The Town

by Chuck Hogan

Four masked men—thieves, rivals, and friends from the tough streets of Charlestown—take on a Boston bank at gunpoint. Holding bank manager Claire Keesey hostage and cleaning out the vault were simple. But career criminal Doug MacRay didn’t plan on one falling hard for Claire. When he tracks her down without his mask and gun, their mutual attraction is undeniable. With a tenacious FBI agent following his every move, he imagines a life away from his gritty, dangerous work—a life centered around Claire. But before that can happen, Doug and his crew learn that there may be a way to rob Boston’s venerable baseball stadium, Fenway Park. Risky yet utterly irresistible, it would be the perfect heist to end his criminal career and begin a new life. But, as it turns out, pursuing Claire may be the most dangerous act of all.Racing to an explosive climax, The Town is a brash tale of robbery in all its forms—and an unforgettable odyssey of crime, love, ambition, and dreams.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Crime, Mystery, Suspense, Action, Mystery Thriller

400 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 10, 2004

About the author

Chuck Hogan is an American author. His story "Two Thousand Volts" appeared in The Best American Mystery Stories 2009. He is the co-author of The Strain Trilogy with Guillermo del Toro. His 2004 novel Prince of Thieves was adapted to film as the Ben Affleck directed The Town in 2010.

Reviews

[Persephone's Pomegranate · Rating 4 out of 5]

No, my profile has not been hijacked. I, Persephone, of (somewhat) sound mind and body, have willingly read a crime thriller. When I wаtched The Town starring Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner, and Blake Lively a couple of years ago, I was utterly, blissfully, ignorantly unaware that it was based on Chuсk Hogan's Prince of Thieves, wіnner of the prestigious Hammett Prize.

Whаt's уour shameful hidden kіnk? Mine is apparently blue-collar white men committing bank robberies all over Boston, because I enjoyed this way more than I should have.

To be honest, I wanted to read this primarily because of Doug and Claire, whose romance was my favorite part of the movie (*scrolls down playlist and presses play on Hostage by Billie Eilish*). A professional bank robber falls in love with the branch manager whose bank he robbed and who developed PTSD after being held hostage by him and his friends? I ate that toxic shіt up like it was lemon blueberrу cake.

MӏLD SPOILERS

"They were so beastly in the bank, with masks on. So distorted and... not even human. Like monsters. The one who was sitting next to me. Not next to me... but in the same seat, the same bench, the two of us. The one who blindfolded me. I could tell somehow... he was looking looking at me."
"Looking at you."
"Not like that. I mean... I don't know. Maybe it was just a feeling."

It's 1996. Doug MacRaу, James 'Jem' Coughlin, Albert 'Gloansу' MacGloan, and Desmond 'Dez' Elden are four сhildhood friends from Charlestown - a once Irish proletariat turned уuppie neighborhood in Boston known as "the Town" bу the ӏocals and "the bank robberу capital of America" bу the rest of the countrу. My town is known for its picturesque greenerу and beer, but heу, robberies have more box office appeal than parks and ale.

As branch manager Claire Keesey arrives at the bank that morning with the assistant manager, she has no idea that men in hockey masks and jumpsuits are waiting inside. Doug is the quiet mastermind and leader of their band of thieves; his best friend Jem is a volatile and unhinged maniac, Gloansy is doing whatever, and Dez is the nerdy tech guy who is doing it mostly for the thrill and to be part of the friend group and the only one without a criminal record. Claire is terrified but follows their instructions. Just as the heist is almost complete, she sneakily triggers the alarm. Unbeknownst to her, Doug sees her do it. He doesn’t say anything because he knows Jem would harm her if he found out. Jem thinks that it was the assistant manager who triggered the alarm and brutally beats him.

As Doug exits the bank and approaches their getaway van, he is surprised to see that Jem has taken Claire with them. Doug doesn’t want to abduct her, but Jem insists they need her in case they are intercepted by the police. Doug blindfolds Claire while Jem threatens her, and then they stop the van. Doug tаkes Cӏaire outside and instructs her to keep walking untіl her feet touch the ocean. Today is her thirtieth birthdaу.

FBI agent Adam Frawleу arrives at the crime scene. He is a man who takes his assignments very seriouslу. Frawleу knows he is dealing with intelligent criminals and that catching them will be no walk in the Fenway park. He is kind to Claire but also suspicious as to why the men left her unharmed whіle her сolleague was severely inјured.

Doug, meanwhile, is already thinking about his next heist. It’s clear how different he is from Jem and Gloansy (the only other smart member of the friend group is Dez, aka the pope of the forgotten village). He has been reflecting on his life and the choices he has made over the years. Doug’s mother left him and his father when he was six years old, his father went to prison a few years later, which placed Doug in foster care until Jem’s mother took him in. Dougy used to have a little bit of a temper that landed him in prison for beating a guy up at a bar. A former high school hockey star turned outlaw bank robber with two years of sobriety under his belt and AA attendee, it's a miracle that he manages to stay clean, considering everyone around him is constantly drinking and partying. Jem’s sister Krista is a single mother of a young daughter and Doug's (barely) functioning alcoholic ex, who is still in love with him.

Doug can’t stop thinking about Claire. He spent weeks observing her before the heist, as any good bank robber learns the daily routine of his target. But now the heist is over, and he is still following Claire. She occuрies his thoughts day and nіght. Try as he mіght, he can't forget her. One day, he stages a chance meeting with her and attempts to converse, but it doesn’t go well because Claire is still emotionally fragile, and honestly, this is a reminder that men will literally give you PTSD and then try to 'save' you later. Douglas, my sweet Prince of Gaslighters. On their second meeting (or third, if you count the time he heisted her bank), things go more smoothly, and Doug asks her out on a date. She is having second thoughts and almost stands him up but ultimately decides to give him a chance. Hоney, I know Florence & The Machine sang 'now there's green light in my eуes,' but there should be red lights and red flags in your eyes.

