Book 2010 #12 The Friends of Eddie Coyle

I read The Friends of Eddie Coyle almost solely based on the association between this new edition and author Dennis Lehane. He provides an introduction full of lavish praise so I picked up this slim little and dove in.

It’s as good as advertised.

Told primarily through crisp, colloquial dialog, The Friends of Eddie Coyle is brisk, engrossing read. It’s a first rate crime novel and a fascinating view of a Boston that I only vaguely know from legend and anecdote. The hitmen, gun dealers, bank robbers and cops that surround Eddie are all wonderfully seedy and Eddie himself, a sad sack, mid-level crook staring down the barrel of an extended stay in a New Hampshire prison, is a pitiful, memorable misfit.

All in all this is a great novel that transcends genre with its crisp pacing, unmatched dialog and views into the underbelly of a Boston long gone by.

As short as this novel is, there’sno excuse. You should read this book. Deal?