George V. Higgins – författare

'The best crime novel ever written' - Elmore Leonard'If you haven't read George V. Higgins you can't call yourself a fan of crime fiction' Val McDermid'Higgins deserves to stand in the company of Chandler and Hammett as one of the true innovators in crime fiction' Scott TurowWhen small-time gunrunner Eddie Coyle is convicted on a felony, he's looking at three years in the pen - that is, unless he sells out one of his big-fish clients to the DA. But which of the many hoods, gunmen and executioners he calls his friends should he send up river? Set on the mean streets of Boston and told almost entirely in crackling dialogue by a vivid cast of cops and lowlifes, The Friends of Eddie Coyle set a standard for authentically gritty crime fiction that has never been bettered.

A crime masterpiece brought back into print - and transformed into the major film, Killing Them Softly, starring Brad Pitt.'Brilliant' WASHINGTON POST 'Gripping' TIMES 'Masterly' WALL STREET JOURNALJackie Cogan doesn't advertise what he does. But when the New England mob have a mess they need cleared up, they know who to call. Markie Trattman runs a high-stakes card-game under their protection. When the game gets raided by a couple of no-name hoodlums, Jackie's out of pocket. Unless of course he set up the heist himself. Either way the mob's got a problem. To restore credibility and keep things running smooth, they need to find out who's behind the heist - and then justice must be seen to be done. Which is where Jackie comes in. The trouble is, this is one game with a lot of players, including an out-of-town hitman, a sleazy attorney, a professional dog-stealer, and enough hoods, hangers-on and high-rollers to really make Jackie earn his dough.Filmed as Killing Them Softly.

'Higgins...has arranged the conventions of the crime novel into something new: oblique, bleak and often graveyard funny' SUNDAY TIMES'Every American crime writer of the past 30 years owes a debt to George V Higgins. Higgins is the daddy. Read him and rejoice' Val McDermid'Higgins deserves to stand in the company of Chandler and Hammett as one of the true innovators in crime fiction' Scott TurowWhen the tenants of Jerry Fein's dilapidated buildings refuse to pay the rent on account of the rats, Jerry drafts in arsonist Leo Proctor to take care of the problem. After all, the place is insured and the fire marshall's back is turned, so what could go wrong?

'Flawless of its kind - never a false word, phrase, rhythm, gesture.' - The New Republic'Every American crime writer of the past 30 years owes a debt to George V Higgins. Higgins is the daddy. Read him and rejoice' Val McDermidJerry 'Digger' Doherty is an ex-con and proprietor of a workingman's Boston bar, who supplements his income with the occasional 'odd job', like stealing live checks or picking up hot goods. His brother's a priest, his wife's a nag, and he has a deadly appetite for martinis and gambling. On a trip to Vegas, the Digger finds himself in the sights of a loan shark known as 'The Greek'. Luckily - if you call it luck - the Digger has been let in on a little job that can turn his gambling debt into a profit, if only he can pull it off without getting himself killed.

'Every American crime writer of the past 30 years owes a debt to George V Higgins. Higgins is the daddy. Read him and rejoice' Val McDermid'This author has the talent to make every word count, ratcheting up the tension as the story unfolds. . . a novel rich in characterisation' DAILY MAILFederal Agent Pete Riordan has two problems, and both of them could end with murder.Convicted killer Mikey-mike Magro has never made a secret of the fact that if he ever gets out of jail, he's going to go after the man he thinks put him there, Jerry 'Digger' Doherty. And now it seems some very influential people are trying to get Magro pardoned and out on the street.Riordan figures Bishop Paul Doherty, an old friend who also happens to be the Digger's brother, might put him on the right track - and he might just be able to help him with his second problem too: word is that a man is over from the old country intending to buy arms for the IRA. No one knows his name, or even what he looks like, but Riordan needs to find him fast - or his two problems could come together like a lighted fuse and a stick of gelignite.

'A hell of a story from a hell of a storyteller' Daily Mail'Higgins writes about the world of crime with an authenticity that is unmatched' Washington Post1970, Boston, and a daring attack on an armoured transport delivering money to a bank, catches Massachusetts law enforcement napping. While the police are still trying to figure out where this new and coldly efficient gang sprang from, more dazzling heists follow - each one meticulously planned and ruthlessly executed.It soon becomes clear these are no ordinary criminals, but as one of the cops assigned to the case figures, 'longhairs that got bored with protesting the war and branched out.' Faced with a tight-knit cell of urban revolutionaries led by a charismatic intellectual with no compunction about killing for the cause, the authorities seem powerless to stop them.Unless they step outside the law themselves...

'No one ever did it better' NEW YORK TIMES'If you haven't read George V. Higgins you can't call yourself a fan of crime fiction' Val McDermidArthur McKeach and Nick Cistero have been behind most of the loan-sharking, extortion, hijacking, illegal gambling, union corruption and drug-dealing in Greater Boston for almost four decades - and every cop in the Boston Police Department knows it.So what's kept them on the streets for so long?What the cops don't know is that McKeach and Cistero have a sweet deal going with the Boston office of the FBI: the bureau looks the other way when they're doing business, and even gives them a heads-up when the local or state cops start poking around - and all McKeach and Cistero have to do is rat out the Italian mob from Boston's North End.It's a deal that has worked for four decades, but now there's a new agent in town, fresh from a desk job in Washington, ready to take over the Organized Crime Unit. Is it the end of an era in the Boston underworld, or are McKeach and Cistero about to find out just how far corruption can go?