son relationships, prejudice and brotherly love, redemption and the triumph of the human spirit. What a book!! I highly, highly recommend it. Mr. Lehane's new book is called Boston Noir, and is a book of brand new stories by several authors set in the different neighborhoods of Boston. Lehane's contribution is sure to grip the heart and soul of his readers