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This page lists novels, short story collections and non-fiction by George V. Higgins.

Cover images are, when possible, of the first US edition and a recent paperback or digital edition.

By George V. Higgins:
- novels, story collections
- non-fiction

Abour George V. Higgins:
- biography / criticism

The Friends of Eddie Coyle

George V. Higgins

1971

"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 he calls his friends should he send up river? Set on the mean streets of Boston and told almost entirely in crackling dialogue by a vivid cast of cops and lowlifes, The Friends of Eddie Coyle set a standard for authentically gritty crime fiction that has never been bettered."

The Digger's Game

George V. Higgins

1973

"Jerry 'Digger' Doherty is an ex-con and proprietor of a workingman's Boston bar, who supplements his income with the occasional 'odd job', like stealing live checks or picking up hot goods. His brother's a priest, his wife's a nag, and he has a deadly appetite for martinis and gambling. On a trip to Vegas, the Digger finds himself in the sights of a loan shark known as 'The Greek'. Luckily - if you call it luck - the Digger has been let in on a little job that can turn his gambling debt into a profit, if only he can pull it off without getting himself killed."

Cogan's Trade

George V. Higgins

1974

Published in 2012 by Vintage with the title Killing Them Softly - following the movie that also had that title.

"Jackie Cogan doesn't advertise what he does. But when the New England mob have a mess they need cleared up, they know who to call. Markie Trattman runs a high-stakes card-game under their protection. When the game gets raided by a couple of no-name hoodlums, Jackie's out of pocket. Unless of course he set up the heist himself. Either way the mob's got a problem. To restore credibility and keep things running smooth, they need to find out who's behind the heist - and then justice must be seen to be done. Which is where Jackie comes in. The trouble is, this is one game with a lot of players, including an out-of-town hitman, a sleazy attorney, a professional dog-stealer, and enough hoods, hangers-on and high-rollers to really make Jackie earn his dough."

A City on a Hill

George V. Higgins

1975

"Ex-newspaperman Hank Cavanaugh, right-hand PR man to Democratic Massachusetts Congressman Sam Barry, methodically sounding out and projecting his boss's presidential possibilities, subordinates his personal life to the privacies, panderings, and politicsof inside Washington."

The Judgment of Deke Hunter

George V. Higgins

1976

"Inattention-and a sexy court stenographer named Madeleine-cost Deke Hunter his last case. This time the Massachusetts state trooper has something bigger: the Danvers National Bank job. Of the four who pulled off the robbery, only Teddy Donnelly isn't in irons. The key witness, Billy Gillis, is shaking in his boots in a safe house, and it looks to Deke like a case his dog could win by a directed verdict-only his dog's on vacation and he's stuck with Assistant D.A. Richard Shanley again. Then Deke starts worrying that Billy might lose his voice. And Madeleine's back in the picture, only this time Deke's boss thinks she's wired to the mob."

Dreamland

George V. Higgins

1977

A Year or So with Edgar

George V. Higgins

1979

Kennedy for the Defense

George V. Higgins

1980

A Jerry Kennedy novel.

"An honest man with few illusions that have gone unchallenged, criminal lawyer Jerry Kennedy is hard put to reconcile his professional life--defending car thieves, pimps, pushers, and mobsters--with his family life."

The Rat on Fire

George V. Higgins

1981

"When the tenants of Jerry Fein's dilapidated buildings refuse to pay the rent on account of the rats, Jerry drafts in arsonist Leo Proctor to take care of the problem. After all, the place is insured and the fire marshall's back is turned, so what could go wrong?"

The Patriot Game

George V. Higgins

1982

"Federal Agent Pete Riordan has two problems, and both of them could end with murder. Convicted killer Mikey-mike Magro has never made a secret of the fact that if he ever gets out of jail, he's going to go after the man he thinks put him there, Jerry 'Digger' Doherty. And now it seems some very influential people are trying to get Magro pardoned and out on the street. Riordan figures Bishop Paul Doherty, an old friend who also happens to be the Digger's brother, might put him on the right track - and he might just be able to help him with his second problem too: word is that a man is over from the old country intending to buy arms for the IRA. No one knows his name, or even what he looks like, but Riordan needs to find him fast - or his two problems could come together like a lighted fuse and a stick of gelignite."

A Choice of Enemies

George V. Higgins

1984

"Bernie Morgan, longtime Speaker of the Massachusetts House, is determined to thwart his political enemies and plan a memorable end to his career."

Old Earl Died Pulling Traps: A Story

George V. Higgins

1984

A limited illustrated edition of a short story.

Penance for Jerry Kennedy

George V. Higgins

1985

A Jerry Kennedy novel.

"For low-life Boston lawyer Jerry Kennedy, everything's gone sour--his client Louis Schwartz is in jail; he's a prey of the IRS; and his wife is giving him the silent treatment."

Impostors

George V. Higgins

1986

"Mark Baldwin, a wealthy newspaper owner, hires Connie Gates to pretend to be an investigative reporter in order to get close to Joe Logan, and determine what information he will reveal at his trial about Baldwin."

Outlaws

George V. Higgins

1987

"1970, Boston, and a daring attack on an armoured transport delivering money to a bank, catches Massachusetts law enforcement napping. While the police are still trying to figure out where this new and coldly efficient gang sprang from, more dazzling heists follow - each one meticulously planned and ruthlessly executed. It soon becomes clear these are no ordinary criminals, but as one of the cops assigned to the case figures, 'longhairs that got bored with protesting the war and branched out.' Faced with a tight-knit cell of urban revolutionaries led by a charismatic intellectual with no compunction about killing for the cause, the authorities seem powerless to stop them. Unless they step outside the law themselves."

