Synopses & Reviews
“Third Rail gets off to a ripping start and never lets off the gas. Rory Flynn is a suspense writer to watch.”—Jess Walter, author of the best-selling Beautiful Ruins
Harvard-educated Eddy Harkness was a rising star in an elite Boston Police Department narcotics unit—until he was blamed for the death of a Red Sox fan in the chaotic aftermath of a World Series win. Scapegoated and exiled, Harkness now empties parking meters in the sleepy town of Nagog while struggling to clear his name.
Then one night his police-issued Glock disappears. Unable to report the theft, he starts a secret search—just as a string of fatal accidents leads him to uncover a dangerous new smart drug, Third Rail. With only a plastic gun to protect him, Harkness begins a high-stakes investigation that leads him into the top levels of Boston’s power base, where politicians and criminals intertwine to deadly effect.
“Glows with the kind of sawdust-dry humor regarding Beantown, cops, and the darkest of urban underbellies that you might find at 3 a.m. in the back booth of a backstreet bar . . . With its gaggle of crazy-yet-riveting characters, its spare approach, and its unflagging action, Third Rail, the first in a promised series of Eddy Harkness novels, adds yet another striking feather to [Flynn’s] impressively crowded cap.” —Boston Globe
“Terrific debut . . . impressive economy and stylish, sophisticated prose . . . Readers will want to see more of Flynn’s gritty Boston—and Eddy Harkness.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
Review
"Chilling...the most penetrating glimpse yet into what seems the real world of crime...positively reeking with authenticity!"--
The New York Times Book Review Oline H. Cogdill - Page Traynor - Publishers Weekly - Publishers Weekly - Romantic Times BOOKreviews - South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Review
“Rings true as a police siren.”—
The Boston Globe“The best crime novel ever written--makes The Maltese Falcon read like Nancy Drew.”—Elmore Leonard
“Chilling . . . The most penetrating glimpse yet into what seems the real world of crime. . . . Positively reeking with authenticity.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Truly a bravura performance. Higgins is a master of colorful street language heard around Boston. Throughout the novel, without quaintness or self-parody, he is able to sustain long arias of criminal shoptalk. . . . A sophisticated thriller.”—Time
“First-rate, absolutely convincing, enormously readable.”—The Christian Science Monitor
“Simultaneously a brilliant thriller and a cold and convincing business prospectus of felony--a profession that traps both sides, gunmen and policemen, into ceaseless compulsory degardations.”—The New Yorker
“The most powerful and frightening crime novel that I have read this year. It will be remembered long after the year is over, as marking the debut of a fine original talent.”—Ross Macdonald
“The first thing to know about George V. Higgins The Friends of Eddie Coyle is that it directly entered the crime-fiction canon upon its 1970 publication. The second thing to know is that it holds up as both a writers-writer thriller and as popular pulp, with Dennis Lehane introducing Picadors new 40th-anniversary reissue of the novel by heralding it as ‘the game-changing crime novel of the last fifty years—a moderate claim compared to that of Elmore Leonard, who hails it as the best crime novel period.” —Troy Patterson, SLATE
“Weighed and calibrated like the barrel of a pistol. The fact that he's writing about crooks is crucial in some ways, incidental in others. The real subjects here are life's futility and its bleak humor… Elmore Leonard learned from this novel, likewise David Mamet and of course Quentin Tarantino, who saw the narrative virtue in marrying violence to comedies of manners…. Higgins took the tough-guy novel into areas of demented anthropology and re-created a genre.” —Richard Rayner, Los Angeles Times
Review
Rings true as a police siren.”
