Organized crime Books

Book Synopsis40 YEARS WITH THE KRAYS is the untold, intimate history of the twins and the woman who raised them. Told with humour and insight, it looks back across the decades at the life of this close knit, notorious East End family. Maureen Flanagan, a then 20 year old hairdresser started visiting the Kray family home in Vallance Road each week to give the twins’ mother, Violet, her weekly shampoo and set. Over the cups of tea and the rollers and hairpins, Violet began to confide in ‘Flan’ about her life, her incredible pride in her twins, the celebrities who visited her at their humble East End home - and her troubled relationship with her husband.Trade ReviewNot that many people saw that side of the Krays, but this chatty, vivacious memoir sheds a strangely intimate light on their baleful legend * Daily Mail *...an engaging, atmospheric read * Mail on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisTHE FINAL WORD FROM THE LAST KING OF GANGLAND WITH A FOREWORD BY MARTINA COLE'We couldn't, we wouldn't, let anyone take a liberty. That was never an option at that time.'Eddie Richardson is the last brand-name gangster. Say the name and the world of violent criminality grabs you by the throat.The Richardson brothers, Eddie and Charlie, and their infamous 'Torture Gang', made money while their rivals Ronnie and Reggie Kray made fatal mischief. They fought each other, but now, in 2018, Eddie Richardson says: 'They tell me blood is thicker than water, but with Charlie it wasn't so. He was evil.'With his brother dead, Eddie Richardson feels free to detail the story of a vicious family feud that provoked extravagant acrimony. No Handcuffs unravels the mysteries of decades of crime and political incident. The story of a turbulent era, it rivals the most imaginative fiction in its portrayal of gangland life with all its chanciness and rawness and careless disregard for any obstacle on the way to its target, the big money.In an inspired collaboration with bestselling author Douglas Thompson, the mature Eddie Richardson is given a voice to reflect on his journey from the scrapyards of South London to the glitz and glamour of the West End nightclubs, to the flesh and tease of Soho, down Downing Street and through the door of Number 10 to the perils of espionage and international intrigue, and his elevation to demigod status in hard-men territory - and finally as a high-security inmate at Her Majesty's pleasure, but with a personal fridge kept well stocked with gourmet food. No Handcuffs resonates today for, if anything, greed and corruption are more perverse, more rampant. As Eddie Richardson points out: 'We wrote the handbook for them.'

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Book SynopsisWritten by the bestselling author of The Ice Man, The Butcher is a gripping and disturbing fly-on-the-wall account of the US Drug Enforcement Administration's four-year hunt to bring down Tommy 'Karate' Pitera, a drug-dealing, murderous capo in the Bonanno crime family. In 1992, Pitera was sentenced to life in prison for murdering six people and supporting a massive drug-dealing operation. Yet this covered only a fraction of the crimes he committed. Pitera is thought to have murdered more than 60 people, cutting many of his victims into pieces before burying them on Staten Island.Exhaustively researched and written with the cooperation of the DEA agents who hunted Pitera down, The Butcher will send shivers down the spine of the most hardened reader.Trade ReviewMafia master Carlo is the unrivalled king of true crime writing. He examines Pitera's psyche with forensic scrutiny but stops short of glamorising his subject. Grisly and gruesome, Scorcese should definitely buy up the movie rights * News of the World *Engrossing and chilling . . . a fast-moving and morbidly fascinating story * Booklist *With brutal honesty, Philip Carlo writes from the heart -- Robert De Niro on Philip Carlo's work

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Book SynopsisSOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING BENICIO DEL TORO, PRODUCED BY LEONARDO DICAPRIO.Cuba, 1961.A failed invasion at The Bay of Pigs results in Fidel Castro tightening his hold over Cuba. José Miguel Battle Sr., a former cop and member of the counter-revolutionary group intent on overthrowing him, is captured.Miami, 1962.José Miguel Battle Sr. travels to the USA, chased from the island by revolution, and is renamed The Godfather. A 2,500 strong Cuban-American criminal alliance is established.Known on both sides of the law as 'The Corporation', its powerful members were fellow outcasts and enemies of Castro. A hero to many Cuban-Americans, The Godfather created a unit of trusted men who fought alongside him to reclaim their nation from the Marxist dictator.Gaining money, power and inluence by running gambling rackets, money- laundering, drug tra?cking and murder, The Corporation never gave up the dream of killing Castro and reclaiming their homeland. This explosive biography reveals how an entire generation of political exiles, refugees, racketeers, corrupt cops, hitmen (and their wives and girlfriends) became caught up in this violent desire, and built a criminal empire surviving over 40 years.An epic tale of gangsters, drugs and violence, learn how The Corporation grew into one of the USA's most sordid and deadly organisations. Trade ReviewA mob saga that has it all-brotherhood and betrayal, swaggering power and glittering success, and a Godfather whose reach seems utterly unrivaled. What a relentless, irresistible read. * Don Winslow, New York Times bestselling author of The Force *English capably covers half a century of criminal enterprise, avoiding the clichés of the true-crime genre while stocking his narrative with familiar players: the capos and goons, the cops and informants, a mistress or two, and John F. Kennedy.... Fascinating reading. * Kirkus Reviews *It's a gripping, blood-soaked story, rich in drama and suspense; if it were a novel, you might expect to see Don Winslow's name attached to it. Fans of true crime, especially those with a hankering for epic-sized stories, should flock to this book. * Booklist *

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Book SynopsisThink you know everything about the Krays?Think again.Britain's most infamous criminals: the Kray twins. The extent of their activities has always been uncertain. But now, it is time for the conclusive account of their story, from their East End beginnings, to becoming the kingpins of London's underworld.This objective account, compiled by best-selling crime author and criminal lawyer James Morton, cuts through the conflicting versions of their stories and answers burning questions still being asked, 50 years after their infamous conviction. How was the clergy involved in evading police action? What was Charlie Kray's true position with his brothers? Just how many did they kill?Featuring an in-depth discussion at the supposed claims they killed up to 30, and a deep dive into the death of champion boxer Freddie Mills, Krays: The Final Word compiles all previous accounts and then some to find the truth behind their legendary status.This is the Krays - all fact, no fiction.Trade Review'A book that reads as the ultimate case file against the Krays' The Times * The Times *

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Book SynopsisA tour de force of investigative journalism, Killing Pablo tells the story of the violent rise and fall of Pablo Escobar, the head of the Colombian Medellin cocaine cartel. Escobar's criminal empire held a nation of thirty million hostage in a reign of terror that would only end with his death. In an intense, up-close account, award-winning journalist Mark Bowden exposes details never before revealed about the covert sixteen-month manhunt that was led by US Special Forces and intelligence services. With unprecedented access to important players - including Colombian president Cisar Gaviria and the incorruptible head of the special police unit that pursued Escobar, Colonel Hugo Martinez - as well as top-secret documents and transcripts of Escobar's intercepted phone conversations, Bowden has produced a gripping narrative that is a stark portrayal of rough justice in the real world.Trade ReviewVivid, fast-paced and well researched * Sunday Times *A remarkable opus of investigative journalism * The Times *Mark Bowden's thrilling, completely engrossing book brings the man and his bloody times to vivid life. I couldn't put it down. -- Howard MarksPowerfully written and well researched * Independent on Sunday *A psychotic safari * Daily Mail *A master of narrative journalism, Bowden employs the same techniques of reconstructing scenes and dialogue that made his bestselling Black Hawk Down gripping reading. * New York Times *A well researched and staggering account. * Time Out *A brilliant reconstruction... Clear and gripping * Evening Standard *Reads like a Clancyesque thriller, it's fast-paced, full of page-turning intrigue, corruption, and thwarted pursuit. * San Francisco Chronicle *A compelling, almost Shakespearean tale * Los Angeles Times *If ever there was a real-life James Bond villain, Pablo Escobar was it... 10 times better than any fictional crime story * Uncut *

