First published 1976
Boston simmers with the usual mix of ambition and compromise that defines city politics. The players know their roles: cops who bend rules, politicians who make deals, and lawyers who work every angle. Higgins drops readers into this world where everyone has something to gain and something to hide. The dialogue crackles with the authentic rhythms of street corners and back rooms. Characters scheme and maneuver through a landscape where idealism crashes against practical necessity. Money changes hands, favors get traded, and the machinery of urban power grinds forward. At its heart, this is a story about how people navigate the gap between what they believe and what they do to survive in a system that rewards pragmatism over principle.
Genres: fiction, american-fiction, mystery, crime
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, pragmatism-vs-idealism
Setting: Boston
Period: 20th-century
Mass Market Paperback · Ballantine Books