Wonderful Years, Wonderful Years

George V. Higgins

1988

"Bucky, who works for a well-known Bay State contractor and will do anything to protect him, is charged with keeping his boss's schizophrenic wife from blowing the whistle on her husband."

The Sins of the Fathers: Stories by George V. Higgins

George V. Higgins

1988

Trust

George V. Higgins

1989

"A novel of corruption, deceit and dishonour which opens in small-town America in the long hot summer of 1967. Earl Beale, psychopathic ex-basketball star, now a used-car salesman after being jailed for corruption, is indulging in a little profitable extra-curricular activity."

Victories

George V. Higgins

1990

"A former baseball player, who has been dispirited by his past mistakes, finds his life rejuvenated after he reluctantly agrees to run against a radical hippie in the volatile Vermont state elections of 1968."

The Mandeville Talent

George V. Higgins

1991

"Joe Corey, a disillusioned Manhattan corporate lawyer, teams up with retired Defense Department bigshot Baldo Ianucci to solve a twenty-three-year-old murder--that of his wife's grandfather, who was killed with his own shotgun."

Defending Billy Ryan

George V. Higgins

1992

A Jerry Kennedy novel.

"Desperate as always, Kennedy takes a case nobody else wants. Billy Ryan, Massachusetts Commissioner of the Department of Public Works, has cut one shady deal too many, and doesn't want to spend his retirement in gaol."

Bomber's Law

George V. Higgins

1993

"The new commanding officer of the Detective Division at state headquarters in Boston, Brian Dennison begins to suspect that his predecessor, Bomber Lawrence, was in league with a notorious mobster."

Swan Boats at Four

George V. Higgins

1995

"In the first-class dining salon of a deluxe ocean liner on a transatlantic crossing, a middle-aged couple with problems is joined by a charming bounder with a mission, who finds his way to their table by design. Slowly and inexorably, their offshore stories begin to unfold."

Sandra Nichols Found Dead

George V. Higgins

1996

A Jerry Kennedy novel.

"Appointed by former classmate Judge Henry Lawler to prosecute the boyfriend of a murdered woman, Jerry Kennedy has difficulty proving the guilt of the defendant, a more than likely suspect, when the victim's body is discovered long after her deat."

A Change of Gravity

George V. Higgins

1997

"A campaign manager and his candidate, Danny Hilliard, a powerful politician in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, find themselves fighting not to go to jail as they deal with the political world of the 1990s."

The Agent

George V. Higgins

1999

"By the time Lieutenant Inspector Francis Clay arrives on the scene of the murder of Alexander Drouhin, head of one of the nation's leading sports agencies, he discovers that the gritty sport agent's friends and enemies all seem to have both motives and alibis."

At End of Day

George V. Higgins

2000

"Arthur McKeach and Nick Cistero have been behind most of the loan-sharking, extortion, hijacking, illegal gambling, union corruption and drug-dealing in Greater Boston for almost four decades - and every cop in the Boston Police Department knows it.So what's kept them on the streets for so long? What the cops don't know is that McKeach and Cistero have a sweet deal going with the Boston office of the FBI: the bureau looks the other way when they're doing business, and even gives them a heads-up when the local or state cops start poking around - and all McKeach and Cistero have to do is rat out the Italian mob from Boston's North End. It's a deal that has worked for four decades, but now there's a new agent in town, fresh from a desk job in Washington, ready to take over the Organized Crime Unit. Is it the end of an era in the Boston underworld, or are McKeach and Cistero about to find out just how far corruption can go?"

The Easiest Thing in the World: The Unpublished Fiction of George V. Higgins

George V. Higgins

Carroll & Graf

2004

"A collection of uncollected work by the master of crime fiction showcases Higgins's famous dialogue while also presenting his trademark humor and stories of revenge and corruption."

The Friends of Richard Nixon

George V. Higgins

1975

Style Versus Substance: Kevin White, and the Politics of Illusion

George V. Higgins

1984

"This analysis and warning about the dangerous mix of politics and media manipulation examines the sixteen-year mayoral term of Boston's Kevin White in terms of the critical problems plaguing modern cities and government."

The Progress of the Seasons: Forty Years Of Baseball In Our Town

George V. Higgins

1989

On Writing: Advice for Those Who Write to Publish (Or Would Like To)

George V. Higgins

1990

"Presents a practical guide to good writing and reading for the talented but inexperienced writer seeking to publish."

Havoc in the Hub: A Reading of George V. Higgins

Peter Wolfe

2007

"Havoc in the Hub brings to light the long-neglected work of George V. Higgins, revealing the wealth of intellectual, social, literary, and religious thought that underlies his 25 novels and numerous other works. Higgins's writing, fed by equal parts wit and sorrow, touches our senses, emotions, and minds. Peter Wolfe makes a resounding contribution to the study of this writer. Wolfe places Higgins's work in its geographical context and outlines the many sources from which Higgins drew during his highly productive career. The first in-depth examination of George V. Higgins, Havoc in the Hub will interest scholars, graduate students, and lovers of Higgins's work alike."

George V. Higgins: The Life and Writings

Edwin H. Ford II

McFarland

2014

"Best known for his popular crime fiction, Boston novelist George V. Higgins (1939-1999) should stand among the top ranks of the American literary canon. In his 26 novels and dozens of short stories, Higgins chronicled the lives of Boston’s Irish with his trademark hard-boiled dialogue, exploring the criminal underworld, American democracy, Boston politics, personal redemption and New England life in the tradition of Hawthorne and Thoreau. This intimate biography explores his turbulent life and career, including his working-class Irish Catholic roots, his two stormy marriages, his ambivalence toward the city of his birth, his passion for the limelight, and his drinking, which disrupted his family life and led to his early death at age 59. Discussions of Higgins’ individual works and excerpts from his correspondence, writings, and thoughts on literature complete this revealing portrait."