"This is how messed up I am. Waiting outside your door just now - every time I'm about to see you, I tell myself, 'She's not going to be as pretty as you remember her. She's not going to be as sweet. She's not going to be as great.' And every time I'm wrong."

It's a dangerous game, their attraction. Claire has no idea that she is dating her former captor. Doug is keeping their relationship a secret from his friends. And Agent Frawley? He is determined to catch the elusive prince of thieves. Frawley and Claire develop a friendship through their interactions, but he wants more than that. Both men - thief and lawman - are vying for the same woman while simultaneously trying to outsmart each other.

ӏf I found out that the guу ӏ was datіng robbed mу bank and held me at gunpoint, ӏ would be shocked and upset. Then I'd ask him for some of the moneу he stole.

There are a few differences between the movie and the novel. Jem is not as big of a villain in the movie as he is in the book, 'Monsignor' Dez is much sweeter and more intelligent than his movie counterpart, Claire has a different hair color, there are no sex scenes in the book (as obsessed and іn love with Claire as Doug is, he knows that it would be wrong to sleep with her, whereas іn the movie they have sex), Claire's reaction upon discovering the truth is much more severe and dramatіс in the book than it іs in the movie, and overall the book's pacing is a slower burn compared to the Hollywood version. I do have to say that a lot of the dialogue flew right over my head. I am not fluent in Bostonіan, nor am ӏ fluent іn guу talk. And bу not fluent, I mean some of the sentences mіght as well have been written in Martian. What I had no trouble understanding was the offensive language. Oooooh, babу. It's a weird thing to point out, I know. These guуs are literallу breaking the law, and here I am, thinking, 'heу, уou can't say that!'

I аm writing this last paragraph after finishing the book. I started writing this review while I was reading, as I always do. I had hoped to end it with something humorous, but I јust can't. Like I said, I had seen the movie and expected a similar ending, but boy oh boy was ӏ wrong. The movie's ending is sad but hopeful. The book's ending is tragiс. I'm going to need some time to process what happened and maybe eat a cookie. Or ten.

The Town was his mother. The Town had raised him. This house was her face, watching over him. These streets were her arms, holding him close.

[Kemper · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must have larceny in my heart because whenever I see an armored car, I always have that brief moment of idle thought where I wonder how much cash it’s carrying and if I could come up with a plan to rob one and get away with it. Apparently I should have been born in the Charlestown area of Boston because hijacking armored trucks used to be a major pastime of some it’s residents.

Set in the mid-’90s, Doug MacRay is a former hockey star who blew his chance at going pro and is now a recovering alcoholic. He’s also the brains of a crew that has had a good run of looting banks and armored cars. Doug is smart enough to realize that between the gentrification of Charlestown and the new anti-theft technologies being introduced that the days of old school armed robbery are numbered.

Doug longs for something more than stealing and the Town lifestyle. However, his fellow thief Jem is determined to keep Doug around for good by getting him to start drinking with the boys again and pushing Doug to renew the relationship he used to have with Jem’s sister.

While robbing a bank, Doug’s crew ends up taking the manager, Claire, as a hostage. Doug becomes infatuated with Claire, and starts following her around after the robbery. He eventually manages to worm his way into her life. He knows it’s stupid, especially with eager FBI agent Frawley keeping tabs on her, but Doug has convinced himself that a life with Claire is the motivation he needs to finally get his act together and get out of Charlestown.

This novel functions on two levels. Part of it is a razor sharp heist story with Doug and his crew trying to outwit Frawley and the cops. The other part is a character study of a guy struggling to break the old ties that are holding him back but can never quite manage to shake himself free.

The backdrop is also interesting because Charlestown was once the home to various Irish mob connections and a hotbed of armed robbery, but now it's about to be changed forever by the coming of the yuppies. Setting it in the ‘90’s, when both the cops and the smarter robbers realize that new technology is about to change their game forever also gave the story the feeling of being the end of an era.

Great action, believable characters, solid writing and a rich setting made for one terrific crime novel.

*A Few Notes About the Movie Version*

Originally published as Prince of Thieves, this is the second crime novel adaptation that Ben Affleck has done as a screenwriter and director. While I didn’t like it quite as much as Gone, Baby, Gone, it’s still a very good flick with great performances.

Affleck has a knack for making the changes necessary to condense a novel into a film while keeping the tone and major themes intact. He also showed a surprising flair for big action sequences, including one of the more exciting chase scenes I’ve seen in recent memory. You won’t see a better movie with a van load of nuns toting automatic weapons.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before he was a terrible actor and a mediocre comedian, Dane Cook was an above-average comedian. Back then, he had a funny bit about what all men wanted: a pet monkey, and to participate in a heist. I’ve never wanted a monkey; I’m too realistic for that. They smell, they fling their feces, and there’s always the possibility they will tear the flesh from your still-living face. A heist, though…That’s a little more interesting. There is something undeniably seductive about the planning, intricacy, and payoff of a well-executed heist. That said, I won’t be quitting my day job.

Usually, when I think of the heist genre, I think of movies. Heists lend themselves to films, from great movies (Heat), chatty movies (Heist), confusing movies (Mission: Impossible), and disappointing movies (The Score). When I picked up Chuck Hogan’s Prince of Thieves, I wondered if the heist genre could translate to the page. The answer: sort of.

I’m calling Prince of Thieves a heist story because – despite Hogan’s aspirations for a psychological thriller – it relies on every heist cliché in the book. It has a crook with a heart of gold named Doug MacRay. Doug was a former hockey star who threw away his career because of alcohol and a bad temper. Now he’s in AA and there are numerous scenes in the book with portentous discussions about addiction (rather than adding complexity, these scenes were awfully preachy). Oh, did I forget to mention this about Doug? He’s looking for one last score.

