Recommended reading - The Friends of Eddie Coyle, by George V. Higgins (1970):

The Friends of Eddie Coyle

By George V. Higgins.

Filmed as The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973), directed by Peter Yates.

Introduction by Dennis Lehane.

Published by Picador.

Pubished 1970.

ISBN-10: 9780312429690

ISBN-13: 9780312429690

ASIN: 031242969X

Description:

George V. Higgins's seminal crime novel is a down-and-dirty tale of thieves, mobsters, and cops on the mean streets of Boston. When 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 whom he calls his friends should he send up the river? Told almost entirely in crackling dialogue by a vivid cast of lowlifes and detectives, The Friends of Eddie Coyle is one of the greatest crime novels ever written.

George V. Higgins, on writing:

Show the reader what the character thinks about,

and then the reader will think about it, too.

- George V. Higgins.

George V. Higgins, on writing:

You cannot write well without data.

- George V. Higgins.

George V. Higgins, on writing:

The characters are telling you the story.

I'm not telling you the story, they're going to do it.

If I do it right, you will get the whole story.

- George V. Higgins.

Born on this day – George V. Higgins:

George V. Higgins

Writer

November 13, 1939 – November 6, 1999

Credits:

Kennedy for the Defense (1981); Penance for Jerry Kennedy (1985); Defending Billy Ryan (1992); Sandra Nichols Found Dead (1996); The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1970); The Digger's Game (1973); Cogan's Trade (1974); A City on a Hill (1976); The Judgment of Deke Hunter (1978); Dreamland (1978); A Year or So with Edgar (1979); The Rat on Fire (1981); The Patriot Game (1982); Choice of Enemies (1983); Impostors (1986); Outlaws (1987); The Sins of the Fathers (1988); Trust (1989); Victories (1990); The Mandeville Talent (1991); Bomber's Law (1993); Swan Boats at Four (1995); A Change of Gravity (1997); The Agent (1999); At End of Day (2000); Old Earl Died Pulling Traps (1984); The Easiest Thing In the World (2004); The Friends of Richard Nixon (1976); Style Versus Substance (1984); Wonderful Years, Wonderful Years (1988); The Progress Of The Seasons (1989); On Writing (1990); Boston Noir 2 (2012).

Movies and television:

Killing Them Softly (2012); The Dick Cavett Show (1972); The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973); The South Bank Show (1988); The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1973).