MARINICK, Richard 1951-

PERSONAL: Born 1951; married (divorced); married; second wife's name Elaine. Education: Boston University Prison Education System, B.A. (magna cum laude), 1992, M.A. (summa cum laude), 1995.

ADDRESSES: Home—Boston, MA. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Kate's Mystery Books, 2211 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02140.

CAREER: Writer. Worked variously as a short-order cook, a junior civil engineer, an automobile painter, a nightclub bouncer, an administrative assistant to the Norfolk County, MA district attorney, and as a Massachusetts state trooper.

WRITINGS:

Boyos (novel), Kate's Mystery Books (Boston, MA), 2004.

ADAPTATIONS: Boyos was optioned for film.

WORK IN PROGRESS: A private eye mystery.

SIDELIGHTS: Richard Marinick became part of the South Boston underworld, experienced its violence firsthand, did time in prison, reformed, and wrote a novel, Boyos, about the "Southies" that he based partially on his Boston mob experiences. In an interview with Publisher Weekly contributor Patrick Milliken, Marinick noted, "I strived to make the novel as authentic as possible. I got tired of reading books or watching movies that depicted the organized criminal element in largely inaccurate ways. Boyos contains glimpses of some of the activities that [I] was involved in for years."

Boyos focuses on "Wacko" Curran, a Southie gang member who continuously devises increasingly bigger crime jobs that eventually culminate in an armored car heist. Curran has his sites set even higher, however; although he seeks to replace one of the gang leaders during the crime, his adversary is tipped off by the getaway driver at the big heist. In addition to his criminal intrigues, Curran also juggles a job and deals with his girlfriend and mother. Like the author, Curran is also facing inner turmoil as he tries to decide whether or not to leave the gang because, although he is attracted by the money and camaraderie, he knows that imprisonment and possibly even death await him if he continues in his life of crime.

Writing in the Library Journal, Craig Shufelt noted that Marinick's "writing is gritty and serious, the action intense, and the characters well drawn and compelling despite their imperfections." A Publishers Weekly contributor called the book a "confident and brutally authentic first novel," while a Kirkus Reviews contributor called Boyos "a hardboiled debut as fresh and authentic as it is uncompromisingly ugly."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2004, review of Boyos, p. 716.

Library Journal, September 1, 2004, Craig Shufelt, review of Boyos, p. 126.

Publishers Weekly, August 30, 2004, review of Boyos, p. 36; August 30, 2004, Patrick Milikin, "Boston Irish Mobster Comes Clean" (interview), p. 36.

ONLINE

AllReaders.com, http://www.allreaders.com/ (May 24, 2005), Harriet Klausner, review of Boyos.

Bostonia Online (alumni quarterly of Boston University), http://www.bu.edu/alumni/bostonia/ (January 25, 2006), Brian Fitzgerald, "The Pen Is Mightier than the Pen."