For one year, writer Jay Atkinson worked as a private eye for the storied firm McCain Investigations, founded by the late Joe McCain, one of the most decorated police officers in Boston history. In this colorful narrative, Atkinson describes the cases he worked that year, chasing down an assortment of felons, thieves, and con artists, as well as the ghost of a real American hero, legendary cop Joe McCain. Big Joe was the genuine article, a detective so committed to his work that a gunshot wound suffered in the line of duty took thirteen years to kill him. In Legends of Winter Hill Atkinson traces Big Joe’s career from the day he put on his Boston Metropolitan Police uniform in the 1950s through the heyday of his run-ins with mafiosi, bad cops, and ruthless killers, up to his death in 2001. Atkinson also follows the career of Joe McCain’s son, Joe Jr., a tattooed motorcycle fanatic who took up the mantle of his father and became a cop himself. Legends of Winter Hill takes you into an alluring and gritty world where heroes go unsung every day and moral boundaries aren’t always black and white. “A page-turner. Legends of Winter Hill , which had me cringing one minute and laughing the next, broadened my street education. Read it yourself. I guarantee it will do the same for you.” — Boston Sunday Globe “Collaring the reader from the start, Legends of Winter Hill pushes hard and fast, propelling larger-than-life characters across the page, never loosening its grip.” — Boston Herald “A great read.” — Providence Journal “An unflinching look at the gritty day-to-day life of one of our heroes in blue.” — Tucson Citizen “Spicy, streetwise, and saturated with sordid stories and tales from the underworld. Told with a great eye for detail and a deep appreciation of goodness.” —Wayne Coffey, New York Times bestselling author of The Boys of Winter ""At McCain Investigations, I'd be sent looking for people who didn't want to be found, following guys who didn't want to be followed, and entering neighborhoods where I was not at all welcome. There would be no commercials, no time-outs, no 'do-overs' if somebody got shot or stabbed or run over. These guys were playing for keeps." Seasoned journalist and adventurer Jay Atkinson spent a year working as a rookie private eye for the storied firm McCain Investigations, founded by the late Joe McCain, Sr., one of the most decorated police officers in Boston history. In his colorful narrative style, Atkinson describes some of the cases he worked as a detective, chasing down an assortment of felons, thieves, and con artists, as well as the ghost of a real-life American hero, legendary cop Joe McCain. Atkinson traces McCain's story from the day he put on his Boston Metropolitan Police uniform in the 1950s through the heyday of his run-ins with mafiosi, bad cops, and ruthless killers. Big Joe was the genuine article, a detective so committed to his work that a gunshot wound suffered in the line of duty took thirteen years to kill him. McCain pursued such infamous Winter Hill mobsters as Stephen "the Rifleman" Flemmi and the murderous James "Whitey" Bulger, who remains on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list. Here Atkinson reveals new details--based on his exclusive interviews and an abundance of his own shoe leather--about how Bulger, one of America's most notorious fugitives, came within inches of being apprehended during Joe McCain's reign. Atkinson also tracks the career of Joe McCain's son, Joe Jr., a tattooed, hard-riding motorcycle fanatic who followed his old man onto the force.Since big Joe's death, young Joe has learned the hard way that a father's mythic persona can be both a blessing and a curse, as a fellow cop with a grudge against Joe Sr. may be out to ruin young Joe's career. Atkinson delves into this dark and dangerous aspect of "the job," where it's uncertain which side some cops are on. "Legends of Winter Hill takes you into an alluring and gritty world where heroes go unsung every day, and moral boundaries aren't always black and white. "From the Hardcover edition. Award-winning writer Jay Atkinson is the author of the best-selling Ice Time: A Tale of Fathers, Sons, and Hometown Heroes and the acclaimed novel Caveman Politics . He has written for many publications, including the New York Times, Boston Globe, Newsday , and Men’s Health . He lives in Massachusetts. ONE: Joey and the Angels This is my son, mine own Telemachus To whom I leave the sceptre and the isle. —Alfred, Lord Tennyson The Somerville Police Department is a low concrete structure that looks like a small town library from the 1960s, with a fenced-in yard containing a fleet of half-serviceable patrol cars and a steep concrete ramp out front that leads to a walled parking lot. Right at noon, thirty-nine-year-old Joe McCain, Jr., pulls up and I climb in the passenger side of the sump-smelling cruiser and buckle myself in. Since we’re working together and so much of the “cop