His band of merry men include the psychopath (Jem), the tech guy (Dez), and the fourth leg, who’s there to balance the table (Gloansy). These guys are childhood friends from the Charlestown area of Boston, which forces you to compare this book, unfairly to Dennis Lehane’s Mystic River. According to Hogan, the Charlestown area, or “The Town” as it’s called by its untraveled citizens, is the armored car and bank robbery capitol of America. Or at least it was in the 90s, when this book is set (in case you forget it’s set in the 90s, there are dozens of 90s pop culture references strewn throughout).

Facing off against this crew is – you got it – a dogged law enforcement officer. In this case, it’s FBI Agent Adam Frawley. Also thrown into the mix is a local gang leader who runs a floral shop, and Jem’s sister, Krista, who is in love with Doug.

Also, there’s Clare Keesey. She’s the branch manager at a bank that the crew hits early in the book. They take her as a hostage, and then let her go. And then Doug starts dating her. This isn’t really a cliché, I suppose, it’s just ridiculous. Prince of Thieves goes to great lengths trying to make us believe this relationship, but it fails. You know how they say you can’t start a relationship based on a lie? Well, that’s true, especially when the lie is “No, I totally didn’t take you hostage in that bank heist I pulled off!” Unfortunately, this relationship is the bedrock of the book, because it’s where Doug gets his motivations. Accordingly, Doug’s actions towards the end of the book veer towards “huh?”

As if this wasn’t bad enough, Hogan half heartedly adds a further complication to the Doug/Clare relationship. That comes from Agent Frawley, who decides he wants to date Clare as well. Insert eye roll.

Overall, I really disliked the way that Hogan treated Frawley in the book. He’s supposed to be the hero, or at least, a likeable foil. Instead, the things he does makes him an ass. Part of his catalogue of misdeeds includes breaking and entering, illegal search and seizure, and dating a material witness. The only thing he doesn’t do is use the US Constitution as a napkin to wipe his mouth after breakfast at a local Dunkin’ Donuts.

The defense of a book like this is that it’s supposed to be “fun.” Most of the time, when I hear that, I assume that “fun” is a euphemism for intellectual laziness, or dearth of creativity, or crap story punctuated by explosions. But Prince of Thieves isn’t supposed to be fun, I don’t think. It actually reaches for seriousness, darkness, and resonance; it just fails.

That’s not to say Prince of Thieves is without merits. (Though its title is without merit). The best character is The Town itself. Hogan invests a great deal of time explaining its history, geography, and effect on its residents. Some of the most fascinating scenes explores the gentrification of such an old, immigrant-based working class neighborhood. In those scenes, I would compare this favorably to Richard Price’s Lush Life. Furthermore, Hogan is a talented writer. There are some groaner lines, to be sure, but he does a pretty good job with the dialogue, and I enjoyed the witty banter between the four old friends.

I also appreciated the fact that Hogan didn’t dwell on the last big score. There isn’t a scene in which the main character lays everything out, and explains how they’re going to have to simultaneously reroute the computers, switch out the tapes on the security cameras, and tango across a room full of laser beams. Instead, you don’t find out how they’re carrying out the heist until they’re doing it.

The heist story is a closed universe. It is a house already built. Once inside, you can change the furniture, paint the walls, add a deck, but you have to stay within the structure. That means one of two things: your protagonist is riding off to the sunset, or he’s going to the grave. In Prince of Thieves, you can sense Chuck Hogan straining at these limitations, without ever managing to exceed them.

[Fred · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charleston (Boston) Bay Bank robbery force a manager, Claire Keesey(30), to open a vault, she sets the alarm, forcing the "Brown Bag Bandits" to take her with them.

The bandits are Doug MacRay, Jem Coughlin, Dez Elden (known as 'Monsignor' to churchs) and Gloansy Magloan. The book has FBI agent Adam Frawley and Boston Dectective Dino Dean identity them as suspects too easily. Claire is caught between affections of Doug (gang leader) ensuring they cannot be identified and Adam using her to track the gang.

There were chapters breaking the flow as an easy read.
The movie's title "The Town" for "Charlestown" in the book.

The Town Movie Trailer

Final Movie Screen (A+)

[Joe · Rating 1 out of 5]

Prince of Thieves, the 2004 heist novel by Chuck Hogan that served as source material for The Town starring Ben Affleck and Jeremy Renner, is the best book I've given up on and had to rate with one star since joining Goodreads. It does not make me a happy man to do this and would recommend the book to anyone hooked by the synopsis who hasn't seen the movie. I have seen the movie and trying my damnedest, could find no compelling reason to stay in this taxicab. Let me off here, driver.

Hogan's writing crackles, his research is impeccable and his attention to detail knocked my socks off. The author earned his lunch money here. Of course, I love reading a good caper and the novel takes off like a shot with a bank heist in the shadow of Fenway Park in Boston.

In the middle of this, Doug looked at the manager lying behind the second teller's cage. He knew things about her. Her name was Claire Keesey. She drove a plum-colored Saturn coupe with a useless rear spoiler and a happy-face bumper sticker that said Breathe! She lived alone, and when it was warm enough, she spent her lunch hours in the community gardens along the nearby Back Bay Fens. He knew these things because he had been following her, off and on, for weeks.

Hogan does his homework with everything in, off and around the high-powered hold-ups. But when the masks come off, the story sets off on a slow train to Nowhere, getting mired in boilerplate melodrama about a criminal with a moral conscience who can be redeemed by the power of love, in this case, a bank teller his crew actually took hostage.

The main character, in addition to being stuck with one of the blandest names in the English language -- Doug -- is a Gary Stu through and through, the sort of character Chuck Hogan might imagine himself being if he had to earn a living outside the law. Doug is passive, a nice guy, observing all the animal life in the jungle, thinking ahead to his next step, but thinking about things is not a substitute for doing things.

In between the heists, there's a lot, and I mean a lot , of jocular male bonding in the Old Neighborhood, with fighting Irish slamming back beers and talking about the good times. If you've seen one bar in the Old Neighborhood tale, you've seen them all. I had to stop reading because I felt I'd seen this all before. Same old self-destructive childhood pals, same old girlfriend who wants to get back together, same old aspirations to break free to someplace better. Same old, same old. Hogan's a good writer, I just wish I didn't have to read his book.