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Book SynopsisJoe Coughlin is nineteen when he meets Emma Gould. A smalltime thief in 1920s Boston, he is told to cuff her while his accomplices raid the casino she works for. But Joe falls in love with Emma - and his life changes for ever.That meeting is the beginning of Joe''s journey to becoming one of the nation''s most feared and respected gangsters. It is a journey beset by violence, double-crossing, drama and pain. And it is a journey into the soul of prohibition-era America...A powerful, deeply moving novel, Live By Night is a tour-de-force by Dennis Lehane, writer on The Wire and author of modern classics such as Shutter Island, Gone, Baby, Gone and The Given Day.Trade ReviewDennis Lehane's speciality is the fast-paced gangster thriller that's also a deeply felt novel. His latest, about a Boston criminal, doesn't disappoint on either count... I guarantee that all you'll be able to do is keep on turning the pages. The prose crackles with Chandleresque jokes, the narrative never flags and there's even a genuinely heart-stopping love story. In addition to all that, the book beautifully evokes the entire era of early Thirties Prohibition America * Readers' Digest *This is a book that should put [Lehane's] name right up there where it belongs, right up there alongside Doctorow and Dreiser * Scotland on Sunday *This is noir with added value: Lehane is terrific on family ties and at conveying the buzz of a city powered by immigrant labour of often dubious legality * Guardian *History is merely a backdrop in a story that seeks just to be exciting, sexy and atmospheric. The author's trademark combination of dark deeds, graceful pose and sassy dialogue ensures it succeeds * Sunday Times *Lehane's tough, muscular prose captures the era well; and his dialogue brings to life the inhabitants of its underworld * Spectator *This is not just brilliant period crime writing, but brilliant writing full stop * Independent *The crime writer's crime writer; with a spare, stark edge to his work that lifts it into the truly great class... The gangster world is superbly evoked and the story is as tight and powerful as the trigger on a Thompson sub-machine * Daily Mail *Sophisticated, literary and barbed enough... it makes this book a sentence-by-sentence pleasure. You are in the hands of an expert. And you'll know it * Scotsman *Exciting, sexy and atmospheric. Lehane's combination of dark deeds, graceful prose and sassy dialogue ensures it succeeds * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisFor many people around the world, instances of what is described as organized crime may be part of their everyday experience; in their neighbourhoods, their streets, and the places they work and live. Policymakers, law enforcement, and the media rarely fail to bring up the issue when discussing the nature and seriousness of contemporary criminal threats, and the appropriate responses towards them. Many more people are familiar with the notion of organized crime, as the film and TV industry regularly draw on fictional and real figures and situations. Organized crime feels like a tangible, inescapable issue in today''s world.In this Very Short introduction, Georgios A. Antonopoulos and Georgios Papanicolaou uncover the reality of organized crime in our world today. Shining a light on the people involved in organized crime, Antonopoulos and Papanicolaou question whether the term ''organized'' is used to evoke the image, the operations, and power of a legitimate organization, such as a corporation. Discussing whether there are particular crimes that the label ''organized crime'' applies to, or if any crime can be organized, they also consider what happens when organized crime extends beyond borders. Using examples from across the globe, they analyse the different cultural traditions of organized crime, such as the Mafia, Yakuza, and Triads, and also the nature of organized crime, from arms trafficking and drug dealing to extortion. Finally they explore the methods and agencies in place to control and prevent organized crime.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Table of Contents1: Introduction: What is organised crime? 2: Organised crime around the globe 3: The business of organised crime 4: Controlling and preventing organised crime 5: Conclusion: Business as usual References Further Reading

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Book SynopsisMisha Glenny is a distinguished journalist and historian. As the Central Europe Correspondent first for the Guardian and then for the BBC, he chronicled the collapse of communism and the wars in the former Yugoslavia. He won the Sony Gold Award for outstanding contribution to broadcasting. The author of four books, including the acclaimed McMafia, he has been regularly consulted by the US and European governments on major policy issues and ran an NGO for three years, assisting with the reconstruction of Serbia, Macedonia and Kosovo. He now lives in London. website: www.darkmarketinsider.comtwitter: @MishaGlennyTrade ReviewEye-popping... A real life crime thriller * Mail on Sunday *A page-turner... This is a gripping tale, brilliantly researched * Sunday Times *Compulsive, thriller-paced reading * Metro *Glenny is skilful at taking a world that might seem impenetrable and esoteric and making it seem human… The story Glenny tells is fascinating * Sunday Telegraph *Like a thriller…gripping * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisIn 1987, Wayne Anthony and two friends established the legendary Genesis raves that were attended by the wide-eyed, loved-up youth of the late Eighties and early Nineties. Wayne and the Genesis team took Acid House to the masses and changed the face of British rave culture. Wayne then promoted a series of events around Europe, released a series of infamous compilation albums under the banner Havin' It'. Since then Wayne has been involved in Internet start-ups and tech companies. He spent the last ten years at the helm of LSD Magazine, one of Europe's biggest street art graffiti networks. He is currently in the process of launching the world's first dedicated street art graffiti channel from Los Angeles.

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Book SynopsisHow did the Mob evolve from a disorganised gang of uncouth killers into the deadly ''international corporation'' it is today?Tracing its beginnings as an underground society which sprang up in Sicily, to the Mob which went on to run organised crime throughout Italy and America, William Balsamo great-nephew of the original godfather and George Carpozi Jr draw on two decades of research to tell the true story of the most mythical and misunderstood criminal organisation in history.

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Book SynopsisThe much anticipated follow-up to the bestseller that exposed the escalation of organised crime in New Zealand. Gangster's Paradise is about drugs, guns, gangs and money. Lots of money.A gang which took over a small rural town. A police officer shot and killed in a routine traffic stop. A port-worker who helped a gang whisk a shipping container off a wharf in the middle of the night. A crew of corrupt baggage handlers smuggling meth into the country during Covid lockdowns. A shooting inside a 5-star hotel in broad daylight. Turf wars, retaliation, and retribution: new gangs like the Mongols and Comancheros have brought with them better connections with international syndicates, challenging the established gangs like the Head Hunters - so dominant for many years - who have had to up their game in response. Jared Savage's bestselling book Gangland was about the evolution of gangs in New Zealand. Gangster's Paradise is about the deadly escalation.

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Book SynopsisIn The Dirty Game, investigative reporter and BBC Panorama presenter Andrew Jennings, who has been heralded around the world for his decade-long pursuit of this story, uncovers the eye-watering level of fraud and criminal activity at the heart of FIFA, which has been described as the biggest sporting scandal of the century. From Blatter to Blazer, from bribery to embezzlement, Jennings reveals the key protagonists, crimes and evidence he handed to the FBI which led to the arrests of FIFA executive and the resignation of Sepp Blatter. Written in a gripping narrative, and based on years of research and never-before-seen documents, this is the definitive portrait of the downfall of FIFA, and the men who stole football.

