Ebook216 pages2 hours
Finders Keepers: The Story of a Man Who Found $1 Million
By Mark Bowden
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
()
About this ebook
The “unexpectedly moving” story of dumb luck and the American Dream set in South Philly from the # 1 New York Times–bestselling author (Entertainment Weekly).
What would you do if you found a million dollars? When Joey Coyle did, he was a twenty-eight-year-old drug-dependent, unemployed longshoreman living with his ailing mother in a tight-knit Philadelphia neighborhood. While cruising the streets just blocks from his home, fate took a turn worthy of a Hollywood caper when he found $1.2 million in unmarked bills—casino money that had fallen off an armored truck. It was virtually untraceable. Coyle? Not so much.
Over the next seven days, fueled by euphoria, methamphetamine, and paranoia, Coyle shared his windfall with everyone from his eight-year-old niece to total strangers to a local mob boss who offered to “clean” it. All the while, Det. Pat Laurenzi and members of the FBI were working around the clock to find it. No one was prepared for how Coyle’s dream-come-true would come tumbling down, or what would happen when it did.
From “a master of narrative journalism” comes the incredible true-life thriller of an ordinary man with an extraordinary dilemma, and the complicity, concern, and betrayal of friends, family, and neighbors that would prove his undoing (The New York Times Book Review).
“A miniature serio-comedy about life in the city.” —The Washington Post
“Masterfully reported and artfully paced.” —Entertainment Weekly
“A taut, fast-paced tale.” —The Baltimore Sun
What would you do if you found a million dollars? When Joey Coyle did, he was a twenty-eight-year-old drug-dependent, unemployed longshoreman living with his ailing mother in a tight-knit Philadelphia neighborhood. While cruising the streets just blocks from his home, fate took a turn worthy of a Hollywood caper when he found $1.2 million in unmarked bills—casino money that had fallen off an armored truck. It was virtually untraceable. Coyle? Not so much.
Over the next seven days, fueled by euphoria, methamphetamine, and paranoia, Coyle shared his windfall with everyone from his eight-year-old niece to total strangers to a local mob boss who offered to “clean” it. All the while, Det. Pat Laurenzi and members of the FBI were working around the clock to find it. No one was prepared for how Coyle’s dream-come-true would come tumbling down, or what would happen when it did.
From “a master of narrative journalism” comes the incredible true-life thriller of an ordinary man with an extraordinary dilemma, and the complicity, concern, and betrayal of friends, family, and neighbors that would prove his undoing (The New York Times Book Review).
“A miniature serio-comedy about life in the city.” —The Washington Post
“Masterfully reported and artfully paced.” —Entertainment Weekly
“A taut, fast-paced tale.” —The Baltimore Sun
Author
Mark Bowden
Mark Bowden is the author of Road Work, Finders Keepers, Killing Pablo, Black Hawk Down (nominated for a National Book Award), Bringing the Heat, and Doctor Dealer. He reported at The Philadelphia Inquirer for twenty years and is a national correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly. He lives in the Philadelphia area.
Read more from Mark Bowden
Hue 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Doctor Dealer: The Rise and Fall of an All-American Boy and His Multimillion-Dollar Cocaine Empire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Guests of the Ayatollah: The Iran Hostage Crisis: The First Battle in America's War with Militant Islam Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Finish: The Killing of Osama bin Laden Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Stone Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Bringing the Heat Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Thunder Run: The Armored Strike to Capture Baghdad Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Case of the Vanishing Blonde: And Other True Crime Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Worm: The First Digital World War Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Life Sentence: The Brief and Tragic Career of Baltimore’s Deadliest Gang Leader Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Three Battles of Wanat: And Other True Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Best Game Ever: Giants vs. Colts, 1958, and the Birth of the Modern NFL Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Steal: The Attempt to Overturn the 2020 Election and the People Who Stopped It Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Road Work: Among Tyrants, Heroes, Rogues, and Beasts Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Truth and Lies: What People Are Really Thinking Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Emergency Teacher: The Inspirational Story of a New Teacher in an Inner-City School Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsExecutive Secrets: Covert Action & the Presidency Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to Finders Keepers
Related ebooks
The Last Stone Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Finding Judge Crater: A Life and Phenomenal Disappearance in Jazz Age New York Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAbove Suspicion: An Undercover FBI Agent, an Illicit Affair, and a Murder of Passion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Westies: Inside New York's Irish Mob Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Blind Eye: The Terrifying Story Of A Doctor Who Got Away With Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Kings of Big Spring: God, Oil, and One Family's Search for the American Dream Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Riders Come Out at Night: Brutality, Corruption, and Cover-up in Oakland Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrom Bonnie and Clyde to Federal Prison Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Blood and Money: The Classic True Story of Murder, Passion, and Power Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dirty John and Other True Stories of Outlaws and Outsiders Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ten Hours Until Dawn: The True Story of Heroism and Tragedy Aboard the Can Do Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Glitter