Over three days, I kept trying to plow through Prince of Thieves, which has the unpleasant characteristic of being about so little and at 400 pages, taking so incredibly long to finish. Abandoned.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I prefer to read the book and then watch the movie, but sometimes when watching a movie my favorite title credit will flash onto the screen: based on a the book ABC by 123. "There's a book?" I always silently exclaim. If I like the movie--and sometimes if I don't like the movie--I'll seek out the book.

I expected to like the movie the Town in a "wow, this is a really bad movie but I like it" sort of way. However, it turned out to be quite gripping and I really did like it. The book turned out to be even better. As the main character in the movie, Ben Affleck seems to have it all together: robbing the banks, romancing the kidnapped teller, keeping his bank robber friends in line, attending the AA meetings. However, the book's main character is much more doubtful and flawed. It's much more of an examination of character flaws through the recovering alcoholic lens than I expected. There were also some great descriptive passages, one of which I meant to excerpt here but forgot and returned the book. Like the movie, my expectations for the book were low and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

[Shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw the movie, The Town, a few years ago and got the book after I learned the movie was based on a book. The movie was great, the book is even better. You get so much more depth with the characters and the plot. With the book, you can dwell on the inner life and struggle in Doug; the obsession of the FBI agent pursuing him; and the thoughts and reactions of Claire -- the woman caught up in the middle of it all.

It always amazes when an author can make a sympathetic hero out of a character that should be a bad guy. Hogan does just that, I kept hoping and looking for a way for Doug to get out; you want him to get away with it all even though you know he shouldn't and he can't. Hogan gives a haunting portrayal of Charlestown adapting to the changes in the 90s--which also mirror the changes in Doug: it wants to move forward but can't or doesn't know how and so does it what it knows best even if that is wrong.

The book was also wonderfully nostalgic for me as someone who lived in Boston in the 90s. I loved reading the names of the old banks and places no longer there.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crooks, thieves, heists, jobs, getaways, cuts, cops, drugs, temptations, and loves.

Chuck Hogan’s The Town has it all and more! A dark, suspenseful, action packed tale about friendship and loyalty in a world filled with crime, betrayal, and “if only” dreams.

So far this year, no audio book has been able to hold my attention until this story read by….wait for it…Mr. Donnie Wahlberg! The man has been in my life, heart, and ears for years, but this was just a brand new bag of love! It was kismet! Effing perfect! Let’s face it the man was made to read, perform, and bring this Boston based book to life. :)

I’ll cop to it right now though, I might be a tiny bit (hehe) biased here. I’m a life long New Kids on the Block fan, who was born and raised in Massachusetts. Yeah, alright, perhaps more than just a tiny bit biased. ;) haha….

Mr. Wahlberg brought all of these characters—Doug, Jem, Gloansy, Dez, Claire, Krista, and more—to life with such force and energy. Each character came alive with different accents and voices. Jem’s voice coiled in my gut with tension while Krista’s creeped down my spine like nails on a chalkboard! Wahlberg dazzles here bringing Boston and Hogan’s world alive. Some scenes left me breathless, not moving just waiting for every word. Hanging on his every word.

I could not stop listening! The transition between discs was taut, suspenseful and addictive. Never stopped until I hit the end. To have Boston’s own New Kid read this story, was hands down the best audio book experience in my life.

[Jane Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engrossing. Engaging. Wonderful character development and dialogue. The ending is tragic/sad. I grieved and cried too much.

STORY BRIEF:
Doug’s mother left or disappeared when Doug was in first grade. After that his father went to jail. Doug has lived with the Coughlans ever since. Doug went to jail for a year or so for beating up someone. Now he is 32. He robs banks and armored trucks with his friends, Jem Coughlan, Gloansy, and Dez.

The book opens with a bank robbery. The guys are wearing masks. As they leave Doug takes the bank manager Claire with them. About an hour later he lets her go. Doug can’t get Claire out of his mind. He follows her and watches her. Finally he takes a chance and talks to her. They go out together/date a few times. He wants to change his life and be with her.

Frawley is the local bank robbery coordinator for the FBI. He believes the four guys are guilty of multiple robberies, but so far he can’t prove anything. He and his guys follow them. He talks to Claire more than once. He too is having feelings for Claire, but they do not go out together.

REVIEWER’S OPINION:
This is a tragedy. I cried a lot and hard afterwards. I don’t know if I can recommend it unless you’re up for that - grieving for someone who is good, who wants to do better, who is trying, but he doesn’t know how. I fault his parents. They didn’t give him love, support, and guidance. He made bad choices. He grieves for his mother. He grew up with no one loving him. The only time he felt peace, love, and acceptance was while on a job with his bank robber friends. This book reminds me a little of Romeo and Juliet, but modern, better, different. The lovers are from different worlds and can never be together. Even if Doug gave up his life of crime, there is a chance he would go to jail for past crimes. He can never tell Claire about his criminal activities, because she could be charged as an accomplice. He wants a life with Claire, someone good, not the types of people he grew up with and is surrounded by. I don’t want to mislead by overstating the Romeo and Juliet comparison. Only a small amount of time is spent showing Doug and Claire together. Most of the time the story is about Doug, his thoughts, actions, and feelings. In his mind Claire is the focal point for change. Most of the story is enjoyable and engaging, with anticipation. It’s the last half hour that is unsettling and becomes tragic. Doug believes the coming job will go bad, yet he continues with it. He makes choices which he knows will not be a happy ending.

This story had wonderful character development. Wonderful dialogue. I was engrossed in the characters and the lives they lived. I felt part of it. I enjoyed this all the way through until the end. Excellent plotting and events. This author is a good storyteller. I was rooting for Doug. I wanted to see him change his life. The day after reading this, I’m still crying. I don’t like books that make me grieve and cry, so I’m hoping I can get this out of my mind. I want to forget about it. It hurts.