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Book Synopsis'A thriller-like tale ... [Mazur] is a good story-teller, with a flair for details that brings the criminal and their world to life' Daily Mail'Bob Mazur delivers again ... he artfully takes the reader through the harrowing account of life as an undercover cop embedded in the drug cartels' BRYAN CRANSTON'A book you can't put down, nor will you' JOSEPH PISTONE, aka Donnie BrascoFrom the bestselling author who inspired Bryan Cranston's The Infiltrator.Three years after undercover agent Robert Mazur infiltrated Pablo Escobar's Medellín drug cartel, he re-emerged, a half-million-dollar bounty still on his head, with a new identity for a risky new sting.Deployed to Panama, he worked, travelled, partied and washed millions with Central America's criminal elite. Partnered with a DEA task force agent, Mazur slipped effortlessly into Colombia's notorious Cali drug cartel. But as his underworld reputation skyrocketed, the operation started going dangerously off the rails.Robert Mazur's riveting true story exposes the corruption at the heart of one of the most explosive undercover missions of his career.Refusing to acknowledge the danger, Mazur was obsessed with seeing the mission through to its treacherous end: expose the Cali cartel, find out who betrayed him, and escape with his life. This is his true story.Trade ReviewA thriller-like tale ... [Mazur] is a good story-teller, with a flair for details that brings the criminal and their world to life. * Daily Mail *Bob Mazur delivers again with The Betrayal! As with its predecessor, The Infiltrator, Mazur artfully takes the reader through the harrowing account of life as an undercover cop embedded in the drug cartels. In my career I take on characters in life-or-death situations - but I just can't imagine how Mazur does it for real! Read it and find out. I highly recommend it. -- Bryan Cranston – Star of Breaking Bad. Winner of Emmy, Tony and Golden Globe awards for best actor.The Betrayal details the malicious world of drugs, money laundering and the danger of being a DEA undercover agent infiltrating these organizations. A book you can't put down, nor will you. -- Joseph Pistone aka Donnie Brasco, author of Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the MafiaThe Betrayal is a page-turning thriller about a courageous agent's simultaneous journey through a deadly vise of internal corruption and the ruthless threat of cartel killers. This is the unfortunate reality of the underworld. -- Michael S. Vigil, Former DEA Chief of International Operations and author of DealNo one in law enforcement is more lethally vulnerable to the betrayal of those he/she depends on for support and protection then the deep cover agent; the operative who, unarmed, like a human bait, places himself into isolated situations where the only thing protecting him from an instant death is his acting ability... This book is a must read. -- Michael Levine Author of New York Times bestseller Deep Cover and The Big White LieFATF was created to help governments follow the money and reduce the harm caused by drug traffickers and terrorists. Bob Mazur repeatedly put his life on the line to do just that. This isn't fiction. It's the real deal and scary as hell. -- David Lewis – Executive Secretary of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global watchdog against money launderingIt is a cliché to say that such books have the pace and tension of a thriller - but in this case the cliché has force ... Mazur shows extraordinary courage, and, along the way, reveals much about the labyrinthine world of high-stakes money-laundering. * Tortoise Media *The Betrayal is a page turner for sure and you won't want to put it down until it is finished ... a "must read" for all. * The Laundry *

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Book SynopsisVIRGINIA VALLEJO:Top Colombian television journalist, cover model and socialitePABLO ESCOBAR:Head of the Medellin cartel, the founder of the global cocaine industry and one of the most ambitious - and brutal - criminals in historyOver the course of their tempestuous love affair, Vallejo witnessed first-hand the bloodshed, fear and corruption that accompanied the rise of Escobar's crime empire. In this explosive tale of drugs, sex, wealth and violence, Vallejo describes the man she knew and loved. But, increasingly plagued by threats of kidnap and death for her knowledge on Escobar's ties to the political establishment, Vallejo sought extradition to the United States. Her testimony would reopen one of the most important criminal cases in Colombian history.

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Book Synopsis'Improvement is a major work of literature.' - Nick Hornby, The BelieverReyna knows her relationship with Boyd isn't perfect, yet as she visits him throughout his three-month stint in prison, their bond grows tighter. Kiki, now settled in New York after a journey that took her to Turkey and around the world, admires her niece's spirit but worries that she always picks the wrong man. Little does she know that the otherwise honourable Boyd is pulling Reyna into a scheme which violates his probation. When Reyna ultimately decides to remove herself for the sake of her four-year-old child, her small act of resistance sets into motion a tapestry of events that affect the lives of loved ones and strangers around them. A novel that examines conviction, connection and the possibility of generosity in the face of loss, Improvement is as intricately woven together as Kiki's beloved Turkish rugs and as colourful as the tattoos decorating Reyna's body, with narrative twists and turns as surprising and unexpected as the lives all around us. The Boston Globe says of Joan Silber 'No other writer can make a few small decisions ripple across the globe, and across time, with more subtlety and power.' Improvement is Silber's most shining achievement yet.Trade ReviewA novel of richness and wisdom and huge pleasure -- Kamila Shamsie * New York Times Book Review *[Improvement] daisychains several related narratives into a rich and surprising whole...Silber's superb handling of time - that Alice Munro tribute isn't wide of the mark - draws the disparate lives into a unity, and makes this compressed novel feel mysteriously capacious. -- Anthony Quinn * Guardian *Silber is the genuine article, a writer of such precision, intelligence and insight that she makes you gasp...The characterisation is fantastic and the dialogue pitch-perfect. -- Cressida Connolly * Literary Review *Improvement is a major work of literature....I love [Silber's] prose even more than I love her unconventional narrative approach. The first story, written in the first person, seems to me like the perfect lesson in voice, and anyone trying to write or to teach writing should read it. Reyna, the narrator, is funny, shrewd, laconic, fatalistic, something of a fuckup, and refreshingly unbookish; there isn't a single line that lets the reader down, or that allows you to suspect even for a second that this person isn't real. -- Nick Hornby * The Believer *Silber brings the skills of a short story writer to her novels, giving her characters enough space to breathe within the confines of the larger story, and every so often one will come across a jewel of a sentence that begs to be underlined or committed to memory. * Glasgow Herald *A wise, impressive novel, utterly precise and unflinching in its portrayal of everyday human weakness, but full of kindness and hope. I loved this book. -- Sarah WatersA wonderful novel about the unknown interconnectedness of us all in ways that are invisible but matter. -- Linda Grant[I]t feels vital to love Silber's work. . . Now is the moment to appreciate that she is here, in our midst: our country's own Alice Munro. * Washington Post *Without fuss or flourishes, Joan Silber weaves a remarkably patterned tapestry connecting strangers from around the world to a central tragic car accident. The writing here is funny and down-to-earth, the characters are recognizably fallible, and the message is quietly profound: We are not ever really alone, however lonely we feel. * Wall Street Journal, top fiction titles of 2017 *I love all of Joan Silber's work for her mastery of character, her ferocious and searching compassion, and her elegant lines that make the mind hum for hours. Improvement is so crisp and resonant a novel that it made me forget the chaos of life around me; a feat for which I'm truly grateful. -- Lauren GroffAn everyday masterpiece. * Newsday *An accomplished, wise, humane book, generously graced with those fleeting but vivid moments - of puzzlement, vexation and love - in which the humanity of her characters shines through. -- Colin BarrettImprovement has the intricate beauty of the rugs around which the story is woven. I admire Joan Silber's ability to braid the narratives of objects and people lost and found into a shapely story. -- Sarah MossAn elegant, generous portrait of interconnected lives. * Tatler *Silber excels at quick, sharp portraiture...an exploration of the hopes, pains and small successes of very different people making their uncertain way through life. * Times Literary Supplement *This gentle, absorbing story glides along on frictionless, understated prose; it feels wholly natural and unforced, as if the characters are recounting their own experiences, shorn of any artifice or make-believe. * Country & Townhouse Magazine *

