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22 Reviews

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.5 out of 5 stars (22 customer reviews)

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40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good read, great dialog..., January 8, 2001

By

Erik J. Larsen (st. paul, mn) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Friends of Eddie Coyle: A Novel (John MacRae Books) (Paperback)

I read a list by James Ellroy where he listed Higgins as one of his major influences, so I bought this one. I was pleasantly surprised.

The story is very simple, the dialog is incredibly lifelike and readable. The characters are very real and the story is believable. Its not really a mystery as much as it is a story about some criminals and what they think and feel.

Warning, though. Don't buy this if you like the 'high concept' plots of Grisham and Patterson. This is a very simple story about real people and real criminals. If you're an aspiring writer of crime fiction, definitely check it out especially the dialog.

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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars streetwise dialogue, October 13, 2000

By

Orrin C. Judd "brothersjudddotcom" (Hanover, NH USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Friends of Eddie Coyle (Paperback)

Eddie Coyle is a low-level Boston hood, supplying mobsters with handguns. He earned his nickname, "Fingers", after one gun deal went poorly & he had his hand slammed in a drawer, giving him an extra set of knuckles on his left hand. Once in a while the mob throws him some more lucrative work, but on the last such opportunity he was arrested in New Hampshire illegally trucking liquor. Now he faces three to five years in prison and as he says: "Well, ...I got three kids and a wife at home, and I can't afford to do no more time, you know? The kids're growing up and they go to school, and the other kids make fun of them and all. Hell, I'm almost forty-five years old."

The only way Eddie can avoid prison is to trade information & he's soon caught in between the Feds, his gun dealer & the Mob. George V. Higgin's debut novel (now almost thirty years old) is notable for it's streetwise dialogue and the nearly Shakespearean sense of tragedy (well, at least, Billy "Sonnets" Shakespeare) that surrounds Eddie.

GRADE: A

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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the friends of eddie coyle, December 28, 1999

By

anonymous - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Friends of Eddie Coyle (Paperback)

Possibly the best account of real life crime, gangsters, and cut throats ever written...a rare insight into the real world of low level criminals, proving "There is no honor amongst thieves"...having been born, raised, and lived in the neighborhoods depicted in this novel, I can honestly say..."This story is all too real relative to Boston area criminals and their alleged loyaties...this book is a masterpiece...

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars It Just Cracks!
This work just cracks with great dialogue, interesting characters, and a fantastic story. It is as good as any modern thriller and set up a whole genre. Read more

Published 8 months ago by JSmalls

5.0 out of 5 stars A new friend of Eddie Coyle
This is an outstanding, dialog driven crime story taking place in Boston and the North Shore. Eddie "Fingers" Coyle is a gun running middleman for the mob looking at 3 to 5 years... Read more

Published 9 months ago by Disciple of Poseidon

4.0 out of 5 stars Good dialogue, realistic insight along the lines of "The Wire".
This isn't a mystery or a thriller, and it doesn't have some intricate, complicated plot. It is simply a kind of realistic snapshot of a group of real-life criminals, how they... Read more

Published 9 months ago by Wunderkind

4.0 out of 5 stars Great crime writing
"The Friends of Eddie Coyle" is often called the greatest crime novel of all time. It lives up to the hype. Read more

Published 11 months ago by Matthew Wilding

5.0 out of 5 stars As cold and harsh a crime drama as you can get
The Friends of Eddie Coyle centers around Eddie "Fingers" Coyle who is a street-wise, low level, and tired thug who is only 45. Read more

Published 12 months ago by Ricardo C.

5.0 out of 5 stars This life's hard, man. But it's harder if you're stupid.
I got this after seeing the generally unknown but highly-praised-by-film-nerds movie with Robert Mitchum. I did not love the movie, it was fragmented and a little boring. Read more

Published 13 months ago by MT_Soul

5.0 out of 5 stars The crime writers' crime writer
No one writes dialogue like George V. Higgins, using it so seamlessly to unfold his story. This is his first published novel, and it hits like a horseshoe in a boxing glove. Read more

Published 18 months ago by Anthony Bruno

5.0 out of 5 stars It Doesn't Get Much Better Than This
There are so many writers in this genre who should have long ago read this book. That way the truly good writers would have learned from Mr. Read more

Published 19 months ago by Dennis Bianchi

4.0 out of 5 stars A Discovery
What a treat to discover and read this book after being a fan of Tarantino's "Jackie Brown". I came away with new respect for both the author and the film-maker.

Published 20 months ago by Stephen C. Hillard

5.0 out of 5 stars Could be the best
No less an authority than Elmore Leonard has called this the best crime book ever. I have to agree. Read more

Published on August 5, 2009 by Jim Defilippi

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Inside This Book (learn more)
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First Sentence:
JACKIE BROWN at twenty-six, with no expression on his face, said that he could get some guns. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
stubbled man, stocky man, black revolver

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Jackie Brown, Eddie Coyle, Robert Biggers, New Hampshire, Eddie Fingers, Sam Partridge, Harry Burrell, Foster Clark, Jimmy Scal, Nancy Williams, Tobin Ames, Arliss Trucking, Arthur Valantropo, Karmann Ghia

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