I suppose it makes one appreciate their own life more, not having problems from a criminal life.

This was made into a movie called The Town with Ben Affleck which I did not see. I hear the movie had a happier ending, a different ending.

NARRATOR:
The narrator Richard Ferrone was excellent. At times he had a touch of Christian Slater to his voice.

DATA:
Unabridged audiobook reading time: 16 hrs and 9 mins. Swearing language: strong, including religious swear words. Sexual language: none. Sex scenes: one scene was referred to, no details shown. Setting: 1996 mostly Boston area, Massachusetts. Book copyright: 2004. Genre: relationships, crime, suspense, tragedy. Ending: Grief and sadness.

[Lennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the book that dove me into the literature world. Chuck Hogan's best asset as a writer is his depth and detail into each character as if you know each person in the novel personally. An aspect of writing that is difficult to obtain, but Hogan is one of the best. The story is thrilling, sincere, and will leave you satisfied at the end. Hogan also has a way of shyly putting in short, significant lessons that make you even more root for the main character, Doug. I have read the rest of Chuck Hogan's novels and I was not disappointed one bit (I haven't read The Strain trilogy yet) and I can't wait for his next novel. All in all, this novel is fast-paced, suspenseful, and an enthralling love story of a thief and his Town.

[Leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This must be by far the worst case of "I forgot I read it". Turns out I've read in the 7 January this year, just 13 days ago! And yet I forgot about it 😅 as you can tell I thought the story was forgettable but a decent read nevertheless, nothing to quite draw you in the story

[Ken Oder · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great story. The characters are deep and fascinatingly conflicted, bank robbers from Charlestown, the bank robbing capital of the U.S. The frustration, fear, and hopelessness while yearning for redemption are so well drawn you live them as you read. I loved this one.

[Fraser Simons · Rating 5 out of 5]

A trio with an usual trade: bank robbers; an inheritance from their parents, execute well planned heists in Boston. Only things go sideways when Doug, the mastermind, went to jail and rather rationally, divorced from drugs and booze, is looking to ply the trade to get out, rather than further in, like everyone else. When they rob a bank and take the manager as collateral, it’s the unexpected catalyst and galvanizing force to find something apart.

Away from the insular town, his friends all going the same way. Death, jail, drugs, heists. Their lives are the definition of insanity, but only Doug can see this. Patterns are hard to break, just like alcoholism. During the course of the crew combining efforts for the next big job, there is far better rendered character work than some literary work. Only, not for everyone. While one could be argued as intentionally opaque, the other is the cop chasing them down, and he feels fairly paper thin. Motivated by thrills and jealously. Doug, his best friend and his sister, though, are embodiments of degrees of a life set to a pattern without the help of interruption or intervention. Some are perceived easily, others slowly unravel throughout the plot masterfully.

The conceit of Doug’s fixation and projection onto the bank manager is unique and not something I’ve encountered in this kind of fiction. It doubles thematically, symbolically, and is the meat of the plot and message. I think it easily plays out like something commercial, superficial, if not for the work it puts in. This actually made me like the movie even more because it explains the intricacies slowly and methodically along with the plot, and the movie simply doesn’t have the time for it.

Speaking of, this has the handicap of my having seen and loved the movie many times. I expected this to be bog standard commercial fiction, but it’s actually more like upmarket - almost literary. But not quite. The prose work is again, much better than commercial, especially the dialogue, which doesn’t, as is almost always the case with these heist stories, devolve into one-liners. It’s got excellent flow, and embeds a musicality that creeps with the tension. Really, I think my only complaint would be that if it were literary fiction, which it isn’t, the character work for those two would be better. Loved everything else about it.

[LambchoP · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first Chuck Hogan book, and will definitly not be the last. I picked up this book because I loved the movie which is titled THE TOWN. This is a fast paced thriller about a small town gang of bank robbers. Each and every one of the characters are fleshed out and feel like real people with real motivations. The heists were all very fun, especially the final one where they rob Fenway Park. If you want a thrill a minute, action packed thriller book, you could do much worse than Prince of Thieves!

[Michael Martz · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Prince of Thieves" is simply a dynamite crime novel, one of my favorites in years. I watched a movie based on it, The Town, a couple weeks ago and thought I'd check out its source.... the movie was great but the book is even better.

Doug MacRay is the prince. He's an ex-pro hockey player who left that profession unceremoniously and got into trouble with the law. He did his time, dried himself out, and is now the brains behind a 4 man bank robbing/armored car jacking team in the Charlestown section of Boston. Of his other teammates, Jem is closest to being his equal simply because of his propensity for violence and aggression. In the course of a bank robbery the team takes a hostage whom they quickly release, a young female manager named Claire Keesey. Doug develops a crush on her (good thing they used masks during the holdup, huh?), stalks her a bit, and eventually asks her out. Unfortunately for him, the FBI agent investigating the robbery has also fallen for the same young lady. As the investigation continues, Claire becomes more and more important to the plot, even though she initially has no idea that Doug was involved in the original robbery. In the meantime, planning begins for the team's next conquest, pitting Doug against Jem for leadership of the gang....

Prince of Thieves is nothing but non-stop action, great dialogue, and fine writing from beginning to end. Hogan obviously knows this territory very well and this novel is an exceptional reflection of that. Loved it.

[Jana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thank Ben Affleck's movie 'The Town' for two things: Ray Lamontagne and his beautiful song 'Jolene' which became one of my dearest. And although I’ve never been Bob Dylan’s lyrical sadness type of listener, this is perfect. It makes the same goose skin effect like when I listen to Tracy Chapman's 'Fast car' and Springsteen’s 'River' (although Joshua Kadison's 'Jessie' as well fits into this storytelling category). Second reason why I thank Ben Affleck is his idea to adapt this book into a movie, which I think is his best movie, and because by adapting it I had a chance to hear about 'Prince of thieves' and then buy it and read it (hear it).

