The Friends of Eddie Coyle

The Friends of Eddie Coyle, published in 1970, is the debut novel of George V. Higgins, then an Assistant United States Attorney in Boston. The novel is a realistic depiction of the Irish-American underworld in Boston. Its central character is the title character Eddie Coyle, a small-time criminal and informant. The Friends of Eddie Coyle was adapted into a 1973 film, directed by Peter Yates and starring Robert Mitchum. The relentless realism and unglamorous nature of the characters in Eddie Coyle was in sharp contrast to some other gangster novels of the era, particularly Mario Puzo's The Godfather, a more romanticized look at organized crime that later would be adapted into the popular 1972 film of the same name. Ashbel Green was the editor.