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Book Synopsis''Well into MARTINA COLE territory'' Independent''A cracking good read'' JESSIE KEANEON THE STREETS OF LONDON, DANGER LURKS EVERYWHERE . . . Liv Anderson can take care of herself and she knows how to make money in a man''s world. The daughter of a convicted murderer, she''s made her way in one of the roughest parts of London by entrapping men and extorting them for money. But Liv is playing a dangerous game and soon finds herself in trouble with the city''s most notorious gangster . . . To repay her debt, Liv is forced to pose as a secretary for a local property developer and report back on his movements. She has no idea what she''s looking for, but she''ll do anything to stay alive. And after the murder of a local prostitute and the disappearance of a friend, Liv is starting to think survival may be harder than she realised. But Liv isn''t only concerned wTrade ReviewHer hard-edged writing has made Kray a gangster-saga rival to Martina Cole. Fans will love Liv Anderson * Peterborough Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisThe world has been bombarded in recent years with images of the luxurious lives and wealth of corrupt oligarchs and kleptocrats, amassed at the expense of ordinary people. Such images exploit our feelings of injustice, are taken as indicative of moral decay, and inspire a desire to purge our economies of dirty money, objects, and people. But why do anti-corruption efforts routinely fail? What kind of world are they creating? Looking at luxury art, antiquities, superyachts, and populist politics, this book explores the connection between luxury and corruption, and offers an alternative to the received wisdom of how we tackle corruption.Table of ContentsPreface: Luxury, Corruption, and the Assumption of Harmlessness Chapter 1: Luxury, Anti-Corruption, and the Fantasy of Wholeness Chapter 2: Russian Kleptocrat Luxury, Naval’nyi’s Exposés, and the Global Anti-Policy Syndrome Chapter 3: Compliance, Defiance, and the Fight against Crime through the Markets in Art, Antiquities and Luxury Chapter 4: Luxury, Encasement, and the Emptiness of Anti-Corruption’s Ethics Epilogue: Luxury, Corruption, and the Death Drive

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Book SynopsisFrom the Sunday Times bestselling author, Carl ChinnThe Peaky Blinders as we know them, thanks to the hit TV series, are infused with drama and dread. Fashionably dressed, the charismatic but deeply flawed Shelby family have become cult anti-heroes. Well-known social historian, broadcaster and author, Carl Chinn, revealed the true story of the notorious gang in his bestselling Peaky Blinders: The Real Story and now in this follow-up book, he explores the legacy they created in Birmingham and beyond. What happened to them and their gangland rivals?In Peaky Blinders: The Legacy we revisit the world of Billy Kimber's Peaky Blinders, exploring their legacy throughout the 1920s and 30s, and how their burgeoning empires spread across the UK. Delve into the street wars across the country, the impact of the declaration of War on Gangs by the Home Secretary after The Racecourse War in 1921, and how the blackmailing of bookmakers gave way to new and daring opportunities for the likes of Sabini, Alfie Solomon and some new faces in the murky gangland underworld.Drawing on Carl's inimitable research, interviews and original sources, find out just what happened to this incredible cast of characters, revealing the true legacy of the Peaky Blinders.

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Book SynopsisJoe Coughlin is nineteen when he meets Emma Gould. A smalltime thief in 1920s Boston, he is told to cuff her while his accomplices raid the casino she works for. But Joe falls in love with Emma - and his life changes for ever.That meeting is the beginning of Joe''s journey to becoming one of the nation''s most feared and respected gangsters. It is a journey beset by violence, double-crossing, drama and pain. And it is a journey into the soul of prohibition-era America...A powerful, deeply moving novel, Live By Night is a tour-de-force by Dennis Lehane, writer on The Wire and author of modern classics such as Shutter Island, Gone, Baby, Gone and The Given Day.Trade ReviewSo beautifully written and so sharp in its details and atmosphere that it's no wonder Lehane's books attract filmmakers with such ease * Irish Voice *Lehane's thrillers mix viscerally violent excitement with a thorough airing of ethical dilemmas * Daily Telegraph *Lehane is one of the great contemporary American crime writers * Daily Mail *Dennis Lehane's speciality is the fast-paced gangster thriller that's also a deeply felt novel. His latest, about a Boston criminal, doesn't disappoint on either count... I guarantee that all you'll be able to do is keep on turning the pages. The prose crackles with Chandleresque jokes, the narrative never flags and there's even a genuinely heart-stopping love story. In addition to all that, the book beautifully evokes the entire era of early Thirties Prohibition America * Readers' Digest *This is a book that should put [Lehane's] name right up there where it belongs, right up there alongside Doctorow and Dreiser * Scotland on Sunday *This is noir with added value: Lehane is terrific on family ties and at conveying the buzz of a city powered by immigrant labour of often dubious legality * Guardian *History is merely a backdrop in a story that seeks just to be exciting, sexy and atmospheric. The author's trademark combination of dark deeds, graceful pose and sassy dialogue ensures it succeeds * Sunday Times *Lehane's tough, muscular prose captures the era well; and his dialogue brings to life the inhabitants of its underworld * Spectator *This is not just brilliant period crime writing, but brilliant writing full stop * Independent *The crime writer's crime writer; with a spare, stark edge to his work that lifts it into the truly great clas . . . The gangster world is superbly evoked and the story is as tight and powerful as the trigger on a Thompson sub-machine * Daily Mail *Sophisticated, literary and barbed enough... it makes this book a sentence-by-sentence pleasure. You are in the hands of an expert. And you'll know it * Scotsman *Exciting, sexy and atmospheric. Lehane's combination of dark deeds, graceful prose and sassy dialogue ensures it succeeds * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisOn a Sunday night in 1998, Bishop Juan Gerardi, Guatemala's leading human rights activist, was bludgeoned to death. Two days earlier, a Church-sponsored report had implicated Guatemala's government in the disappearances of 200,000 civilians. The Church, feeling that it could not rely on the legal system, took the controversial decision to assemble a team of men, Los Intocables (The Untouchables), to take down Gerardi's killers.In a gripping reconstruction, worthy of Graham Greene, Francisco Goldman traces Los Intocables struggle with the Guatemalan authorities to reveal the true story, uncovering the involvement of youth gangs, political corruption and organised crime. Most of all, he tells the story of an extraordinary group of courageous people and their fight for justice.Trade Review"'A multi-layered real-life whodunnit... Forensic and chilling.' Rory Carroll, Guardian 'A truly extraordinary book' George Rosie, Sunday Herald 'It simply seethes with violent action and counter-action, conspiracy and intrigue.' Ciaran Cosgrove, Irish Times 'As gripping as a thriller' Duncan Campbell, The Week 'A hugely impressive account: passionate, involving and profoundly moving.' Peter Standford, Independent on Sunday 'Passionate and stunningly researched... Goldman's book portrays the hysterical confusion, the dark fog that power - corrupt, ruthless and enduring - can impose on a society.' Richard Eder, New York Times"