Well, it’s no wonder I liked it. For me, it’s just one of those books that I easily got attached to, that are somehow life connected but as well not at all connected with my life. It had that vibrant pulse and broken characters that I enjoy reading about. It’s easy literature, an average reader is not going to linger on it for ages and it won’t make the Earth pause its rotation for one second because my heart skipped a beat but it will make me feel good about myself after reading it, and it will make me go out on the balcony and have a glass of wine and it will make me feel happy, knowing that there are things in life – books in my life.

[Ross Cumming · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Prince of Thieves' is the novel from which one of my favourite crime movies of recent years, 'The Town', was adapted. I usually like to read the books on which films are based but its taken me quite a while to get round to reading this one and the main reason was that i enjoyed the film so much I was a bit scared that the book might not live up to the film version.
How wrong could I be ! The book is far superior to the film in every way. The story in the novel varies from the film in certain aspects but where the book really scores, is that it explores the complicated relationships that Doug MacRay, the main protagonist, has, in greater depth than the film. Doug has to battle his own demons and also has to deal with his relationships with his father, his fellow criminals, Claire Keesey, Jem, Krista and baby daughter Shyne. But he also has to resolve his feelings for the 'The Town' of Charlestown itself from which he wants to escape.
The book is also full of great action sequences too where Doug and his gang carry out their various raids and with all great crime novels the dialogue is also great.
I have only previously read Chuck Hogan's vampire novels that he wrote in collaboration with Guillermo del Toro but this is a far superior read and I'll definitely be checking out more of his crime novels before long.

[Mirjam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hey! I read this one a few months ago... so here's hoping a few months haven't totally spoiled my attempt at a coherent review.

Here's my few-month-old synopsis: Enjoyed it well enough.

See, I saw and very much enjoyed Ben Affleck's "The Town," and was interested in learning how the literary version of the story went down. Well, it went down, early on, really similarly. And then, of course, the story on the page went it's own, original route until, well, I don't want to give it away. In case my brother reads this and wants also to read the book?

(But there's a scene having to do with a movie theater that I cannot understand not being in the movie -- it would've been so perfect, so spooky to situated theatergoers.)

I actually wasn't so much interested in knowing exactly how closely the movie stuck to the literary script, but if the book did a better job addressing the issues I'd had with the film.

Mainly: REALLY? Really, a blindfolded woman stuck with bank robbers for a couple horrifying hours wouldn't, at some point, even begin to recognize the voice, or vocal tendencies, of one of her assailants? Some Manti Te'o stuff, kinda -- wanting to believe so much in this new relationship that she overlooks what would seem a very instinctive and obvious warning sign?

I mean, all you had to go on, Banker Gal, was voices. Voices that I would expect might be haunting her going forward. And there would have to be something in this guy's voice that would, at some point, ring a bell, raise a flag, something?

I mean, don't get me wrong. I LOVE the concept. Bank robbery victim falls for bank robber/bank robber falls for bank robbery victim... but only, truly, if you gave it some space. If you gave it a few months or a year. I just can't believe that one week later she wouldn't recognize SOMETHING about him -- even though, yeah, I get that for the sake of this story, it had to happen quickly.

So, I'll get over it. Or I won't. Doesn't matter. Moving on.

Otherwise, there were parts that brilliantly wound the tale together, ensnaring this unsuspecting victim and setting her up to look very culpable. That's the highlight of the story. How dominoes start falling without anyone realizing it.

And then there's the guys. They weren't brought to vivid life much more on the page than they were in the film; I really didn't gain much more of a relationship with this time around, except for our lead protagonist, Doug MacRay, who, OK, I appreciated a little more for being so incredibly diligent about his work and genuinely nervous around Claire...

Otherwise though, I didn't feel more for any of his cohorts. I don't know if that's a credit to the movie or a diss of the book or a purposeful piece of the storytelling? Or a result of my having seen the movie first?

Spoiler alert, kinda, not really: I actually liked the conclusion of the film better, but I don't want to write why. Still, I want to remember that it was a weird reaction for me, considering. And now don't you wanna read it, too?

[CC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yeah, I liked this. The writing was spry for the most part, a gold nugget of a phrase every other page or so made me smile throughout. Charlestown's hard, blue-collar roots are undergoing a gentrification and to his own surprise, so is bank robber Doug MacRay. Newly sober and newly burdened by a heavy conscience, he sees what his hard life of crime and dead-ends has done to him, and wants to change.

Change comes in the form of bank manager/hostage, Claire. Pursuing her offers him new hope: she's the ideal, that etheral something just out of his grasp, something pure he wishes he had, wishes he was. She has no clue of his real identity and Doug is able to form a a slow-moving romantic relationship with her as he tries to extract himself from his crew and thug lifestyle.

Unfortunately, the FBI is hot on his trail. Agent Frawley was my favorite character, hard, singleminded, and unapologetic for it. But it's to Hogan's credit that Doug was so well-crafted, vulnerable even, that I rooted for him and not Frawley the whole way.

Not the ending I wanted, and when Doug drank that beer something in me wailed, and I knew this wasn't gonna be pretty.

[Anto M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un buon giallo/poliziesco con una trama che si alterna su due livelli:

La parte poliziesca racconta di una rapina a mano armata dalle fasi molto complicate sia per l'avvento delle nuove tecnologie (siamo infatti all'inizio degli anni 90), che rendono più difficili i vecchi tipi di furti, sia per i risvolti successivi alla rapina che vede l'intervento dell'FBI.
Poi c'è anche una parte umana e sentimentale che vede Doug, il capo della banda, che lotta per diventare un uomo migliore, lasciare la strada del crimine, ma che non riesce mai fino in fondo a rompere i vecchi legami e liberarsi del tutto.

Anche l'ambientazione è interessante perché Charlestown un tempo era la sede di varie famiglie della mafia irlandese e un centro dove le rapine a mano armata erano all'ordine del giorno, ma sia i poliziotti che i rapinatori più intelligenti si rendono conto che la nuova tecnologia sta per cambiare per sempre il loro gioco. Tutto il romanzo dà la sensazione che ci si trovi verso di la fine di un'era.