The Boston GlobeThe best crime novel ever written--makes The Maltese Falcon read like Nancy Drew.”Elmore Leonard
Chilling . . . The most penetrating glimpse yet into what seems the real world of crime. . . . Positively reeking with authenticity.”The New York Times Book Review
Truly a bravura performance. Higgins is a master of colorful street language heard around Boston. Throughout the novel, without quaintness or self-parody, he is able to sustain long arias of criminal shoptalk. . . . A sophisticated thriller.”Time
First-rate, absolutely convincing, enormously readable.”The Christian Science Monitor
Simultaneously a brilliant thriller and a cold and convincing business prospectus of felony--a profession that traps both sides, gunmen and policemen, into ceaseless compulsory degardations.”The New Yorker
The most powerful and frightening crime novel that I have read this year. It will be remembered long after the year is over, as marking the debut of a fine original talent.”Ross Macdonald
Review
"Already compelling plot-wise,
Third Rail also glows with the kind of sawdust-dry humor regarding Beantown, cops, and the darkest of urban underbellies that you might find at 3 a.m. in the back booth of a backstreet bar…With its gaggle of crazy-yet-riveting characters, its spare approach and its unflagging action,
Third Rail, the first in a promised series of Eddy Harkness novels, adds yet another striking feather to [Rory Flynn]s impressively-crowded cap." —
Boston Globe "Third Rail gets off to a ripping start and never lets off the gas. Rory Flynn is a suspense writer to watch." —Jess Walter, author of the bestselling Beautiful Ruins
“Third Rail is an adrenaline-soaked tale of political corruption and personal redemption that never lets up. Eddy Harkness, the self-destructive Massachusetts narcotics detective at the novels center, is a worthy successor to Robert B. Parkers Jesse Stone.” —Sean Chercover, author of the bestselling The Trinity Game
"Third Rail is driven equally by character and plot. Harkness's Nagog is faintly reminiscent ofFargo (the film or television series, take your pick). It is populated by quirky characters, some of whom are dangerous to others, others who are dangerous only to themselves." —Book Reporter
"Terrific debut...impressive economy and stylish, sophisticated prose...Readers will want to see more of Flynns gritty Boston—and Eddy Harkness." —Publishers Weekly, boxed and starred
"The start to a successful crime writing career." —Library Journal
Synopsis
Picador celebrates the 40th anniversary of this seminal crime novel with a brand new reissue -- it has been called the very best of its genre by everyone from Elmore Leonard to George Will to Norman Mailer to Anthony Bourdain. A classic.
Synopsis
The classic novel from "America's best crime novelist" (
Time), with a new introduction by Dennis Lehane
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.
Synopsis
The classic novel from "America's best crime novelist" (
Time), with a new
introduction by Elmore Leonard
Eddie Coyle works for Jimmy Scalisi, supplying him with guns for a couple of bank jobs. But a cop named Foley is on to Eddie and he's leaning on him to finger Scalisi, a gang leader with a lot to hide. And then there's Dillon-a full-time bartender and part-time contract killer--pretending to be Eddie's friend. Wheeling, dealing, chasing, and stealing--that's Eddie, and he's got lots of friends.
Synopsis
A Boston narcotic detective's search for his lost gun reveals a network of corruption and cover-up that reaches the highest levels of the city in this propulsive debut, first in an exciting new series in the tradition of Dennis Lehane and Robert Parker.
Synopsis
"Third Rail gets off to a ripping start and never lets off the gas." —Jess Walter, author of Beautiful Ruins At crime scenes, Eddy Harkness, the "Harvard Cop," is a human Ouija board, a brilliant young detective with a knack for finding the hidden something—cash, drugs, guns, bodies. Harkness's swift rise in an elite narcotics unit is derailed by the death of a young Red Sox fan in the chaos after a World Series win, a death some camera-phone-wielding witnesses believe he could have prevented. Scapegoated, Eddy is exiled to his hometown, Nagog, just outside Boston, where he empties parking meters and struggles to redeem his disgraced family name.
But one night Harkness’s police-issued Glock disappears. Harkness starts a search—just as a string of fatal accidents in Nagog lead him to uncover a dangerous new smart drug, Third Rail. With only a plastic gun to protect him, Harkness begins a high-stakes investigation that sends him into the darkest corners of the city.
One of the most electrifying thrillers you'll read this year, Third Rail takes you deep into a gritty world of wronged heroes, corrupt politicians, and sinister kingpins, where your friends can't be trusted, a sleepy town breeds deadly crimes, and nothing ever happens by accident.
About the Author
George V. Higgins was a lawyer, journalist, teacher, and the author of 29 books, including
Bomber's Law,
Trust , and
Kennedy for the Defense.