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Book SynopsisSOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING BENICIO DEL TORO, PRODUCED BY LEONARDO DICAPRIOCuba, 1961.A failed invasion at The Bay of Pigs results in Fidel Castro tightening his hold over Cuba. José Miguel Battle Sr., a former cop and member of the counter-revolutionary group intent on overthrowing him, is captured.Miami, 1962.José Miguel Battle Sr. travels to the USA, chased from the island by revolution, and is renamed The Godfather. A 2,500 strong Cuban-American criminal alliance is established.Known on both sides of the law as 'The Corporation', its powerful members were fellow outcasts and enemies of Castro. A hero to many Cuban-Americans, The Godfather created a unit of trusted men who fought alongside him to reclaim their nation from the Marxist dictator.Gaining money, power and inluence by running gambling rackets, money- laundering, drug trafficking and murder, The Corporation never gave up the dream of killing Castro and reclaiming their homeland. This explosive biography reveals how an entire generation of political exiles, refugees, racketeers, corrupt cops, hitmen (and their wives and girlfriends) became caught up in this violent desire, and built a criminal empire surviving over 40 years.An epic tale of gangsters, drugs and violence, learn how The Corporation grew into one of the USA's most sordid and deadly organisations.

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Book SynopsisAmsterdam, 2001. A shoot-out in the city's docklands leaves one man grievously injured and a rival drug dealer killed outright. The injured man is Tony Spencer from Coventry. Aka The Old Man. Once a prolific businessman, he is now considered Public Enemy No. 1 by the National Crime Squad and the head of several smuggling rings operating between the UK, Holland, Morocco, and Spain. At the age of 50, with bank robberies, counterfeiting, and several fortunes gained and lost behind him, he is on the run and living abroad. As Spencer's life hangs in the balance, his son Jason arrives in Amsterdam. While he prays for a miraculous recovery, he ponders who his father really is. He has raced anxiously to be by his bedside and yet he is somebody he doesn't know well at all. Jason begins digging in earnest. He begins to piece together the story of The Old Man's life. It's a story that is riddled with contradictions: a man who makes millions but saves nothing, prizes freedom but spends years inside, works in a violent world but who - seemingly - avoids violence. Spencer was absent, often in prison, for much of his upbringing but now, as his father recovers from the shooting, Jason begins to wonder. Maybe, if he can come to understand his father's life, he can begin to understand his own...

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Book SynopsisThe ‘ndrangheta – the Calabrian region of Italy’s mafia – is one of wealthiest and most powerful criminal organizations today. It is considered Italy’s most powerful mafia; it’s not only the main object of concern for anti-mafia units in Italy, but also for joint investigative teams in Europe and beyond. Combining autobiography, travel ethnography, memoir, academic rigour and investigative journalism, this book provides a global outlook on the ‘ndrangheta, taking the reader to small villages and locations in Italy and abroad to Australia, Canada, United States and Argentina.Table of ContentsPrologue 1. Mafia, Memories and Journeys 2. Wine, Cannabis and Ancestors: Rural Australia 3. Aspromonte, the Roots 4. From St Kilda to Kings Cross 5. Bombs, Bridges and Gold 6. North American Hybrids 7. The Port, the Sea and the Wrong Sun 8. ’Ndrangheta City and Spiderwebs Epilogue

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Book SynopsisThe classic, bestselling account of the infamous Kray twins, now a major film, starring Tom Hardy.Reggie and Ronnie Kray ruled London's gangland during the 60s with a ruthlessness and viciousness that shocks even now. Building an empire of organised crime that has never been matched, the brothers swindled, extorted and terrorised while enjoying a glittering celebrity status at the heart of the swinging 60s scene, until their downfall and imprisonment for life.Trade Review'The most famous biography of criminal life to have been published in Britain…a cult’ Time Out 'All credit to Mr. Pearson for a brave and disturbing book' Daily Express 'A scrupulous dossier of the Krays’ weird career' Daily Telegraph 'An exciting read' The Times 'Extremely well written and fittingly dead-pan' New Statesman

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Book SynopsisHerbert Asbury was born into a strictly Methodist family in Missouri in 1889. His pious background and his subsequent rejection of Methodism greatly influenced both his philosophy of life and his career as reporter and author. Indeed, many of his books deal with the darker, seamier side of American life. He is best know for his true crime books set in the 19th and early 20th century America. He died in 1963 of chronic lung problems, the legacy of a gas-attack in France during the first World War.Trade ReviewAsbury was a realist and mid-Western moralist whose book is, as Gopnik notes, 'a kind of surrealist collage of the city's secret history' -- Robert McCrum * Observer *Like one of the thugs he writes about, he really is an "extraordinary virtuoso in the art of mayhem" * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisAs a gun-wielding bank robber, Noel ''Razor'' Smith was top of the criminal tree, enjoying the excitement and benefits of a dangerous and adrenalin-filled career. But he''d also spent the greater part of his adult life in prison, an environment where respect and basic survival were guaranteed only to those prepared to use the most brutal violence. In his new book, Smith takes the story on from his highly acclaimed memoir A Few Kind Words and a Loaded Gun, and describes how he came to realize that the game wasn''t worth the candle. In his mid-forties he applied to enter Grendon, then the only prison in Britain offering intense therapeutic treatment to hardened criminals. He went from a brutal high-security prison, HMP Whitemoor, to an institution where he was encouraged to investigate just why his life had been given over to violence and crime. Smith paints an unforgettable portrait of the hardened and severely damaged inmates of Grendon, many of them guilty of famous crimes, and their attempts to turn round their lives. And in particular his own arduous five-year journey to re-enter society as a straight citizen.Trade ReviewA unique insight into how someone goes about changing the vile and destructive habits of a lifetime. A gripping read -- Will Self * The Times *Provocative, funny and thoughtful * Observer *It's saddening, angering and informative stuff * Metro *I can't put it down. Smith's accounts of life beyond the windowless walls [of prison] ... are chilling beyond belief -- Mark Ellen * Word *

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewA fascinating read -- Seán O'Rourke * Today with Seán O'Rourke, RTÉ *Explosive * Irish Sunday Mirror *

