18 books like Smaldone

What to read after Smaldone — books similar to it, matched on shared themes.

Mafia son Sandra Harmon · 2009 · ★ 4.0 · 301p · ≈ 10h · Moderate In this dark, jagged true crime thriller, wily mob head Gregory Scarpa Sr. (alias the "Grim Reaper") secretly steals and kills under FBI protection for decades. When faced with arrest for his own crimes, he betrays his adoring son, Gregory Jr., whom he'd groomed to take his place. Taking the fall for his father out of familial respect and love, the young Scarpa endures decades of maximum security… Shares Gangsters, Mafia, Organized crime, Case studies

Mob star Gene Mustain · 1988 · ★ 4.3 · 269p · ≈ 8h · Moderate John Gotti is terminally ill; when he passes on to that great Mafia in the sky, co-author Capeci will be in great demand for interviews and will the plug the book.As he battles terminal cancer in a federal prison in Illinois, John Gotti, still the acting head of the Gambino Mafia family, is constantly in the news. Once Mr. Gotti ascends to Mafia heaven, he will be worldwide news-and Alpha will… Shares Organized crime, Case studies, Criminals, True Crime

The private diary of Lyle Menendez Lyle Menendez · 1993 · ★ 4.6 · 263p · ≈ 8h · Moderate The personal story of Lyle Menendez is based on a four-and-a-half-year intimate correspondence with the author and covers the murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez by Lyle and his brother Erik and the court trials that ended in hung juries. Shares Case studies, Criminals, True Crime, Biography & Memoir

A rip in Heaven Jeanine Cummins · 2004 · ★ 4.2 · 302p · ≈ 10h · Moderate It was a headline story in the New York Times and USA Today. It was covered by Court TV and profiled on the Ricki Lake Show. Now, here is the intimate memoir of a shocking crime and its aftermath...one family's immediate and unforgettable story of what victims can suffer long after they should be safe. Shares Case studies, True Crime, Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir

The Authentic Life of Billy, The Kid Pat Garrett · 2008 · 128p · ≈ 4h · Light Hankering for a mostly true tale about the hard-living desperadoes who inhabited America's desert Southwest in the mid-1800s? This biography of the ill-fated gunslinger Billy, the Kid was written by Pat Garrett, the sheriff who shot Billy down. Although some historians now question the veracity of some of the self-aggrandizing bluster Garrett and his ghostwriter included in the book, The… Shares True Crime, Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir

Nutcracker Shana Alexander · 1985 · ★ 4.1 · 453p · ≈ 15h · Moderate Nutcracker begins at the ballet but tells the story of a seemingly wholesome all-American family, whose tranquil life's surface erupted in shocking acts of avarice, theft and murder. The victim was Franklin Bradshaw, Mormon self-made millionaire, workaholic. The killer was Bradshaw's grandson, prep school student. The architect of the crime was said to be Frances Schreuder, Bradshaw's daughter,… Shares Case studies, Criminals, True Crime, Biography & Memoir

The Good Rat LP Jimmy Breslin · 2008 · ★ 4.0 · 296p · ≈ 9h · Moderate "I didn't tell anyone that I was going to Santa Fe to kill myself."On the outside, Terri Cheney was a highly successful, attractive Beverly Hills entertainment lawyer. But behind her seemingly flawless facade lay a dangerous secret—for the better part of her life Cheney had been battling debilitating bipolar disorder and concealing a pharmacy's worth of prescriptions meant to stabilize her moods… Shares Mafia, Organized crime, True Crime, Nonfiction

The profession of violence John Pearson · 1972 · ★ 4.0 · 336p · ≈ 11h · Moderate John Pearson details the lives of Reggie and Ronnie Kray, the infamous brothers who, for decades, ruled the criminal underground in London's East End. This biography of the identical twins is, at times, humorous and revealing, but always maintains a clear-eyed view of the seriousness of the brothers' crimes. An absorbing read. Shares Gangsters, Organized crime, Criminals, True Crime

