The late George V. Higgins was celebrated for his way with dialogue. His books presented various characters, usually Boston cops, lawyers and low lifes, talking about their careers committing or avoiding crime, and, whoosh, just like that, a whole book skyrocketed into the imagination. A handful of the Higgins treasures have recently been republished, and for readers with a craving to revisit the old master, or to introduce themselves for the first time, The Rat On Fire, is a good place to start.