I just gave "Cogan's Trade" a re-read to prep myself for the upcoming movie adaptation ("Killing Them Softly"). This time around I realized that the novel was way too long on dialogue. There's almost no narrative at all, which makes it difficult to follow the story.

I think Higgins took the accolades he got as a great writer of dialogue and went a little crazy with them. Meaning that he must have felt compelled to live up to that reputation by going heavy on the chatter. It's really annoying when a charcter talks for two pages and says nothing. It was still a fun read, though.

Re the film: I'm dying to see Gandolfini as the drunken New York hitman.