Mercy Row: A Story of Progress, Crime, Family, and Vengeance

Mercy Row #1

by Harry Hallman

Mercy Row is a novel set in 1920s and ’30s Philadelphia. It is the story of the rise of a North Philadelphia crime family that was also responsible for building the homes and factories that make up this blue-collar area of the city. Despite the violent trials and tribulations caused by rival gangs from South Philadelphia and Chicago, Jacob Byrne and Franklin Garrett, with the help of the Irish immigrants who settled the Kensington area, build a formidable Irish mob.

This legal and criminal enterprise kept North Philadelphia free from the mafia for two generations. Jacob's and Franklin's organization was built on the blood of those who opposed them, the sweat of the laborers who built North Philly and the tears of the wives and mothers whose loved ones were lost in the struggle.

150 pages, Paperback

First published March 4, 2013

About the author

Harry Hallman www.facebook.com/mercyrow

Harry Hallman
Hallman was born in 1944 and raised in the Kensington section of North Philadelphia. That was a year before World War II ended. He was influenced by the stories told by returning servicemen and the proliferation of war movies that were shown on the then new invention of the television. With the influence of movie heroes such as John Wayne, and real heroes like Audie Murphy, he gained a healthy respect for his mother and father's generation and their sacrifices. His uncles on his mother's side both served in WWII, one in the Army and one in the Navy.

Hallman's father was Harry Hallman, Sr., a champion billiards player who also owned a poolroom called Circle Billiards, located at Allegany Avenue and Lee Street. The younger Hallman spent many hours after school at his father's poolroom and watching his father play in other poolrooms in Philadelphia and New Jersey. The people he met, some belonging to the real K&A Gang, influenced his writing of the Mercy Row series.

He served four years in the U.S. Air Force, including two tours in South Vietnam, as a photographer. He is married to Duoc Hallman, whom he met in Vietnam, and has two children, Bill and Nancy, and one grandchild, Ava.
Hallman is a serial entrepreneur who has created several marketing services and digital media companies and continues to work as a marketing consultant.

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was drawn to this book 1) because my husband is Italian and 2) he is from the greater Philly area. And because I love historical fiction.
I was taken in by this book from the first page.

The first thing I noticed about this book is that it is incredibly violent and uses a plethora of foul language.

That isn’t a problem from me, as I read zombie books and I’m from the Northeast, where “curse” words are part of the everyday venacular. But I could see how this could put off some readers. But what can you expect from a book about this time period?

I was quickly sucked into the world of Jacob, Frank and their associates. I loved the loyalty and friendship between these two.
Mr. Hallman’s depiction of these “gangs” is reminiscent of “Boardwalk Empire”.

Hallman doesn’t give the day by day activities of this group, just enough info for the reader to get a feel for the characters of Jacob and Frank and how they operated.

And the action is relentless. Tommy guns, speakeasies, dames, corruption all feature prominently.

The book jumps a decade about halfway through. Not too many books can do this, and keep the flow and overall tone of the book alive. Mr. Hallman does both of these.

It was fascinating to see how the gang was set up to transition from bootlegging to other enterprises with the repeal of prohibition.

It was touching to see Jacob soften with regard to his family. He was still ruthless when it came to protecting that family, but the entire concept of “Mercy Row” was about the love he had for his daughter.

I loved this depiction of Philly. I kept on reading quotes to my husband to get his take on what was written.

I’m eventually going to have him read it as well.

He will particularly find interesting the entire scene in Oxford, Pennsylvania. The town was described to me years ago exactly as Mr. Hallman has written. Nearly word for word.

Overall a quick, entertaining read. It gives an amusing account of this city in the early part of the 20th century.

I do hope we hear more of Jacob and Frank and their exploits in the future.

[CeCe · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars; I have always loved mob books. I read Godfather in high school and have always had an interest in that genre. So I was excited to read this book.

This book from the start will have your attention. You immediately get a sense all who all the characters are and their roles. This book is not sweet. It is violent like you should expect a novel concerning a story about the rivalry and the mob.

Did I feel connected to the characters: You got to see the gangsters’ life on the street as well as their interaction with their families? You got the hard side and well as the softer side of their lives.

Pace of the Story: Good. Did not drag.

Positives: I liked how we got to see the characters handle themselves on the streets and then with their loved ones. Actually those scenes with their loved ones were my favorite.

Negatives: Some of the dialogue seemed forced. Some of the scenes to me seemed out of place or overdone.

Do I recommend? It was an interesting mob story.

Bottom line: Glad I read it.

Book Format Read: A copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

[Sage Adderley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mercy Row is a historical fiction piece set in the 1920s and 30s in Philadelphia. Protagonist Jacob Byrne works with his father in the construction business and their Irish family is also prominent in the city’s mob. As Jacob gets more experience under his belt, he climbs the ladder and begins to build himself a loyal gang and secure compound, but what we learn is that greed can tear down those safe barriers. A fight between the South Philly Italians and the North Philly Irish ensues.