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Book SynopsisEvan Ratliff is an award-winning journalist and the co-founder and former editor-in-chief of The Atavist Magazine. As a longtime contributor to Wired, The New Yorker, National Geographic, Outside, and other magazines, he has reported from around the globe on transnational crime, science and technology, the environment, terrorism, and corruption. He is a two-time finalist for the National Magazine Awards, and his writing has been selected for numerous Best American collections. His 2009 Wired story Vanish, about his attempt to disappear and the public's effort to find him, was selected by the magazine as one of the twenty best stories in its history. He also cohosts the acclaimed Longform podcast and was a founding editor of Pop-Up Magazine, a live journalism event that tours the United States. He is the co-author of Safe: The Race to Protect Ourselves in a Newly Dangerous World, about innovation and counterterrorism, and the editoTrade ReviewWith his relentless and fearless reporting, Evan Ratliff has pried open a hidden world filled with high-tech gangsters and drug kingpins and double-crossers and stone-cold hitmen. The story is as fascinating as it is terrifying, and one that will hold you in its grip. * David Grann, author of Killers of the Flower Moon and The Lost City of Z *One of the most prodigious criminal masterminds or modern times. Compelling... meticulously researched and written with a feverish intensity. A masterwork of investigative journalism. * Daily Mail *A true crime classic. * Publishers Weekly *This is a riveting, mesmerizing, absolutely bonkers story about a man as brilliant as he is villainous. You'll find yourself sucked in, freaked out, and, ultimately, blown away by Ratliff's storytelling and tireless reporting. The Mastermind is a masterpiece. * Nicholas Thompson, editor in chief, Wired *The best book I read this year. It is the insane story of an internet drug lord and the years it took to bring him down. I read this with my heart in my throat—not just because of the violence and mystery, but because it made me jealous as a journalist (how’d he find that out?) and, though it is a true story, as a novelist. -- Taffy Brodesser-Akner, author of Fleishman Is in Trouble * GQ - Best Books of 2019 *

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Book SynopsisOne Sunday morning in 1993 a 16-year-old girl named Eliza Claps goes missing from a church in the centre of Potenza, Italy. Shortly before her disappearance, Elisa had met Danilo Restivo, a strange local boy with a fetish for cutting women''s hair on the back of buses. Elisa''s family are convinced that Resitvo is responsible for their daughter''s disappearance, but he is protected by local big-wigs: by his Sicilian father, by a doctor with links to organised crime, by a priest who had vices of his own. Years went by and Elisa''s family could find only false leads.2002, and Restivo is now living in Bournemouth. In November that year, his neighbour is found murdered, with strands of her own hair in her hands. Once again the police are at a loss to pin anything on him. It''s not until 2010, when Elisa''s decomposed body is found in the church where she went missing, that the two cases are linked and Restivo is finally dealt with. Blood on the Altar combines a gr

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Book SynopsisPreviously a solicitor for twenty-five years, James Morton then worked as editor of Law Journal and Criminal Lawyer. He is now a full-time writer and author of the bestselling Gangland series.Trade ReviewAn extraordinary insight into another world... He's so shamelessly upfront that you'll soon find yourself hanging on his every word. * Mirror *As entertaining as his last two works ... you would be mad to miss it. * Publishing News *

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Book SynopsisThis book aims to describe and demystify what makes organized criminal groups so culturally powerful. It examines their codes of conduct, initiation rites, secret communication methods, origin myths, symbols, and lifestyles that imbue them with the pride and nonchalance that go hand in hand with their criminal activities. Mobsters are everywhere in the movies, on television, on websites, and now in the Metaverse. Contemporary societies across the globe are fascinated by them. Why is this so? What features and constituents of organized criminal gangs make them so emotionally powerfulâto themselves and others? These are the questions that have guided the writing of the second edition of this textbook, which is intended as an introduction to organized crime from the angle of cultural analysis. Key topics include in this new edition: An historic overview of organized crime, including the social, economic, and cultural conditions that favor its development A description and character analysis of the type of people who make up organized criminal groups and the activities in which they engage The symbols, rituals, codes, and languages that characterize criminal institutions The relationship between traditional organized crime, cybercrime, and evolving forms of crime on the Dark Web and in the Metaverse The traditional and changing roles of women in organized crime The transnational operations of criminal groups Media portrayals of organized crime Policing responses to organized crime The use of technologies by the organized criminal groups Organized Crime includes case studies and offers an accessible, interdisciplinary approach to the subject of organized crime. It is essential reading for students engaged with organized crime across criminology, sociology, anthropology, and psychology.

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Book SynopsisThis Element investigates the relationship between the narcotics industry and politics. It claims that different manifestations of criminal politics arise depending on how different phases of drug-trafficking activity interact with the distinct politico-institutional endowments of Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.Table of Contents1. Introduction; 2. Conceptualizing criminal politics; 3. Case studies; 4. Implications; References.

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Book SynopsisA sheriff investigates his own brother''s murder, deep in the heart of Appalachia... Estranged after a devastating betrayal, brothers Victor and Frank Landis - sheriffs of neighbouring counties - hadn''t spoken for years. In truth, Victor didn''t care if Frank was alive or dead. Until the day somebody killed him. Crossing county lines in search of answers, Victor is soon on the trail of a sinister conspiracy that takes him deep into the heart of the Appalachian Mountains. From the poorest communities to the most powerful and corrupt organisations, he soon becomes ensnared in a dangerous web of drugs, trafficking and murder. For Victor, finding the truth will mean uncovering dark secrets he''d rather have left buried, and risking everything to protect the family his brother left behind...At once a gripping mystery and a moving portrait of life in an isolated, misunderstood community, The Last Highway is the latest atmospheric suspense novel from award-winning Sunday Times bestseller, RJ Ellory.PRAISE FOR R.J. ELLORY''Beautiful and haunting... A tour de force'' MICHAEL CONNELLY''Beautifully written novels that are also great mysteries'' JAMES PATTERSON''A uniquely gifted, passionate, and powerful writer'' ALAN FURST

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Book SynopsisThe gripping new gangland thriller from the Sunday Times bestseller and Queen of the Underworld, Jessie Keane.Once, he loved her. Now he''s going to put her away for murder.Christie Doyle is living the dream: she has a beautiful mansion on the South Downs with an infinity pool and stables, and her husband, Kenny, spoils her rotten. It''s her birthday and she is the centre of the most amazing party.And then the bombshell drops. Kenny confesses to an affair and asks for a divorce. Worse is to come when the ''other woman''- Lara, nineteen years old and pregnant with Kenny''s child - is found dead.Suspicion falls on Christie and the Doyles'' life is ripped apart as the police hunt for evidence: lead investigator DCI Dexter Cooper is a face from Christie''s own troubled past and he knows better than anyone what she is capable of.The race to unmask a killer is on...Trade ReviewA brilliant historical crime read * Bella *This thrilling and twisty crime novel is perfect for fans of Martina Cole * My Weekly *Mills & Boon meets Peaky Blinders in a mix of heaving bosoms and cut-throat razors * The Sun *A gritty and enlightening read * Yours *No one delves into the underworld like Keane! * Woman's Weekly *Authentically gritty! * Crime Monthly *Another charged gangland thriller from the bestselling author * Woman's Weekly *An epic drama starring an unforgettable heroine. Keane...has a wicked eye for the ruthless, fiercely factional criminal underworld and her books never fail to pack a powerful punch... Every story that Keane writes transports her readers into the heart of a terrifying but addictive underworld, and into the lives of people of every shade... And this cracking page-turner is certainly packed with Keane's trademark cast of larger-than-life characters - each superbly fleshed out and each inhabiting a world so palpably real that we can feel the menace... Brimming with drama, suspense, cruelty and the kind of gobsmacking violence that has made Keane one of the most powerful writers in contemporary crime fiction, this is full-on, eye-watering (of every kind!) entertainment from start to finish! * Lancashire Evening Post *

