A grand historical novel in the vein of E.L. Doctorow's Ragtime, Dennis Lehane's latest is a gripping tale of a young policeman, from an Irish police family, caught in the turbulent events of the city of Boston coming out of the first World War into the Spanish Flu epidemic, Anarchist bombings, and the Boston Police strike. At the same time, a young black man gets caught up in a murder in the black underworld and flees to Boston, where the NAACP is just forming and winds up working for the same family. Great characters and heart-pounding action make this a must-read. (BH)