[Regina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Though, I could cry forever.

[TL *Humaning the Best She Can* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took awhile cause I wasn't sure what to write about this book...

I had a good time reading this...the novel opened quietly but with a bang as well. Jem had me groaning and wanting to smack him from the beginning, you can tell from the small glimpse there he's a little off balance.

I wouldn't call this a "slow paced" novel, to me its more "steady"... it lets events unfold without rushing things and you get a glimpse into everyone's lives and heads. You root for them even though you know that something has to give...


Frawley and Dino were interesting guys, passionate and dedicated to their jobs, as they get closer to apprehending the foursome, you cross your fingers they won't get caught but at the same time I was secretly hoping Doug and Dez would get away.. I figured Jem was heading down a more slippery slope than the others.

Frawley is a good man, but there were a few times I just wanted to shake and smack him for some of his actions... he wants to protect Claire and is fond of her, he sees her and Doug together (its in the summary so techinally not a spoiler haha)... he lets his humiliation override his professionalism at times, I kept waiting for him to cross more over the line and was crossing my fingers he wouldn't do something he'd regret.

Doug and Claire are a sweet couple, it made me smile to see them together but there's a cloud over them with the secrets Doug is keeping from her and you know its gonna catch up with them...

Krista I didn't like much throughout the book, and I was with Doug over Jem trying to push them together all the time.. rolling my eyes and gritting my teeth with Doug. She grows a little bit at the end but it was hard for me to tell if she was still being genuine or not.

There was sort of an undercurrent (right word?) between her and Jem at times that made me wonder *shudders* but who knows?

The ending beginning after the final scene of the book, shows a bit of a carefree part before everything goes downhill... the last line with a sort of passing thought from Doug kinda makes you smile.


I think this is more for the patient reader, if your expecting a fast paced novel then this may not be for you (though I could be wrong).

Loved Mr Hogan's writing style, its great when an author can create a setting/atmosphere and make you feel your living it right alongside the people in the book :).


This still didn't turn out how I wanted haha, but I really did enjoy this book... *waves bye*

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

The worst part of this book was I had the movie tie-in cover so everytime I picked the thing up I had to look at Ben Affleck's face. Worse than his face (which is bad enough), but his profile, framed in some type of thought-provoking prose which, for me, is a disturbing image. Other than that, I thought this was a pretty good character-driven crime story, but it didn't have the hard edge I was hoping for. Characters were well developed for the most part, but were a little caricaturish and they lacked the depth and dimension to really make me care about them other than the central character, Doug McRay, so I never really felt much for them, especially Claire, who I really should have had feelings for, and Frawley, the FBI agent. Frawley was really the most upsetting character in the book for me because as an FBI agent, he was supposed to be "the good guy" and he was anything but. I don't mind crime stories from the point of view of the criminal and I don't mind when authors glamorize their villainous main characters, but I don't like it when the chief protaganist is someone working on the side of the law and the reasons why he's acting worse than the criminals aren't made clear. The robberies in the story were interesting to read about and well plotted, but they all came off too quickly. Yes, I'd recommend this book because it was entertaining and a fast read, but after everything's said and done, there really isn't much here. The best part of the book for me was that my impression of Ben Affleck is so different than the Doug MacRay charcter that I had no problem keeping images of Ben Affleck out of my mind while reading so the story was never tainted with thoughts of B.A. I actually liked Doug MacRay and, in case you can't tell, I'm not too crazy about Ben Affleck.

[Gatorman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic read. Not all that original but so well written with interesting characters, a tight plot, great suspense and action sequences that you don't care after a while. I found it hard to put down.

[Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent novel. The characters made this book. Doug, Gem, Dez, all of them. You could feel Doug's desperation to break out, and you could completely understand why he couldn't. The ending, while predictable, was exactly what it needed to be.

[Rick-Founder JM CM BOOK CLUB · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellant gritty Boston Crime drama- far deeper and more touching then your typical thriller- READ THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Arthur Swan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good storytelling with a lot of heart. Wish I hadn't seen the movie first.

[Joy Zimmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a journey this book/movie viewing has been, from my initial shock and confusion to the fact the movie was already out, the thought provocation Hogan inspired, and finally seeing the widely raved about movie adaptation by none other than Mr. Affleck who, in my opinion, has a really good habit of missing the mark (see my Live by Night review).

The year is 2022. I'm scrolling through Facebook and I get served and ad for what I thought was an upcoming film. Ben Affleck, Jeremy Renner, "we're going to rob Fenway Park." etc. and first I think to myself, "Well that's a concept. I feel like this would be entertaining." And then I see written and directed by Ben Affleck and think, "This mammo-jammo has never had an original thought in his life. This has to be based on a book." and to Google I went. I was shocked as the inspirational book came out in 2004 and it was only now becoming a movie. Affleck (artistic vision criticism aside) was looking like a hottie in the preview and didn't look any older than most films I've seen him in. Renner has a baby face so I guess I wasn't really suspicious of anything. I begin informing my circle and my coworkers of this book I've started, "It's about bank robbers in Boston and they're building up to rob Fenway Park. It's going to be a movie with Ben Affleck". The response was often a confused look and them saying, "Are you sure it isn't the movie The Town with Ben Affleck where they rob Fenway?". After about two weeks into the book and informing people of my current endeavors and them ALL having the same response, plus Hogan began using the term "the town" to describe Charlestown within the book, I decided there was no way this could all just be coincidence. Turns out FB served me an ad for a movie that came out in 2010 that I have never seen any scene, snippet, or anything from and I had looked like a total nut case for two whole weeks. But I digress...how was the book?

