(Originally Published 1989, Mass Market Paperback 284 pages)
The reader will be hard pressed to find a protagonist in the late Mr. Higgins's little gem. No character is a model of moral rectitude. The story takes place in 1967-68 with the Vietnam War in full swing. It revolves around Earl Beale, a former college basketball star who went to prison for shaving points during games. Now out of prison, Earl is a used-car salesman at a rinky-dink dealership in Boston and has his eyes on blackmailing a rich executive.
What Mr. Higgins did so well was write characters and situations of people's less appealing natures. It's a believable world of dishonest car dealers, duplicitous politicians, sports gamblers, morally-questionable businessmen and prostitutes. The author was likely the best American 20th-Century writer at penning natural dialogue. The story is devoid of murders or action sequences. Think of it as similar to David Mamet's movie 'Glengarry Glen Ross' in tone. Like life, the people who inhabit Mr. Higgins's world are sometimes charming, occasional liars and too big for their own britches.
I have never been disappointed with one of his books. The dialogue is so good and believable that the people practically leap off the page. Also, if you enjoy Mr. Higgins's 'Trust,' you may be interested in reading his next written work 'Victories.' It includes some of the less well-defined characters from 'Trust' such as the political boss Ed Cobb and ex-baseball player Henry Briggs. It is also a very good read.
(Meyers - A few years ago, I started writing, under the pseudonym Franklin the Mouse, short reviews at Amazon's web site. This is my most recent review #355)
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