Dome Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Honor Bound: My Journey to Hell and Back with Amanda Knox Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rescue of the Bounty: Disaster and Survival in Superstorm Sandy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Incident at Big Sky: The Inside Story of the Search for Two Savage Killers in Montana Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Betrayal in Blue: The Shocking Memoir of the Scandal That Rocked the NYPD Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In Hoffa's Shadow: A Stepfather, a Disappearance in Detroit, and My Search for the Truth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ghosts of Manhattan: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Help! My Husband Just Retired Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Man Who Robbed the Pierre: The Story of Bobby Comfort and the Biggest Hotel Robbery Ever Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Chappaquiddick Tragedy: Kennedy's Second Passenger Revealed Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5There Will Be Killing: : A Novel of War and Murder Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Criminals & Outlaws For You
The Many Lives of Mama Love (Oprah's Book Club): A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mein Kampf Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5In with the Devil: A Fallen Hero, a Serial Killer, and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Murder at McDonald's: The Killers Next Door Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer: An Edgar Award Winner Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Disloyal: A Memoir: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5That Bird Has My Wings: An Oprah's Book Club Pick Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wiseguy: The 25th Anniversary Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Trial of Lizzie Borden Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cruel Deception: A True Story of Murder and a Mother's Deadly Game Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Out of the Mouths of Serial Killers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Lives of the Stars Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Wicked New Orleans: The Dark Side of the Big Easy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Abandoned Prayers: An Incredible True Story of Murder, Obsession, and Amish Secrets Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Killing the Mob: The Fight Against Organized Crime in America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5H. H. Holmes: The True History of the White City Devil Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fred & Rose: The Full Story of Fred and Rose West and the Gloucester House of Horrors Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blood and Money: The Classic True Story of Murder, Passion, and Power Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Search for the Green River Killer: The True Story of America's Most Prolific Serial Killer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lost Girls: The Unsolved American Mystery of the Gilgo Beach Serial Killer Murders Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ruby Ridge: The Truth and Tragedy of the Randy Weaver Family Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Finders Keepers
Rating: 3.5609754780487806 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
41 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is an extremely fast read. I probably read this book in around two hours (spread over a few days). It is an engaging non-fiction story that reads like a novel. It is a well-organized and straightforward account of a true story. A lot of other reviewers have complained about the main character, Joey Coyle, who finds 1.2 million dollars lying on the street, because he behaves like a real idiot. I will grant that he is probably the worst possible person to have encountered a giant pile of cash in the street. A drug addict with really poor decision-making skills, he bumbled around South Philly and made a series of decisions so stupid as to be almost comical. So in that regard, it is frustrating, and I found myself thinking, "Well, if *I* had found that money..." etc. All that being said, I still think the book is very enjoyable, and the author does an excellent job setting us up for Joey Coyle's ridiculous decisions. Additionally, I found myself feeling sorry for him because of his crippling addiction. The author is honest, albeit slightly sympathetic, in his portrayal of Coyle. I definitely recommend this book. Just be forewarned that you will spend the whole book wishing you had been the person to find that $1.2 million
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5REVIEWED: Finders Keepers: The Story of a Man Who Found $1 MillionWRITTEN BY: Mark BowdenPUBLISHED: October, 2002This is a journalistic account of the true story of Joey Coyle, an out-of-work and drug-addicted 28 year old man, who finds $1.2 million which had fallen from an armored truck. It’s a riveting drama which at turns takes twists into humor and suspense but ends, unfortunately, as a tragedy. Coyle is portrayed as an amiable man who essentially blows through much of the money in two weeks, simply by giving it away to homeless, using it on drugs, “forgetting” where he put it, and sharing it with shady businessmen and friends who find out about his fortune and begin to confront him for a piece of the loot. Add to all this, Joey increasingly uses methamphetamine (speed) which causes him paranoid delusions and crippling anxiety. Finders Keepers is sharp and well-written; a fascinating tale of an ordinary man faced with a moral dilemma, and the ensuing reactions of family, friends, neighbors, and police who become a part of his misadventures.Five out of Five stars
Book preview
Finders Keepers - Mark Bowden
d book_preview_excerpt.html }Z]q+|+KUֺTbY.U1$f]䝥#_sN&*j 4n߾K?篛77_>S_SVƟ|o'/6-G56r&0]o}ӻ9{?5}fԸk886K/|܌al.M[|yyw=7^|zmVyM4~596݂GOr35ksrR6Kl^ٵOs>Kt8y{t+5ݚxdXHۄcuҚ!,ˠuٷ)OCR[?7Χf'-[Vq3oP{S%:8rc/o14YKekmĽ]3QrݤI/g>\Pszynp|g{+mМץMә#]b-'(Ii38uIOdsn:%ƗfNzb9MJƦZ{~CHX`fΤ8nwcL1}pjoMZlQbrK@*7HSw}
yCC?T'{N0 ^ܼtebiFZ{ Q!H1X+[dliٞR
rwksX8s#~zt.p&"Zŋ3he%oTyeVA9AScrL?]ؔpZmppXUYnTlCOW̵%S!%^BuxA?mv9ȥ05ˎc OPZk[k[m|pѫrB'0c$I|IҋLsDS>|M<4afx_-{e\2 E50Jbd;)VZrT)
9ZʇGJ|./=ŷKN°&oK[A81B%|bf"2 <`