18 books like Tishomingo Blues

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

Smaldone Dick Kreck · 2009 · ★ 2.0 I never thought it would end.—Clyde SmaldoneStarted by Italian brothers from North Denver, the high-profile Smaldone crime syndicate began in the bootlegging days of the 1920s and flourished well into the late twentieth century. Connected to such notorious crime figures as Al Capone and Carlos Marcello, as well as to presidents and other politicians, charismatic Clyde Smaldone was the crime… Shares: Gangsters, Mafia, Organized crime, Criminals

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, Criminals

The Godfather Mario Puzo · 1969 · ★ 4.4 · 450p · ≈ 15h · Moderate The Godfather is a crime novel by American author Mario Puzo. Originally published in 1969 by G. P. Putnam's Sons, the novel details the story of a fictional Mafia family in New York City (and Long Beach, New York), headed by Vito Corleone. Puzo's dedication for The Godfather is "For Anthony Cleri". The novel's epigraph is by the French author Honoré de Balzac: "Behind every great fortune there… Shares: Mafia, Organized crime, Criminals, Mystery

Close Martina Cole · 2006 · ★ 4.1 · 512p · ≈ 17h · Moderate Don't miss NO REGRET, the brand new novel from Martina Cole. Coming October 2025. She'll do whatever it takes to keep them together... Hard-hitting and uncompromising, CLOSE by the 'undisputed queen of crime writing' (Guardian) and Sunday Times No.1 bestseller Martina Cole tells the story of a woman determined to protect her family from an increasingly dangerous world... Patrick Brodie knows… Shares: Gangsters, Criminals

The profession of violence John Pearson · 1972 · ★ 3.5 · 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

Live by Night Dennis Lehane · 2012 · ★ 3.5 · 416p · ≈ 13h · Moderate Joe Coughlin is nineteen when he meets Emma Gould. A smalltime thief in 1920s Boston, his task is to tie her up while his accomplices loot the bank she works in. But Joe falls in love with Emma - and his life changes forever. That meeting is the beginning of Joe's journey to becoming one of the most feared and respected gangsters. It is a journey beset by violence, double-crossing, drama and… Shares: Gangsters, Organized crime, Criminals

The History of the Life of Jonathan Wild, the Great Henry Fielding · 1754 · ★ 3.4 · 287p · ≈ 9h · Demanding This book is a satire of Walpole that draws a parallel between Walpole and Jonathan Wild, the infamous gang leader and highwayman. He implicitly compares the Whig party in Parliament with a gang of thieves being run by Walpole, whose constant desire to be a "Great Man" (a common epithet for Walpole) should culminate only in the antithesis of greatness: being hanged. Shares: Organized crime, Criminals

Gangster warlords Ioan Grillo · 2016 · 377p · ≈ 12h · Moderate "In a ranch south of Texas, the man known as The Executioner dumps five hundred body parts in metal barrels. In Brazil's biggest city, a mysterious prisoner orders hit-men to gun down forty-one police officers and prison guards in two days. In southern Mexico, a meth maker is venerated as a saint while enforcing Old Testament justice on his enemies. A new kind of criminal kingpin has arisen: part… Shares: Gangsters, Organized crime, Criminals

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

The Day of the Owl Leonardo Sciascia · 1984 · 124p · ≈ 4h · Moderate A man is shot dead as he runs to catch the bus in the piazza of a small Sicilian town. Captain Bellodi, the detective on the case, is new to his job and determined to prove himself. Bellodi suspects the Mafia, and his suspicions grow when he finds himself up against an apparently unbreachable wall of silence. A surprise turn puts him on the track of a series of nasty crimes. But all the while… Shares: Mafia, Murder

Big Shots Adam Shand · 2007 · ★ 3.5 · 423p · ≈ 14h · Moderate Vast shoplifting ring operating in Britain'A highly organised gang of Australian shoplifters is at work in Britain stealing goods worth hundreds of thousands of pounds a year. New members of the gang are flown from Australia whenever the organisers want replacements.'The Guardian, 15 August 1968From the mid 1960s, a brazen band of Australian thieves ran riot in London for more than a decade,… Shares: Organized crime, Murder

The Camorra Tom Behan · 1995 · 234p · ≈ 7h · Moderate Over the last twenty years the camorra of Naples and the surrounding region has risen to a level of strength rivalling that of the Sicilian mafia.This is not a new organization: the Camorra first emerged in the last century, several decades before the mafia. Tom Behan traces the history of the organization from its inception to the present. Until the 1970s the extent of its influence fluctuated,… Shares: Mafia, Organized crime

Betrayal Martina Cole · 2016 · 468p · ≈ 15h · Moderate Betrayal is the twenty-third novel from Sunday Times No. 1 bestseller, Martina Cole, author of DANGEROUS LADY, THE TAKE, GET EVEN and many more. The 'undisputed queen of crime writing' (Guardian) and the biggest selling female crime writer in the UK, Martina's unique, powerful storytelling will appeal to fans of Karin Slaughter and Patricia Cornwell. Survival. It's all down to who you trust.… Shares: Gangsters, Romance & Relationships

Hot Springs Stephen Hunter · 2000 · 560p · ≈ 18h · Moderate "In the summer of 1946, the most wide-open town in America is Hot Springs, Arkansas, a city of ancient, legendary corruption. While the pilgirms take the cure in the mineral-rich 142-degree water that bubbles from the earth, the brothels and casinos are the true source of the town's prosperity. It is run by an English-born gangster named Owney Maddox, who represents the New York syndicate and… Shares: Gangsters, Criminals

The Drop Dennis Lehane · 2001 · ★ 3.8 · 207p · ≈ 6h · Moderate Originall published in slightly different form as "Animal Rescue" in Boston Noir, published in 2009 by Akashic Books. Shares: Gangsters, Organized crime, Criminals, Mystery

The origin of organized crime in America David Critchley · 2008 · 348p · ≈ 11h · Moderate While the later history of the New York Mafia has received extensive attention, what has been conspicuously absent until now is an accurate and conversant review of the formative years of Mafia organizational growth. David Critchley examines the Mafia recruitment process, relations with Mafias in Sicily, the role of non-Sicilians in New York’s organized crime Families, kinship connections, the… Shares: Mafia, Organized crime

REVERSIBLE DESTINY JANE AND PETER SCHNEIDER SCHNEIDER · 2003 · 352p · ≈ 11h · Moderate Shares: Mafia, Organized crime

The Good Rat LP Jimmy Breslin · 2008 · ★ 3.0 · 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

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