Prayers for rain vs The Friends of Eddie Coyle: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Massachusetts, Boston, Fiction
Prayers for rain
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The master of the new noir, Dennis Lehane delivers a shattering tale of evil, depravity, and justice that captures the dark realism of Boston’s gritty blue-collar streets.Private Investigator Patrick Kenzie wants to…
The Friends of Eddie Coyle
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"Eddie Coyle is a small-time punk with a big-time problem - who to sell out to avoid being sent up again. Eddie works for Jimmy Scalisi, supplying him with guns for a couple of bank jobs. But a cop named Foley is onto…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The Friends of Eddie Coyle is the quickest read — about 3 hours vs 8 for Prayers for rain.
- Prayers for rain has the widest readership — 24714 ratings behind its score.
- Prayers for rain runs the darker storyline; The Friends of Eddie Coyle stays the lighter read.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Prayers for rain | The Friends of Eddie Coyle | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.1 (24714) | 4.0 (11456) |
| Hardcover | 4.0 (1) | 3.8 (31) |
| Google Books | 4.0 (2) | — |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (333) | 4.0 (276) |
Reception
| Prayers for rain | The Friends of Eddie Coyle | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 24714 | 11456 |
| Editions | 34 | 25 |
| Citations | — | 5 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 7824 | 12790 |
| Reading it now | 1100 | 833 |
| Written reviews | 1108 | 1148 |
| Wikipedia attention | 519 | 6936 |
| Pages | 478 | 192 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Prayers for rain or The Friends of Eddie Coyle?
Prayers for rain has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Prayers for rain 4.1/5, The Friends of Eddie Coyle 4.0/5).
Which is shorter to read: Prayers for rain or The Friends of Eddie Coyle?
The Friends of Eddie Coyle is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: The Friends of Eddie Coyle (192 pages, ≈ 3 h 33 m); Prayers for rain (478 pages, ≈ 8 h 51 m).
Which is harder to read: Prayers for rain or The Friends of Eddie Coyle?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Prayers for rain: Moderate; The Friends of Eddie Coyle: Moderate.