George V. Higgins

George V. Higgins was assistant DA in Boston before becoming a defense attorney and then a full-time writer. Described as 'the Balzac of Boston' and 'the poet of Boston sleaze' he wrote over thirty books, including a handful of lowlife masterpieces constructed almost entirely of pitch-perfect dialogue. He died in 1999. Cogan's Trade is the book behind the major motion picture Killing Them Softly starring Brad Pitt.