THE GIVEN DAY BY DENNIS LEHANE

An excellent picture of life in Boston after WWI. The Boston Brahmins rule while the Irish, Italians and Blacks scrape and claw their way up the social ladder. The minorities are treated like expendable, easily replaceable chattel. Some of the Irish inch their way to the grand table through graft and corruption, others by trying to organize against all-powerful employers. The impoverished Italians prefer anarchy while the Blacks serve the whites and detest them.
The book is disturbing at times but so well-written the reader will get to the end and look for more.