Where the Bodies Were Buried

In coolly objective tones, Mike Chamberlain recounts the rise and fall of Whitey Bulger, one of the nation's most wanted underworld figures. While it was acknowledged that Bulger was the kingpin of the Irish mob, he consistently slipped through the prosecution's grasp because Bulger and his associate Stephen Flemmi were informants for the FBI, ratting out other mob figures. Chamberlain delivers the horrific tales of brutality with matter-of-fact reportage, as witness after witness incriminates Bulger in racketeering, extortion, drug dealing, and countless murders. Many witnesses received immunity for their testimony, which they offered willingly, believing they weren't breaking their code of silence. As one witness says--"You can't rat on a rat." Bulger was finally convicted of racketeering and murder, and Chamberlain makes this account memorable. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

July 20, 2015
English, who has produced some notable books on Irish organized crime in America, like The Westies (1990) and Paddy Whacked (2005), finally weighs in, in-depth, on the now familiar story of murder and corruption centered on Boston gangster Whitey Bulger, the inspiration for Jack Nicholson’s character in the film The Departed. English combines firsthand coverage of Bulger’s 2013 racketeering trial with flashbacks to the decades leading up to Bulger’s conviction in a court of law, and his account is enhanced by access to one of the jurors on the case. English’s passionate outrage at the corruption in the FBI and Department of Justice stemming from their reliance on confidential informants whose hands were as bloody as those they gave up is compelling, but he takes it too far; he concludes that since Bulger’s conviction by jury was a foregone conclusion the trial “could have been a legal exploration of the law enforcement policy that makes it possible for a man like Whitey Bulger to thrive.” His prose can also be over-the-top (“The defense lawyer misread the recipe and undercooked the main course, leaving the jury, paradoxically, both gaseous and malnourished”). Though English’s account adds insight to the trial, it is not the definitive account that fans of the author’s may have hoped. Agent: Nat Sobel, Sobel Weber Inc.

June 1, 2015
Quintessential Irish American gangster and an FBI informant to boot, Whitey Bulger was arrested in 2011 after a 16-year manhunt and tried and convicted of racketeering and murder. "New York Times" best-selling author English (e.g., "The Savage City") offers a whole new take on Bulger's crime career. With a 75,000-copy first printing; this fall, Warner Bros. will release "Black Mass", a movie based on Bulger's life, starring Johnny Depp.

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2015

Mobster Whitey Bulger was on the lam for 16 years before he was caught in June 2011 in Santa Monica, CA. English (The Westies; Paddy Whacked), an authority on the Irish Mob, attended every day of Bulger's trial. Here, he intertwines the proceedings with the history of Bulger's career and the Irish Mob to tell the story. Bulger was a master manipulator who got what he wanted. He and his associate Stephen Flemmi knew that by becoming top echelon informants for the FBI, they could do whatever they wanted--drugs, loan-sharking, extortion, and robberies. They also got away with murder as long they made the bodies disappear. English goes into great detail and presents solid evidence that the demoralization of the Boston FBI and the Department of Justice (DOJ) allowed these men to terrorize New England. He demonstrates that the FBI went to great lengths to protect itself, and if innocent people were collateral damage, so be it. The average citizen has to wonder if these federal justice departments can be trusted in using informants to obtain their objectives or even to do their primary job, which is to protect Americans. VERDICT This kind of insight into corruption in the FBI and the DOJ doesn't get published very often. For those who want to read about such impropriety or have been following the Bulger story.--Michael Sawyer, Pine Bluff, AR

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2015

Quintessential Irish American gangster and an FBI informant to boot, Whitey Bulger was arrested in 2011 after a 16-year manhunt and tried and convicted of racketeering and murder. New York Times best-selling author English (e.g., The Savage City) offers a whole new take on Bulger's crime career. With a 75,000-copy first printing; this fall, Warner Bros. will release Black Mass, a movie based on Bulger's life, starring Johnny Depp.

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 15, 2015
English (The Savage City: Race, Murder, and a Generation on the Edge, 2011, etc.) explores the organized crime underworld of Whitey Bulger. The author has covered similar ground in Paddy Whacked (2005), and it shows in a number of ways, some that enrich the telling of the Bulger saga and some that detract. Bulger was a gangster who moved through the ranks of the Boston underworld to control much of it beginning in the 1970s. With what seemed at the time like a bulletproof coating keeping him safe, he was a formidable foe. After being tipped off to a possible arrest in 1995, Bulger disappeared. Two years later, the world finally learned the secret of Bulger's near-magical ability to stay in business: he had been an FBI informant for almost 20 years, and the FBI had covered up evidence of his crimes in order to keep him on the payroll. When Bulger was caught in 2011, the question on English's mind was whether or not the trial would reveal the circumstances that allowed Bulger to flourish. It did not, and the author makes a convincing case that this was a major oversight. He presents solid evidence that the Bulger problem was really an FBI corruption problem and that the world should be far more concerned with the system than just the one man. However, English's evidence also presents a problem. He is so familiar with Bulger's story and territory that he does not address the fact that readers may not know the background. This leaves the story of the trial, at least, curiously incomplete. The narrative is inconsistent, with extremely compelling sections alternating with excessively detailed sections that distract rather than add color. English provides an intriguing angle for hard-core mob enthusiasts or followers of the Bulger story, who will eat it up. Those without prior knowledge, however, may lose interest.

COPYRIGHT(2015) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.