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Book SynopsisLive on the wrong side of the law with Britain’s gangsters, Peaky Blinders, godfathers, robbers, informers, kingpins, vice lords and career criminals***The Sunday Times Bestseller ***With stories of murder, theft, fraud and treachery, The Underworld is a deep-dive into the history of professional and organised crime in Britain. From the racetrack gangs and the smash-and-grab merchants, through the Soho vice bosses and the Kray twins, to the Great Train Robbers, the Hatton Garden burglars and the new wave of international hit-men and drug and sex traffickers, Duncan Campbell exposes the dark underbelly of Britain.A unique perspective – told by the criminals themselves and the detective who pursued them – this is a definitive history from the very beginning to the present day.Trade ReviewWhen it comes to stellar crime reporting, Duncan Campbell is the absolute maestro * Baroness Helena Kennedy QC *Duncan Campbell remains one of the very few journalists who has retained the criminal fraternity’s trust and respect * Howard Marks, author of Mr Nice *

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Book SynopsisThe killing took place outside a busy coffee bar in Naples in broad daylight. Pupetta was eighteen years old and six months pregnant when she pulled the gun from her bag.The victim?A man known as Big Tony who had ordered the hit on her husband just months earlier...In this unputdownable exposé of women in the Mafia, investigative journalist Barbie Latza Nadeau tells the stories of the women who have risen to prominence in the Italian mob, beginning with the first documented female boss, the infamous Pupetta Maresca. Through personal interviews and groundbreaking research, Nadeau gives us a jaw-dropping 360-degree view of the dark underbelly of Italian society, taking us deeper into the Mafia and its complex realities than ever before.'Takes the reader into the little-known role of the women that underpin Italy's most ruthless mob families' Sara Gay Forden, author of House of Gucci'An unflinching portrait of one the original divas of organised crime' Clare Longrigg, author of Mafia Women'A must for true-crime fans' Publishers WeeklyTrade ReviewMeet 'Lady Camorra', one of the first female mafia bosses, as she sips coffee and drums her black-lacquered fingernails on her kitchen table. The Godmother takes the reader into the little-known role of the women that underpin Italy's most ruthless mob families and are forced to reckon with the social and sexual codes governing the violent reality of mafioso rule * Sara Gay Forden, author HOUSE OF GUCCI *An unflinching portrait of one the original divas of organised crime * Clare Longrigg, author of Mafia Women *Nuanced and skillfully reported, Barbie Latza Nadeau's work brilliantly reveals the unique prism of gender that both disenfranchises and facilitates women in the mafia * Koa Beck, author of White Feminism *

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Book Synopsis*** THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER ***'A brilliant historical crime read' Bella'This thrilling and twisty crime novel is perfect for fans of Martina Cole' My Weekly'A rollercoaster of crime, revenge and murder' The SunBEHIND EVERY STRONG WOMAN IS AN EPIC STORY...In the early years of the last century, a desperate young girl changes her name and flees the confines of her brutal, dominating gangland family in London. Now calling herself 'Diamond Dupree', she goes to Paris to become an artist's model but the world there is different to what she had supposed it would be and she soon falls on hard times. When she manages to escape at the end of the First World War, she leaves behind her a mystery - and a dead man.Back home in London, she reluctantly re-joins the Soho family 'firm' she'd once been glad to leave behind. Having grown tougher during her time in Paris, she soon becomes a force to be reckoned with, a feared and respected gangland queen. But then she meets Richard Beaumont, the youngest son of a wealthy aristocratic family, and sparks fly. But can she escape the long arm of the law and the hangman's noose, when the crimes of her past finally catch up with her?For fans of Martina Cole and Kimberley Chambers, as well as viewers of Peaky Blinders, this is historical crime fiction at its most compelling.'No one delves into the underworld like Keane!' Woman's Weekly'A gritty and enlightening read' Yours'Authentically gritty' Crime MonthlyTrade ReviewA brilliant historical crime read * Bella *An epic drama starring an unforgettable heroine. Keane...has a wicked eye for the ruthless, fiercely factional criminal underworld and her books never fail to pack a powerful punch... Every story that Keane writes transports her readers into the heart of a terrifying but addictive underworld, and into the lives of people of every shade... And this cracking page-turner is certainly packed with Keane's trademark cast of larger-than-life characters - each superbly fleshed out and each inhabiting a world so palpably real that we can feel the menace... Brimming with drama, suspense, cruelty and the kind of gobsmacking violence that has made Keane one of the most powerful writers in contemporary crime fiction, this is full-on, eye-watering (of every kind!) entertainment from start to finish * Lancashire Evening Post *This thrilling and twisty crime novel is perfect for fans of Martina Cole * My Weekly *Mills & Boon meets Peaky Blinders in a mix of heaving bosoms and cut-throat razors * The Sun *A gritty and enlightening read * Yours *No one delves into the underworld like Keane! * Woman's Weekly *Authentically gritty * Crime Monthly *

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Book SynopsisTHE CARTER WOMEN DON'T FOLLOW THE RULES: THEY MAKE THEM.The brilliant new gangland thriller from the Sunday Times bestselling author of DIAMOND.Gangster Max Carter and his ex-wife Annie Carter are leading separate lives in separate countries: past hurts and broken promises cannot be resolved. But then a summons to Majorca and a tragic death makes Max question all that has happened to him over many years.He had two brothers - both are now dead. His closest friend has been found hanging from a London bridge. As the police wrestle with a seemingly unsolvable case, Max is forced to revisit his painful past to find answers to a mystery that seems to make no sense at all. Who is targeting his family and why?Annie Carter is at a crossroads in life. She has a luxurious lifestyle but no one to share it with, and Max clearly thinks she is in danger too. Her daughter, Layla, has left her mafia lover Alberto Barolli and is back in London, stumbling into the police investigation and making waves. You should never go back, so the old saying goes. But then, the Carter women don't follow the rules, they make them.And when the truth of what's been happening is finally revealed, will the Carter family stand together - or will it finish them for good?'We love a gangland thriller - and no one writes them better than Jessie Keane' CLOSER'If you enjoy gangster flicks such as Legend you'll love Never Go Back' YOURS* PRE-ORDER JESSIE'S NEXT NOVEL, DEAD HEAT, NOW! *

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Book SynopsisA gripping gangland thriller that sees heroine crime boss Kerry Casey in jail - for fans of Kimberley Chambers, Martina Cole and Jessie Keane'MARTINA COLE FANS WILL LOVE THIS' DAILY MIRRORKerry Casey is still reeling from the bombshell that her lover, undercover cop Vinny Burns, has gone missing in Spain. She's pregnant with his baby and will do anything to find him.One night, driving along a country road, Kerry and her Uncle Danny are ambushed by gunmen. In the confusion that follows, shots are fired and two men are murdered. Kerry and Danny can only look on as the bodies are dragged from their assailant's car and placed in their own.The police arrive in minutes. With cocaine, dead bodies and guns in the car, it looks like an open-and-shut case.Kerry's been framed. She is forced to wait out her fate inside a women's prison, still not knowing what has happened to Vinnie. On the outside the Casey gang are hunting down the men who did this to her and they will stop at nothing to find them.

