gang), a man who has been alleged to have killed the actual probable prototype of Eddie Coyle, on most nights during the filming of the movie. Carr found that the fictional murderer of Coyle, an ex-con named Dillon who set up the failed truck hijacking for which Coyle was to be sent back to prison, bore an uncanny similarity to Whitey Bulger. Dillon owned a bar through a front and was a freelance contract killer. The fictional Dillon was also an informant, like Whitey, who was shown both protecting and promoting his own interests by funneling information about his underworld competition to the police. Carr stated, "In other words, Dillon appeared to be a prototype of the gangster that James J. Bulger would become," although George V. Higgins, just before his death, denied that he had based Dillon on Bulger when he was queried by Carr. "I wrote about Dillon before Whitey became Whitey, if you know what I mean." He also denied that he knew who O'Brien was. (Higgins had a character based on Bulger associate Steve "The Rifleman" Flemmi listening to Carr on the radio in his last novel At End of Day.) Editions Macmillan Publishing printed a 40th anniversary edition of The Friends of Eddie Coyle under the Picador imprint in 2010. References External links The Friends of Eddie Coyle at MysteryGuide 1970 American novels American novels adapted into films Novels set in Boston Novels about the Irish Mob 1970 debut novels