Bag Men

by Mark Costello

It is New Year's Day, 1965, and the body of Father George Sedgewick is discovered on a snow-covered runway of Logan Airport. Gone missing are four thousand communion hosts consecrated by Pope Paul VI, meant to be given out to the faithful at the first English-language mass in America later that year.
Ray Dunn, a rising young assistant district attorney and the son of a corrupt cop, is assigned to the case. In another part of the city, legendary narcotics detective Manny Manning begins a desperate search for the shadowy source of deadly new heroin hitting the streets. This time Manny is determined to reach the top, but his adversary is cunning, brutal--and branching out into a strange drug called "acid."
These quests for a killer and a dealer will intersect, unleashing the ghosts of the past and unlocking the secrets of Boston's most powerful institutions. Authentic, knowing, and bracingly cynical, Bag Men is a powerful thriller that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Crime

250 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a long and arduous weekend, so I'll keep this quick . . .

1965, and the Boston PD is extensively corrupt, the RC Church plans to replace the Latin mass, memories are fresh (or nonexistent) of some fairly horrific hushed-up medical experiments done by the armed forces, and LSD is due to be made illegal in the US in a few days' time. A priest is horribly killed at Logan Airport. A hitherto unknown kind of dope is hitting the Boston streets, of a strength and purity such that junkies are dying of it. There's a new drug source in town, and people seem terrifies of him . . .

Against this strive Ray Dunn, the catspaw and fixer of corrupt DA Johnny Cahill, and Manny Manning, a cop who years ago rebelled against the prevalent corruption, shopped the worst of his colleagues -- including Ray's dad -- and since then has been the straightest of arrows, with the result that the team of narcotics cops he leads is regarded as the elite, the team all the best cops aspire to be a part of. Both of them have been bag men -- have in the past willingly acted as couriers of corruption.

This is one of the best crime novels I've read in quite a while, and I'm dumbfounded that somehow it's slipped past me until now. From the opening paragraphs, the writing has that kind of easy, assured forcefulness that shows a writer in complete control of his game. (There's a slight diminution of the standard in the last thirty pages or so, which is why this gets 4.5 stars rather than a full-out 5. But it's close enough to the full monty that, on another day, I could easily give this a 5.) This was a debut novel (done by a federal prosecutor under a pseudonym), yet some of the best of the hardboiled novelists might have given their right arm to match it. Apparently "Flood" has written one further, much later novel, in a completely different genre.

Highly recommended.

[Ted Burke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bag Men by Mark Costello, author of the terrific Big If, is quite good in it's own right. Written under an assumed name when Costello was a federal prosecutor, this is a nicely phrased and cadenced cop drama. The Boston grit is here; dead priests on a tarmac, missing communion hosts, drug shipments, payoffs to filthy politicians high in city politics. Mark Costello has the gift of getting across the feeling of moral ambiguity as the story leads to an inevitable and tragic truth of the larger matters at hand, the results of which are the result of the characters' own actions.It has it all; corruption, shattered ideals, dead priests, political favors. Good stuff, this, a bracingingly fine read.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

good Boston noir.

[Joanne Neeley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aspiring assistent DA Ray Dunn has to overcome his father's crooked cop past.

[Suzan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have been reading mysteries and cop books recently and this one is good. Lots of plot twists and not necessarily happy endings for all.

[Ben · Rating 2 out of 5]

The two main characters have interesting backgrounds and history, and the story seems to be set up to play off that, but it really kind of wanders around into lots of different areas. The initial setup never receives a good payoff, and the focus strays too much. The setting is 1965 Boston, and while that seems like it could be a quite interesting time to set a story in, the writer doesn't really take advantage of it. The book really doesn't feel like it has much of a sense of place, and could almost have been set anywhere.

[Robin Jonathan Deutsch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book, thought the plot and the characters were decent and for the most part pretty flushed out. For a debut, way better than most. I'm not sure I got the full affect of Boston in 1965, that was sorta lacking. As someone who went to school there I was hoping for a but more color and description. However, that's a minor point to the total story. I did find it unique and did find myself thinking, "ah, ha." I think the author pulled everything together nicely. It's a quick, but full read.

[Charles Kerns · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let's see are there any detective memes missing: the hero's pop was a dirty cop (bag man). The boss, the DA, plays dirty too. Our guy wants to stay clean. The feds do a cover up that he has to unravel. The snitch pulls a fast one. Our guy's brother is wild but becomes a cop--one that need some protection provided by his bro. The wife is leaving. The bad guy is a psycho. Things go wrong. The good cop dies.

Nothing was left out.

Ans some new ideas were thrown in: The riot when the Catholic mass was said in English and The LSD twist at the end, along with the lyrics to "White Rabbit."

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very evocative and suspenseful police procedural, set in Boston in the mid-1960s. The story successfully merges themes from the '60s counter-culture to Catholicism to police corruption to mistreatment of mental patients, with a deliciously mischievous denouement - one almost wishes that it were true. I do not want to add any spoilers, and the twists aren't completely surprising, but it's very diverting and packs a lot into a fairly short novel.

[Sam Marchant · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good detective/police book. There are many unexpected twists and turns throughout. The book starts off a little slow but once you get into it is pretty good. the only reason that I give it a four is because of the slow and a little confusing start.

[Marianne · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting time period and interesting characters, which aren't fully exploited. Still, the plot weaves in some ways I didn't immediately anticipate, and it read well.

[William Dorning · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice slice of the mid 60's Boston police and political scene. Including all the racism, catholic bigotry and homophobia that made Boston such a lovely place to live.

[Echo Hanson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good not great ended really sad

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book. The plot hooks the reader instantly, the action is violent and compelling, the dialogue is spot on, and the characters make it all worthwhile.

[Cathy Houston · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting story involving Boston politics, the Catholic church, and LSD in the early 60's

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dark, atmospheric, crime thriller set in the Boston of the early 1960s.