Customer Reviews

Boyos: A Novel

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In the Southie side of Boston, Jack "Wacko" Curran and his even crazier brother Kevin earn a living working for mob boss Marty Fallon by mostly selling drugs to neighborhood dealers, but also perform other duties as assigned. After gaining needed experience on the job, Wacko decides it is time that the siblings become self employed or do a hostile takeover. To bankroll his venture, Wacko plans an armored car heist.

Meanwhile Marty has not become a mob chieftain by sitting idly by as his underlings gain the skills until they branch out or try to replace him. Instead, he knows when trouble is brewing and believes the Curran brothers are the current duo to put on ice. Fallon knows about the upcoming robbery and turns to his pals in the FBI to put away the latest pretenders to his Southie crime kingdom, but if the Feds fail him, war is imminent with no one sure which side the cops might be on.

This is an interesting look at the criminal mind from an insider's perspective (the author is a former Southie mobster) that grips the reader from the moment they realize how dangerous Wacko and Kevin are. The story line moves forward at rapid pace while insuring fans have a deep look at the ambitious Wacko and to a lesser degree sly king of the mountain Marty and drug crazed loony Kevin. None of the key protagonists are likable or admirable, but these BOYOS will fascinate readers as few characters do.

Harriet Klausner

Lots of comparisons were made in reviews of "BOYOS" to George V. Higgans and Dennis Lehane. Not to take anything away from those most excellent crimedog writers, but Marinick has a real-deal heavyweight style all his own. This guy writes dialogue true to the streets of Boston and he plots with same complexity and skill as Ellroy. Interwoven plotlines seamlessly work to build a high wire tension that makes the reader feel like they're a part of the Curran Brothers criminal world. Marinick's massive canvas includes Eye-talian diamond merchants, wise guys, bookies, dealers, addicts, a gluttonous FBI agent, wanna bes, sweet irish Grandmothers, boxers, bartenders, gamblers and thieves. And all of them are depicted with a level of veracity rarely seen in the genre. Also, when the characters in BOYOS ham it up with outrageous anecdotes, it feels and sounds real and not cartoonlike as a Tarrantino comic book pseudo criminal does. No this guy is the real thing and I for one look forward to more books from him.

I have to admit that I bought this book because one of the author's brothers is a friend of mine. I wasn't expecting much since this was his first book but saying I was pleasantly surprised would be putting it mildly. This book was beyond my expectations and the future holds bright for Richard Marinick.
The author has taken the wit of Robert Parker's Spenser, the gritty dialogue of Elmore Leonard's 70's novels and the suspense and drama of Dennis Lehane and intertwined them into a novel that allows you a glimpse of how the real criminal society functions and survives.
If you enjoy the work of any of the above mentioned authors or have the slightest interest in "Southie" you should buy this book. Guaranteed you will be yearning for Mr. Marinick's next novel.

An uncompromising picture of life's harsh realities, Boyos offers a close-up view of those who decide to abandon "civilian" life to become drug dealers, hardcore criminals, murderers, stoolies, crime bosses, and occasionally, federal investigators in South Boston, one of Boston's working class, mostly Irish neighborhoods. Author Richard Marinick, himself a local boy, developed his gritty writing style in a prison writing program when he was incarcerated for eleven years for armed robbery, and in this debut novel he presents a candid view of the petty criminals and not-so-petty murderers who operate in a seemingly "ordinary" urban neighborhood.

Jack "Wacko" Curran and his brother Kevin deal dope to small-time pushers, often resorting to violence to teach other dealers a lesson. Wacko already has one murder to his "credit," and he bitterly resents the fact that he has to pay the "Fallon tax" to Marty Fallon, the biggest boss in Southie. Wacko is working on three separate projects, much bigger than his drug sales, trying to pull off a million dollar heist of diamonds from a jeweler in Westwood and two huge armored car heists, and he is determined to keep Marty Fallon from cutting into his take.

The hard-boiled, supermacho dialogue, local slang, and odd nicknames (the Winger, Maggot, the Animal, Elbow) add realism to the story, as Wacko moves around town, introducing the reader to the complex interrelationships among these men who have decided that being "civilians" does not pay enough to support their tastes and lifestyles. The life of a young criminal is a complicated chess game with moves and countermoves as Wacko tests his partners, gets the support he needs, practices split second timing, and plans where and how he will fence or hide his gains.