Paddy Whacked T. J. English · 2005 · ★ 4.3 · 480p · ≈ 16h · Moderate Here is the shocking true saga of the Irish American mob. In Paddy Whacked, bestselling author and organized crime expert T. J. English brings to life nearly two centuries of Irish American gangsterism, which spawned such unforgettable characters as Mike "King Mike" McDonald, Chicago's subterranean godfather; Big Bill Dwyer, New York's most notorious rumrunner during Prohibition; Mickey… Shares Gangsters, Organized crime, Criminals, True Crime

Crimes of Passion Howard Engel · 2001 · 239p · ≈ 7h · Moderate The very term "crimes of passion" evokes deep-seated, atavistic responses in everyone's heart. These are the crimes that are born in the emotional core of women and men who are pushed to do the unthinkable. There are never - well, hardly ever - any of the crass considerations of financial gain, no taint of reward; only release. These crimes are direct responses to betrayal, to broken hearts and… Shares Case studies, True Crime, History

The Company She Keeps Georgia Durante · 1998 · ★ 4.0 · 456p · ≈ 15h · Moderate A female Goodfellas— the true story of A supermodel turned getaway driver for the mob.All-American beauty Georgia Durante was one of the most photographed models in the country when she married mobster Joe Lamendola. It plunged her into a world she never dreamed of—and one she feared she’d never survive—as a getaway driver for the Mafia and an eyewitness to unspeakable violence, brutality, and… Shares Mafia, Case studies, True Crime, Nonfiction

A Talent to Deceive William Norris · 2006 · 327p · ≈ 10h · Moderate The kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh's infant son, and the subsequent trial and execution of Bruno Richard Hauptmann, have been a source of fascination for more than 70 years. Now, for the first time, William Norris delves into sources of information ignored by previous investigators and comes up with the identity of the true culprit. Lindbergh is exposed as having obstructed the… Shares True Crime, Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir

Tishomingo Blues

Tishomingo Blues Elmore Leonard · 1975 · ★ 4.0 · 308p · ≈ 10h · Moderate Dennis Lenahan is a daredevil and the girls love him. Things are going along okay with his gig at the Tishomingo Lodge & Casino in Tunica, Mississippi, "the Casino Capital of the South," until the day he looks down from the high-dive platform and witnesses a mob hit -- Dixie style. The killer looks up and says, "Let's see you dive." Suddenly, being a daredevil has lost its kick. Leonard calls… Shares Gangsters, Mafia, Organized crime, Criminals

Hit #29 Joey. · 1974 · 248p · ≈ 8h · Moderate Shares Mafia, Case studies, Criminals, True Crime with this book.

Blood Relation Eric Konigsberg · 2005 · ★ 4.0 · 288p · ≈ 9h · Moderate Growing up in a household that seemed "as generic as midwestern Jews get," Eric Konigsberg never imagined there was anything remotely mysterious about his family—until he learned from an ex-cop groundskeeper that his great-uncle Harold "Kayo" Konigsberg had been a legendary Mafia enforcer, suspected by the F.B.I. of upwards of twenty murders.In Blood Relation, Eric Konigsberg unspools the lurid… Shares Gangsters, Case studies, True Crime, Nonfiction

Invisible Darkness Stephen Williams · 1996 · ★ 4.0 Invisible Darkness is the story of one of the more bizarre cases in recent memory--killings so sensational that they prompted the Canadian government, in the interests of justice, to silence its national press and to lock foreign journalists out of the courts.To all appearances, Paul and Karla Bernardo had a fairytale marriage--beautiful working-class girl weds bright upper-middle-class guy and… Shares True Crime, Nonfiction

The Camorra Tom Behan · 1995 · 234p · ≈ 7h · Moderate Shares Mafia, Organized crime, True Crime, History with this book.

Torches Together Emmy Arnold · 1964 · 220p · ≈ 7h · Moderate **Not many people talk about "joy" these days.** Emmy Arnold's memoir radiates just that - an enthusiasm for life and an unflagging optimism grounded in faith. In a genre awash in sordid sex and dysfunctional relationships, she offers a refreshing account of a hard life lived victoriously, of people brought together, despite their own weakness and turbulent times, to experience new levels of… Shares Biography & Memoir, History

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