God Save the Child vs Prayers for rain: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Massachusetts, Boston, Private investigators, Fiction

God Save the Child

God Save the Child Robert B. Parker · 1974 ★★★★☆ 4.0 185 pages · ≈ 3 h 26 m · Moderate Find on Amazon

Prayers for rain Dennis Lehane · 1999 ★★★★☆ 4.1 478 pages · ≈ 8 h 51 m · Moderate Find on Amazon

The verdict

Ratings are close: 4.0 vs 4.1 — either is a safe pick by score.
God Save the Child is the quicker read — about 3 hours vs 8 for Prayers for rain.