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Book SynopsisForget what you think you know about the Mafia. After reading this book, even life-long mob aficionados will have a new perspective on organized crime. Informative, authoritative, and eye-opening, this is the first full-length book devoted exclusively to uncovering the hidden history of how the Mafia came to dominate organized crime in New York City during the 1930s through 1950s. Based on exhaustive research of archives and secret files obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, author and attorney C. Alexander Hortis draws on the deepest collection of primary sources, many newly discovered, of any history of the modern mob. Shattering myths, Hortis reveals how Cosa Nostra actually obtained power at the inception. The author goes beyond conventional who-shot-who mob stories, providing answers to fresh questions such as: * Why did the Sicilian gangs come out on top of the criminal underworld? * Can economics explain how the Mafia families operated? * What was the Mafia's real role in the drug trade? * Why was Cosa Nostra involved in gay bars in New York since the 1930s? Drawing on an unprecedented array of primary sources, The Mob and the City is the most thorough and authentic history of the Mafia's rise to power in the early-to-mid twentieth century.

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Book SynopsisThis first critical history of a street gang in a Canadian city is a result of a four-year collaboration between a university professor (Ted Rutland) and the leader of les Bélangers (Maxime Aurélien). Out to Defend Ourselves tells the story of Montreal's first Haitian street gang, les Bélangers. It traces how the gang emerged from a group of Haitian friends, the children of migrants from Haiti in the 1970s. It documents the forms of racial violence they experienced and their battles against them. It also documents the everyday lives of the gang members, the petty crime some members engaged in to make ends meet, and how the police actions against the gang changed its nature and function – making it, finally, a more criminally oriented and violent formation. It is a story about a gang, but it is also a story of young Haitians making their lives in 1970s and 80s Montreal and a story about Montreal in a period of great change.

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Book SynopsisTO KNOW THE TRUE STORY BEHIND A WAR, ASK THE PEOPLE WHO FOUGHT IT 'An observation van is running surveillance on a high-level Bradford gangster. Suddenly the van is surrounded by men in balaclavas and tied shut. Out comes the can of petrol. It is set alight and the two cops inside barely escape with their lives. This incident is never reported. The gangsters clearly have informants inside the police and alerting the public would undermine the force. Everyone shrugs it off – with so much money in the drugs game, corruption is part and parcel of the whole deal' The Drug Wars have been fought on British streets for decades, bringing destruction, corruption and violence in their wake. Yet it is a story that remains fundamentally untold. Until now. In this groundbreaking book, former undercover police officer Neil Woods, who risked his life infiltrating some of the UK's most vicious gangs, pieces together the complex and terrifying reality of the drug war in Britain. Calling upon gripping first-hand accounts from those on both sides of the battle, Drug Wars is told by those who are fighting it.Trade ReviewAnyone who cares about Britain should read this extraordinary and riveting book. It will change how you see our country - and lots of things that seemed strange will start to make sense. -- Johann HariIf you want to understand how Britain succumbed to a self-defeating war on drugs benefiting only the most vicious gangsters, this book is the perfect primer with its highly-readable fusion of analysis, history and first person testimonies from the front line. -- Ian Birrell

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Book SynopsisDecember, 2014: In the forbidding waters off Antarctica, Captain Hammarstedt of the Bob Barker embarks on a voyage unlike any seen before. Across ten thousand miles of hazardous seas, Hammerstedt's crew will relentlessly pursue the Thunder - an infamous illegal fishing ship - for what will become the longest chase in maritime history. Wanted by Interpol, the Thunder has for years evaded justice: accumulating millions in profits, hunting endangered species and ruthlessly destroying ocean habitats. The authors follow this incredible expedition from the beginning. But even as seasoned journalists, they cannot anticipate what the chase will uncover, as the wake of the Thunder leads them to trail of criminal kingpins, rampant corruption, modern slavery and an international community content to turn a blind eye. Very soon, catching Thunder becomes more than a chase but a pursuit of the truth itself and a symbolic race to preserve the well-being of our planet. A Scandinavian bestseller, Catching Thunder is a remarkable true story of courage and perseverance, and a wake-up call to act against the destruction of our environments.Trade Review'This 110-day, round-the-world pursuit of a rogue trawler reads like a noir thriller ... recorded with flair and precision. The book promises all the pleasures of a crime novel, but it is after bigger game.' 5/5* Telegraph; 'An uproarious adventure - one predicated on the protestors’ ferocious sense of moral rectitude. Engdal and Sæter are energetic writers with a sense of pace and cinematic detail … Catching Thunder is an exciting read.' Spectator; 'A gripping story ... A clarion call for those who want to save our seas.' National Geographic Traveller; 'A true story that reads like a spy novel, peppered with scary organized crime villains, charismatic environmental activists and Interpol agents, and enough tidbits about sailing treacherous seas, commercial fishing, and endangered species to satisfy the most dedicated nautical adventure fan.' 5/5* Foreword Reviews; 'This is a modern pirate story, but the plunder isn't pieces of eight – it's the Patagonian Toothfish, as valuable as narcotics … A solid piece of collaborative journalism.' Sydney Morning Herald; `True adventure, life and death moments, and real life heroism: what reader could ask for more?’ Ingrid Newkirk, President, PETA; 'Engdal and Sæter are to journalism what Jagger and Richards are to rock and roll – sexy, irreverent and brilliant.' Luke Harding, Guardian journalist and author of The Snowden Files; `This is the story of our time: the blind destruction of the oceans and our ecosphere, and the actions of those with the courage to stand up and confront it.’ Peter Heller, author of The Whale Warriors and Celine; `The pursuit of the Thunder has become celebrated folklore by those of us fighting to protect our oceans. This is a captivating story, one which highlights the weaknesses in the global system but also, ultimately, gives us hope.’ Tony Long, CEO, Global Fishing WatchTable of Contents1. The Pirate2. "The Bandit 6"3. Operation Icefish4. The Occupation5. Hot Pursuit6. Operation Spillway7. The Ice8. Vesturvon9. The Pirate Capital10. The Storm11. The Secret Channel12. The Longest Day13. The Shipmaster14. Desolation Island15. The Phantom Ship16. The Wall of Death17. The World Record18. "The Only Sheriff in Town"19. The Flying Mariner20. A Bloody Nightmare21. La Mafia Gallega22. God's Fingerprint23. Buenas Tardes, Bob Barker24. Message in a Bottle25. Raid on the High Seas26. Operation Sparrow27. Exercise Good Hope28. The Bird of Ill Omen29. The Wanderer30. The Man in the Arena31. The Third Ship32. "You Are Nothing"33. The Snake in Paradise34. The Armpit of Africa35. Mayday36. A Weird Dream37. A Last Resort38. The Island of Rumours39. 48 Hours40. Three Condemned Men41. The Luck of the Draw42. The Escape43. The Unluckiest Ship in the World44. The Judgment45. Prisoners' Island46. The Man from Mongolia47. The Last Viking48. Operation Yuyus49. The Tiantai Mystery50. A Dirty Business51. The Showdown52. The Madonna and the Octopus53. The Final Act

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Book SynopsisFor fans of Christopher Berry-Dee's Talking with Serial Killers series, this chilling new book explores the dark heart of Russia. For decades, it has been assumed that the United States of America was the serial killer capital of the world.Now, criminologists believe that Russia (and previously the Soviet Union) has been, secretly, the biggest home of serial killers for almost a century.In Serial Killers of Russia, bestselling true crime author Wensley Clarkson reveals the inside stories and gruesome details behind the country's most notorious and previously unknown murderers. Using information from a vast range of new and archive sources, Clarkson tells stories of the dangerous, the devious and the truly shocking, and tackles why the nation has become a breeding ground for humanity's most evil.These are the most horrifying cases from the darkest corners of Russia.

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