Violent, suspenseful, and realistic, with a huge cast of characters, this masculine novel features only two women, one almost a saint, and the other, a sinner who must pay the price. There are few hints of any soft, human side for these characters, and love seems not to enter into their relationships with women. The reader sees how and why Wacko Curran and Kevin think as they do, but in their love of violence, they are not sympathetic characters. Marinick creates a great deal of suspense, however, and the reader is alternately fascinated by their lives and repulsed by their actions, as they worry more about being betrayed by each other than about being caught by police. Marinick's conclusion is realistic and satisfying, without being a cop-out. Mary Whipple

Boyos is a masterpiece of modern day crime fiction. To hear this author criticized as an ex-con is to completely miss the point. Many significant writers have been incarcerated: Jean Genet, Oscar Wilde, Anton Chekhov, Aleksandr Solzynitzyn...the list goes on. To be sure, there are criminals who try to cash in on their notoriety by writing a book. If you look closely you can tell them at a glance: they all have co-authors. Eddie McKenzie and that Gotti girl come to mind. Richard Marinick is different: from what I hear, he was a writer before his arrest; he wrote all through a ten-year prison stretch; he wrote everyday for eight years afterward, all before he got a book deal. Get this: he's a writer, who happens to write what he knows, not a thug trying to cash in. And the fact he writes what he knows makes Boyos one of the most remarkable books you'll ever read.

Fast paced, a tight and intricate plotline and with a varied cast of characters Richard Marinick scores five stars for his first novel 'Boyos'. Unlike many crime novels published these days 'Boyos' doesn't fall into the trap of trying to be a synopsis for a movie. The characters are true to life, low life to be more accurate and the author obviously has a detailed understanding of the Irish American take on crime families. The book isn't without a couple of faults, though. The anti-hero, Jack Curran, could do with a little more character development to put some flesh on his bones, there are occasional passages in the book which have more detail than is required by plot and the frequent references to the songs playing on the radio become something of an irritation after a while and don't really contribute to either the sense of time and place or atmosphere of the scene. Overall the book is a great addition to the crime genre, avoids many of the usual pitfalls of the gangster novel and is a satisfying read.

Boyos is a slice-of-life novel about two up-and-coming brothers in South Boston. The dialog and sense of place are first rate -- and should be as the author is writing from experience.

The problem is with the plot and pacing. As a work of fiction, it doesn't build well to climax. There's several possible climax scenes -- does the big score work, do our heros confront Mary Fallon, are they caught by the feds, does Jack abandon his life of crime for his girl? None of these come together smoothly for a novel.

It feels like Boyos had not decided whether it was semi-autobiographical -- essentially non-fiction with names changed to protect real people; or a work of fiction which should follow a novel's plot structure. And that indecision weakens the story.

Read the book for a sense of characters you might meet on the South Boston strees and for the sense of place. Experienced mystery readers will see the plot twists coming chapters away. Other readers may feel some anti-climax in the resolution.

As a huge fan of George V. Higgins (and the "Friends of Eddie Coyle"), Richard Marinick has written the closest thing to that forever crime classic in Boyos. I'm reading it for the second time since I purchased it two months ago. Gritty dialogue, compelling underworld characters, and more authenticity than anything I've read since the Higgins classic.

Boyos is a crime classic, fact.

Marinick is the next great one, fact.

First of all the good news: this writer has talent. He handles a multplicity of characters very well. But the devil is in the details. Did I really need to know that the major character drove his car from the 93 merge, down the Furnace Brook Parkway exit, turned right at the Dunkin' Donuts, crossed the Neponset Bridge, headed down Morrissey Boulevard, followed Day Boulevard, then turned left at L Street . . . when none of this advances the plot? This is but one example of many. This novel was published by a Boston publisher who apparently thought that the rest of the world would be fascinated by the details of the streets of Boston. I have one other gripe before I go onto other good things: Why in the world did the novel begin with slightly over two pages titled "TO THE READER" in which the author explains why he was once a bad guy and now is a good guy in real life. Just start the novel. Now for more good stuff: the author's description of South Boston drew me in, almost making me feel the mileau, although I have never visited the city. I found the ending satisfying, even though most of the characters were dead by then. Boyos is a great start for Mr. Marinick.

Great reading from start to finish; a real guys book. For anyone who worked in and around Boston, the author nailed the "characters" in Boyos.