Gave it a look myself at Amazon.

My son and daughter, whenever a film or book has a terrific review, refuse to have a go at it. But Amazon has given this one 4-l/2 Stars, which ain't hay. Sounds like a good story:

One snowy New Year's Day, in the midst of the Great Depression, Dr. James Delaney--haunted by the slaughters of the Great War, and abandoned by his wife and daughter--returns home to find his three-year-old grandson on his doorstep, left by his mother in Delaney's care. Coping with this unexpected arrival, Delaney hires Rose, a tough, decent Sicilian woman with a secret in her past. Slowly, as Rose and the boy begin to care for the good doctor, the numbness in Delaney begins to melt. Recreating 1930s New York with the vibrancy and rich detail that are his trademarks, Pete Hamill weaves a story of honor, family, and one man's simple courage that no reader will soon forget

If this was a mystery, I'd get it for myself.

At this site, I noticed the first title was A Killilng for Christ(1980). Is this a religious writer?

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/h/pete-hamill/