The Friends of Eddie Coyle

By: George V. Higgins

Narrated by: Mark Hammer

Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

George V. Higgins, the internationally-acclaimed grand master of crime fiction, returns to thrill listeners with this riveting tale of cops, robbers, and big city low life. An expertly crafted story of loyalty and betrayal, it is peppered with wonderfully authentic dialogue and seedy black-market atmosphere.

Eddie Coyle is a small-time gun dealer with a big-time problem: who to sell out to avoid going to prison. While mob bosses, cops, hoods, gunmen, thieves, and executioners give Eddie plenty of choices, he has few options. Any decision could cost him his life.

Shady deals and accusations fly as fast and deadly as bullets in this riveting audiobook. The combination of Higgins and narrator Mark Hammer will leave you with mental images of crime and justice that you never thought possible before.

©1970, 1971 George V. Higgins (P)1996 Recorded Books, LLC

Best crime novel of its day

The novel itself is a classic in the genre. So much so that Elmore Leonard had one of his own characters proclaim that it’s the most realistic crime novel ever written. Part procedural; part mobster; part other subgenres. The novel is told from the perspective of numerous actors—criminal and authorities—each acting in his or her own self interest. Higgins knew his stuff—guns, cars, procedures, racism, corruption, crime. There is no good guy to root for, or cool guy to become infatuated with. In that vein, the audiobook production is appropriately raw—it sounds like a Northeast Noir should sound.

One tip: if you don’t know Boston’s geography, you’ll need a map.

AWESOME

The book - as well as the wonderful vocal performance -- captures the character and atmosphere in Boston during that era, PERFECTLY!

Great book

Well read, well written, great story of the mob in Boston. Hope to find more like it.

The Movie, Slightly Expanded.

I can't think of many novels as faithfully adapted to the screen as this one. It does a lot to explain why the movie was so good.

Some scenes are condensed, a few cut out, and some things play out slightly differently, but in the end the film is eighty-five to ninety percent what the book is: an set of enjoyably meandering narratives centered on cops and criminals in the 1970's Greater Boston area, immersive and interesting but not quite gripping, with a heavy emphasis on dialogue and realism, written by someone who'd know. The vibe is precisely the same.

If you know you're going to buy it, I would recommend the book, which is wonderfully read and more detailed. If you're on the fence about it, the movie can (at time of writing) be rented of Amazon for 3.00, and you'd get most of the experience, as well as Robert Mitchum's performance.

Great story, but hard to follow.

Overall the book was good, but man it was hard to follow with the narration. All the characters sounded the same and the excessive “he said” and “she said” was annoying. But there were a couple chapters where you’re like, “Damn! That was good writing.”

The plot is ok; the dialogue -priceless!!!!

The plot is ok; the dialogue -priceless!!!!
The author capture a certain time and place with precision, humor and grace! Well worth your time!

Okay, but rather predictable and not that engaging

This story was interesting from the standpoint of authentic criminal activities and dialogue but was rather predictable.

fantastic

I usually don't care for tons of dialogue but the reader made it great. Very entertaining. I plan on getting this one as a physical book to read.

Gritty storytelling

Very good story, performances give an authentic feel to the story and locations. I highly recommend this book for this type of genre.

Very entertaining

The narrator has a nice story voice for this type of story. I loved it!