I was fond of how important family was to these tough men who did unspeakable things. Their women and children were truly the force that kept them strong. Family mattered to them and Jacob remained vigilant throughout the mafia wars.

Harry did an excellent job with the dialogue; I felt it was spot on for that area and time period. I would have liked to have read more descriptions of the neighborhood, but could clearly visualize each colorful character. I especially enjoyed the story behind the title. I think it captured the essence of the Byrne family.

[Paula Ratcliffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book which felt like being in the Godfather so to speak when Jacob Byrne and Franklin Garret run their gang and clean up the smaller gangs in Philidelphia so that the Irish Mob is the big thing and the other gang is the Italian Mob.

We meet some great characters in this book and experience love, lossing ones to murder and payback from murder. This was a great book that shows insight into the lifestyle of mob's in the 20's 30's. I really enjoyed this and my only wish was that the book was longer. I think anyone who loves mob stories or gangster books will love this book. I can't wait to see what Mr. Hallman does next!

[Robert Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continues the story. Like the author’s style - not a lot of descriptive wording, just dialogue and plot. Editing errors continue. Kindle.

[Bob Beckert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story about my old neighborhood.

[LibraryGirl2008 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mercy Row is a dark, gritty story set in Depression-era Philadelphia. Focusing on the bloody battles waged between the powerful Byrne family of North Philly and the Italian mafia of South Philly, Hallman’s novella is not for the faint of heart. Its opening scene is one example why: Franklin Garrett, the building supervisor for Byrne Construction, is seen rescuing his boss’s teenage son, Jacob, from the lascivious clutches of another inmate in the holding tank of a jail. While this happens to be the story’s only scene of attempted sexual assault, there’s still plenty of blood and flying bullets, and the body count is rather high. Aside from the gore, though, the first half of the story is actually quite engaging. Out of Garrett’s act of kindness, a partnership is formed between himself and the boss’s ambitious heir apparent. The two get their own gang together to eliminate the Italian competition from Philadelphia and build a new empire. While the two aren’t the most well-rounded of characters, they are still sympathetic enough to make you care about what happens to them. Unfortunately, when the story hits the halfway mark, things start to go downhill. Even though ten years have passed since the first half of the novella, the author glosses over this entire period by simply summarizing events for us in a few paragraphs. The pacing starts to lag, and the author steers the story towards ground already covered by Puzo’s The Godfather.

Ultimately, Mercy Row will disappoint some readers. Although the story has sympathetic characters doing interesting things, much of the material remains underdeveloped, and makes the story feel more like a rough draft than a finished product.

[Liz Barnsley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Admittedly I wasnt that fond of this book upon completion but that is not to say that it did not have its redeeming features. For me, as a first novel it didnt live up to the standard of many other debuts I have read. First lets get the bad news out of the way from this readers point of view. I didnt feel that the story flowed that well and even allowing for the subject matter I felt that the bad language was way overdone – and bad language in novels generally does not bother me one iota, however here it did feel rather gratuitious. That kind of thing is always in the eyes of the beholder however, and the next reader along from me may disagree! I also felt that the characterisation was rather static – not fleshed out enough if you will and I didnt really relate to any one therefore for me it fell a bit flat.

However, having said the above I would also say the author definitely has something. The story was there – no doubt about that. Also Mr Hallmans sense of place was very well done – I may not have related to the characters so much, but for me the biggest character was Philadelphia. The nuances of the period of time were also quite clever – again I would say not QUITE there but still nicely done. If you are interested in stories from this time period and you like a good “crime family” story I would certainly say give this one a go…all readers are different and it may not have been for me but thats not to say the next person would not get great enjoyment out of this.

To finish I would like to say – this book has not put me off reading further offerings from Mr Hallman because I think that he could write a GREAT novel. This one, for me, just wasnt it.

[Teena in Toronto · Rating 3 out of 5]

We meet Jacob and Frank in the 1920s in a jail in Philadelphia. Jacob is just 17 and Frank saves him from becoming assaulted by a bigger older guy. Charles, Jacob's father, made his fortune building houses ... but he cuts corners using inferior products so his profits are larger. Jacob has dreams of being his fortune that includes hookers, booze and gambling, which are illegal. Jacob and Frank become partners and within three years they are successful.

Throughout the years, they have to compete with rival Italian gangs and there are lots of ambushes, gunfights, retaliations and revenge.

I thought this was an interesting story. There were lots of conflicts between gangs back trying to take/keep control of the illegal but profitable activities such as gambling, liquor (it was during the time of prohibition) and prostitution. According to this story, gangs were ruthless.

I thought the writing style was okay. The editing could have been tighter as there were typos and grammatical errors. For example, Tim "O'Hare" was also spelled "O'Hair". Another example was "his son's were ..." should have been "his sons were ...". As a head's up, there was a lot of swearing (with words that rhyme with "truck", "hunt" and "mockducker") so it is for mature readers.

There were lots of colour characters. Don't get too attached to any because they might not last to the end (that's how violent and ruthless the gangs were).

[Kelvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

(received as a goodreads giveaway)

This book was thoroughly enjoyable. It was fast paced and full of action. The main characters, Byrne and Garrett, are either fighting their way out of an ambush, ambushing, or retaliating to an ambush in nearly every chapter.

The prose is economical. The author does not try to get flowery, but keeps the action moving with simple prose. It kind of reminded me of Hemingway or McCarthy. Another thing that reminded me of McCarthy, and my only complaint about the book, is that the editor seemed to miss some punctuation so that there are times that you are not sure where the quote ends or begins. Most of the time you can decipher where the mistakes are and keep up with the dialogue. There are only a couple of times it gets tricky.

But that is just a very small hiccup in an otherwise very enjoyable and highly readable book. The author captures the times and the nature of organized crime in a way that makes it seem real rather than contrived. The author is not some guy at university trying to get into the mind of a man on the street. He seems to be genuinely a man of the streets himself, and that makes it all the more fun to read.

I would suggest this book for anyone who likes crime novels or just an all-around action packed thrill ride. You wouldn't be disappointed.

[books are love · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a amazing look at the time in history when the Irish join the mob arena when prohibition is happening. the time when the Irish try to work with the italian families and become a part of their culture.

the Byrne family is great to read about and how they come to power is great to read. the story is a slow build one that has you captured in the historical concepts and how this came about.

the love, loss and blood sweat and tears that these families go through to gain the power and closeness of a family is wonderful to read. This fictional story is soaked in historical accuracy and shows you a side of the rise in the crime family arena that you don’t expect to read.

When we see two families work together and peace come about the world is at their feet and it’s hard not to become captured in all the ups and downs of their lives. The crime wars, the marriages, family meetings, celebrations and sadness. All is felt in this book and seen with a realistic feel.

the writing is realistic in how it brings you into this world and keeps you there.

A great wonderful book on the power of the mob and how families come about and their personal lives.

[Carole · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Jacob Byrne and Franklin Garrett meet for the first time in a jail cell, neither of them could visualize that this would be the start of an unlikely and lucrative friendship. Jacob's father is the wealthy and powerful head of the construction company where Franklin is the head of construction.

Together with the Irish immigrants they form a gang to suppress the Mafia in Philadelphia and this book is the story of their rise to power.

I thought the swearing was a little over the top and could not help feeling that it was more for shock value than effect, but some readers may not feel like that.

For a debut novel it kept my attention throughout, the writing was simple, not challenging, and the characters were interesting but I did not feel that I got to know any of them intimately.

Overall, a good story and one for anyone who's interested in this time period.

From Carole's Book Corner

[Malinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

**I received this book for free from the giveaways, first reads, here on Goodreads.

Mercy Row follows the rise of a North Philly crime family and the problems that they encounter. They are continuously tried by rival gangs from South Philly and Chicago.
Jacob Byrne and Franklin Garrett, with help from Irish immigrants, build a mob that is a force to be reckoned with. They have their hands in the legal and criminal enterprise, so the Mafia was unable to infiltrate for two generations.
Mercy Row is one crime family's story about the rise of their organization. It was an organization built on the flood of those who tried to take them down, sweat of laborers who built the houses in North Philly, and the tears of those that lost loved ones during the rise of this organization.

This was a good read and one I enjoyed. Thanks to the author, Harry Hallman, his Publishing company, and Goodreads for this giveaway!!

[Gretchen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a novel set during Prohibition in Philadelphia. It is about the Irish mob, specifically two men named Jacob and Frank. It details their rise and consolidation of the Irish mob in North Philly. Along the way, they have to deal out a lot of revenge and other violence in their pursuit of becoming the boss of the mob. I live in Philadelphia so it was fun to read this novel, and know some of the areas the book mentions. There are a lot of mentions of famous Philadelphia things such as Tastykakes, etc. That helps to give the book quite a lot of local flavor. The plot of the book seems to mostly be about revenge killings between different mobs and how one attack spirals & leads to multiple attacks, etc. It definitely makes me glad I am not in the mob!

I won this copy in one of the Goodreads giveaways.

[MARCIA · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book from the Goodreads giveaways.

Mercy Row is an easy to read book and captured my attention right from the beginning.

Mercy Row is a story of Irish immigrants who come together to establish a crime family in the 1920's and 1930's Philadelphia. While the book takes you through their rise to power, violence and all, it left me wishing there were more depth.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book as a free giveaway on Goodreads.

Love the 1920's era, so I was anxious to read this book.

Really interesting historically about the Philly area.

Would have loved the characters to be opened up a bit more. The book was heavy on violence, but did not expound further into the lives of the characters.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mercy row was an easy read. It is well written and flows well but could have used more depth. I never felt as if I connected with the characters. The story was interesting but I wished for more. I received this book for free from goodreads first reads.

[John Langan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read... Crisp dialogue with some really cool, original scenes. If you're from Philly, the locations will jump out.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

An Interesting book about inside a mafia family in the 1920's.