Book Detective

John Connoly and James "Whitey" Bulger grew up together on the streets of South Boston. Decades later, in the mid 1970's, they would meet again.  By then, Connolly was a major figure in the FBI's Boston office and Whitey had become godfather of the Irish Mob.  What happened next -- a dirty deal to being down the Italian mob in exchange for protection for Bulger -- would spiral out of control, leading to murders, drug dealing, racketeering indictments, and, ultimately, the biggest informant scandal in the history of the FBI.

Compellingly told by two Boston Globe reporters who were on the case from the beginning, Black Mass is at once a riveting crime story, a cautionary tale about the abuse of power, and a penetrating look at Boston and its Irish population.

Five Families by Selwyn Raab

The Valachi Papers by Peter Maas

Killing Pablo by Mark Bowden

The Good Rat by Jimmy Breslin

Paddy Whacked by T. J. English

Ballad of the Whiskey Robber by Julian Rubinstein

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

Blood and Money by Thomas Thompson

Midnight in Peking by Paul French

In Broad Daylight by Harry N. MacLean

American Lightning by Howard Blum

Tall Man by Chloe Hooper

Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi

Dreamland by Sam Quinones

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale

The Rescue Artist by Edward Dolnick

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

Devil in the Grove by Gilbert King

The Falcon and the Snowman by Robert Lindsey

Tinseltown by William J. Mann