The sharply observed political elements and passion for the locale elevates this private eye tale, but what makes it truly memorable is the deep, deep dive into the points of view, relationship and experiences of our two leads, Kenzie and Genarro. Yet the book's deep dive into racial politics falters on the lips of our hero. You can't put multi-page analytic insights into America's racial situation in the 1980s in the mouth of a tough-guy PI, so he has to be a bit short-sighted and noncommittal. Yet if you keep him just a mug from a tough neighborhood eventually he starts repeating himself and what he's saying isn't too interesting.  (I smirked when the "wilding" of the Central Park Five was mentioned by our hero as an example of why gang members were "animals"; of course the Central Park Five were completely innocent and railroaded into essentially life sentences by a deranged, racist system. Of course when this was written, Lehane couldn't have known this for sure...but perhaps he might have thought about it twice if he were going to make the racialized justice system such a core part of the book.)

The real darkness in this book is abuse - spousal abuse, child abuse, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, abuse of every kind and variety. Every character swims in it and it leaves its mark.  This is where Lehane's observation shines, not in the racial stuff.