Today, a Massachusetts District Court Judge sentenced Catherine Grieg, the girlfriend of reputed mob boss James “Whitey” Bulger, to eight years in prison for her role in helping him evade arrest for sixteen years.
Formerly listed in the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted List, Bulger pleaded not guilty to a federal racketeering indictment charging him with the murders of nineteen people while allegedly running a South Boston gangster ring in the ’70’s through 1995 when he fled. His case, which inspired Martin Scorcese’s 2006 film The Departed , is scheduled for later this year.
Novels in every genre about fugitives abound. Here are a couple great thrillers:
- Sue Grafton’s “F” is for Fugitive, a 1989 mystery classic, is about Bailey Fowler, who’s convicted of murder and goes on the lam for sixteen years, ala Bulger. Once found by the police, Fowler’s father hires Kinsey Millhone to clear his name.
- Phillip Margolin’s 2009 legal thriller entitled Fugitive features heroine Amanda Jaffe in this story of international intrigue and murder. A con man, turns national hero, turns fugitive for killing a US Congressman, must face the death sentence while evading the wrath of a power-mad African dictator whose wife the fugitive bedded.
Have you read these thrillers? Any suggestions for other novels with convicts on the run? I’d love to hear them!
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