Cogan's Trade - George V. Higgins

A crime masterpiece brought back into print - and transformed into the major film, Killing Them Softly, starring Brad Pitt.''Brilliant'' WASHINGTON POST ''Gripping'' TIMES ''Masterly'' WALL STREET JOURNALJackie 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.Filmed as Killing Them Softly.