George V. Higgins "The Friends of Eddie Coyle"

This will be long-winded:

When I was a kid I loved western movies.  Then, at fourteen, I saw Sam Peckinpah's "The Wild Bunch."  In the opening scene, there is a close-up shot of  Strother Martin's character, hiding on a roof top, ready for a shoot-out.

The first thing I noticed was that he was dirty - I'd never seen a dirty cowboy in a movie before, and realized that of course they'd be dirty.

The next thing was that he was frightened. As the scene progressed it became clear that he and his compadre's were a bunch of scummy, creepy, low-lifes.

At that moment it occurred to me that I'd never seen anything close to an accurate depiction of criminals in the old west before.  The scene I was watching seemed more real than real.

That's what reading "The Friends of Eddie Coyle" felt like.  That's how it made me feel about most modern crime fiction.

This story feels chillingly real.  It's told almost entirely in dialogue - perhaps the best dialogue you'll ever read.  I've re-read this book more times than I can remember.

I'll shut up now.  Get this book!