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joeholmes's review against another edition
3.0
Breslin takes this nonfiction account via his usual route of telling the story by finding the peripheral participants -- in this case, following the testimony of mob rat Burt Kaplan rather than going straight at the two crooked, murdering cops that Kaplan ratted out. It works. Of course the book is as much about Breslin as it is about Kaplan and the cops and the New York families.
But the main reason to read The Good Rat is Breslin's hilarious way with a sentence. Breslin can sometimes be too much in love with his own prose, to point where he's hard to follow without backing up and rereading. But that's a small price to pay.
But the main reason to read The Good Rat is Breslin's hilarious way with a sentence. Breslin can sometimes be too much in love with his own prose, to point where he's hard to follow without backing up and rereading. But that's a small price to pay.
abrswf's review against another edition
4.0
This book brought back many memories. It’s mostly about the trial of Stephen Caracappa and Louis Eppolito, two very dirty Mafia affiliated police officers who were convicted at a 2006 trial (and, spoiler alert, who each later died in prison serving their lengthy ensuing sentences.). Burton Kaplan, the star witness against them, is “The Good Rat” of the title. But the book also roams over NYC mob history, Breslin’s long beat. This anecdote rich journey rang many bells for me as I remember Breslin coming every day to the trial of John Gotti, in the infamous case in which Gotti and all his codefendants were acquitted and Gotti earned his “Teflon Don” sobriquet. I was there as I was a law clerk that year in the federal court trying the case — little did we know our jury foreman had accepted a huge bribe to fix the verdict. Breslin mentions that case and many other familiar names I learned then in the course of this sprawling tale. I enjoyed the gritty narration of this book by Richard Davidson too. One star off for the wandering style and the abrupt conclusion.
blevins's review against another edition
3.0
Part memoir, part reportage, Breslin's tale is of the old-time mafia ways and the more recent downfall of the mob. He combines stories, court transcriptions and ruminations of the lifestyle of some of the individuals who are long dead, in prison or ratted out their one-time friends. A little too unfocused as it jumps all over the place. More of a streamlined, connected narrative would have made it more appealing.
xxstefaniereadsxx's review against another edition
dark
informative
slow-paced
3.0
This book is about the court proceedings of Louis Eppolito and Steven Caracappa, two former members of the New York Police Department. These two were in bed with members of organized crime. They were convicted of labor racketeering, extortion, narcotics, illegal gambling, obstruction of justice, eight counts of murder and conspiracy to commit murder in 2006. One of the witnesses for the prosecution was Mafia associate Burton Kaplan, who testified once his own legal troubles were pressing the life out of him. The two were later sentenced to life in prison. The stories that Kaplan had to tell in this book were wild, and also extremely believable given similar stories from other gangsters and their associates. This book was free to listen to with Audible Plus, and was certainly worth the five hours it took to listen to. I do love a Mafia related book, so this was right up my alley.
mayag's review against another edition
1.0
To be fair, I didn't finish it, but that was because the writing style just didn't work for me. I kept getting confused and irritated.
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