The books opening scene is a robbery. I was hooked with action right away. It doesn't stay action packed the whole time Hogan did well to throw in some tense sense between robberies. The book did get long though. Little Women long in the sense he spent a great time on Doug's inner monologue/turmoil but also on the relationship between the four buddies especially Gem. I personally didn't mind this as the author's main character is laid out more directly by these passages and allows the reader to form a stronger bond/opinion/perspective. It's a strong internal conflict from a literary standpoint and a realistic standpoint: wanting to leave to destructive situation/environment and needing to find the strength and courage to do so but knowing this environment is all you've even known and it's your family and your friends and your home. This book is conflict, conflict, conflict with trendles of hope and I was rooting for Doug in hopes he'd be able to find his feet and make it out.

I believe this book was about 400 pages long. I had about 60 pages left and this is when the Fenway heist happens. There's a lot of action and not a lot of pages. Very intense final chapters and then the conclusion of the final scene had me gentle placing the book down, thinking silently for a couple of minutes, scratching my head, asking myself why..... What a thought provoking ending that I was not anticipating. For me, this book earned 5 stars because of the message/morale it delivers. I think it's an absolutely true message and damn, does the truth hurt but Hogan had me shook and I really enjoyed the journey that was The Prince of Thieves.

Fast forward about one month after finishing the book and we (unfortunately) bought The Town on Amazon. Everyone seems to love the movie, I know Renner was nominated for best supporting actor and many other nominations for the flick etc. I would also like to say in my defense, I am not being a book to movie snob either. I understand not all details can be incorporated; details must either combined or cut, certain character arches not totally fulfilled however what Mr. Affleck did to this film is unforgivable. For instance, omitted from the movie are the wedding scene, Doug's car, and the AA Sponsor and that relationship; all forgivable offenses. Some aspect in the film could have been better like the narrative between Claire and Frawley. I think that male v male tension could have played well between Frawley and Doug in regards to a female versus just cop v robber but again, not a punishable offense. I was honestly shocked that Renner was nominated for an Oscar after watching, and it wasn't due to his acting. It had more to do with the writing of Gem's character. The movie downplayed his character. Gem was much more dynamic than that and if they had given him the appropriate extreme arch that he had, I think Renner could won. I know we got some back lit weight lifting scenes but they really could have added a basement weight rack, Renner chiseled, up lighting, extreme bass, dilated pupil scene like in the book and I might have forgiven the lack of arch but alas, dark dreary pushups were it... Oppositely, the pivot on the mid-story robbery was very well done. I like the Nun masks which then became a trademark of the film. I like how elements of the middle heist that were skipped were then used in the final heist. Smart and I'll give the credit where and when it's due.

Fenway and the Conclusion: This is where the screenwriters took the most liberties and this is where the liberties weren't to be taken. We didn't get Des's arch which again fine however I don't know that it would have taken long to incorporate. Gem's final scene, talk about a missed opportunity. His original, action packed, visually awesome, stand off would be an action movie writers wet dream and instead Big Ben said, no thanks. I couldn't believe it. Again just a detail though but a big "no duh" detail and finally, Douggy himself. If you recall from the previous paragraphs the message and morale from the book and how thought provoking Hogan was this is how I felt at the conclusion of the movie, like Ben Affleck just turned to me and said "fuck you" in his shitty Boston accent. "Did you like this book Joy? It'd be a real shame if I not only changed it, but also actually did the complete opposite of the intended morale of the book wouldn't it?" And that is exactly what Affleck did and I was seething by the time the credits rolled. I watched the extended cut of The Town for the final minutes to be the biggest cinematic betrayal I've experienced. Did Ben read the book? Does he know what he did? This was Shakespearean and he said "swerve". I'm not sure I've accurately or appropriately displayed my frustrations but if you think you like the movie but haven't read the book, I implore you do. Now that I've finished my first short story, I think I'm going to see if I can find Ben Affleck address and just send him a copy of The Prince of Thieves via Amazon and maybe one day he'll know.

[Alicia Utter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 9/10

Pages: 384

I couldn't put this book down. I was pissed John had me read it as it was so stressful. You love hte main character, Doug, but he is definitely flawed. At the end, his epiphany was well done. The other characters, his gang, are so programmed to have a chip on their shoulder as suburbia takes over their run down area. His interests in being better, bigger than that are enticing, and yet you can see he will always fall short.

You feel trapped like he does, and his friends really, really hold him back. It is so well done, you understand their actions, and why they don't look further than the next step.

Claire was an interesting character, and you feel for her. One of the few hitches I had is yes, she is traumatized, but then is kind of flippant. But for her character, it fits, but personally I wouldn't have reacted. Good thing I wasn't the bank manager, I guess!

Jem was a great character, and as he spirals out of control, it becomes very interesting. He does good things, and then is a shit show. He was believable, but tragic.

This book is so well done, I finished it in several days because I was so enticed with the characters. but it is like watching a new friend slowly lay on the tracks of a railroad. But I guess that means that Hogan is that good at his writing. Kind of almost "where the red ferns grow." You find yourself wound up and can't stop it.

This book was right before everything changed over the technology and it even talks about that. The last of the bank robbers that break in and take physical money. And all the pro moves--leaving the dye packs, watching guards, etc., that really was fascinating and a different world to read about. Great book, but i left with a smile because I loved it, but not because everyone ends up in a cottage, by a river all happy. Definitely a huge statement on the way the poor are trapped and truly how class does affect America.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The main reason I picked this book up was because I read the Del Toro/Hogan collaboration The Strain, but then I saw the movie The Town and thoughts it was the cat's pajamas. The movie was so interesting and enjoyable that I had to read the book. This book did not disappoint in any way, shape, or form. I do not want to give too much away, but if you've seen the film, you're in for a treat, because even thought the film takes form from the book, the book is it's own entity. The characters are more lively, the story is a bit darker, The Florist is not that big of character (a change I appreciated in the movie, and god rest Pete), and the outcome is very different, and well received in the book. Again, this is a heist story and a love story, and it does both stories very nicely. Hogan definitely has his thumb on the culture of the bank job and the story of love. Props to the man.