Profession of Violence: Rise and Fall of the Kray Twins

by John Pearson

Reggie and Ronald Kray ruled London's gangland during the 1960s with a ruthlessness and viciousness that shocks even now. This book has been expanded to include further material on such matters as Lord Boothby's close relationship with the killer twins.

Genres: True Crime

336 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication January 1, 2049

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

John Pearson is a renowned author and journalist who books include The Profession of Violence, his famous biography of the Kray twins which won the Edgar Allan Poe Special Award, The Life of Ian Fleming, The Life of James Bond, The Sitwells and Painfully Rich: The Outrageous Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Heirs of J. Paul Getty and The Cult of Violence.

Reviews

[Liliana · Rating 4 out of 5]

My interest in the Kray Twins was peaked after the "Legend" movie. Perfectly titled, by the way. Legends in their own mind. By pure intimidation, they thought themselves as invincible and invulnerable. This deluded, overall inflated sense of self, was their very downfall. These pair are the most glorified criminals I've ever seen. Violent sociopaths disguised as mummy's boys. The kind of men that only pathetic men could worship, and foolish women who still believe that wearing a suit makes you a respectful and charming character. The majority of their following is so brainwashed on the idea of them as misguided, merely troublesome boys who still did more good than harm for society. Perhaps, because they and their families were never on the receiving end. Ron was a certified, dangerous, paranoid schizophrenic (and pedophile) who should have stayed locked up forever from the get-go. Reggie, the lesser of two evils, but still more than willing to partake in any violence his brother set his sights on. Still selfish and manipulative, wolves in sheep's clothing.

With the media I've consumed about these wannabe mafiosos, my attention and heart continues to solely go out to Frances Shea, the ill-fated first wife of Reggie. While I do not believe she was murdered, she is as much as a victim as the rest of them. She didn't stand a single chance. Her wishes to return to her maiden name were denied, her family lost the right of having her remains/grave closer to them. Why? Because the Kray's nephew was deliberately buried on top of her resting place. I struggle to comprehend the twisted kind of love Reginald had for her. Maybe, because he knew, deep down, much like the color of their headstones indicates, Frances is the only, pure, white light in this drowning sea of darkness.

Make no mistake, the only woman those men truly respected was their blindly devoted mother. How that makes them redeemable to some folks, I'll never understand such an absurdity. The violence on which they freely committed was abhorrent and utterly psychotic. They were not good people. They were murderers, plain and simple. I appreciate how well-written this book was, though my copy was so old, it had misspellings and grammatical errors. I think this book was more than enough to settle any floating questions or further thoughts I might have had. I'm quite alright to never think about them again.

[Ellie Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellently written. After watching the film ‘legend’ wanted to read the book in which the film was based on. The attention to detail in this book is good. It’s almost like an autobiography you see them starting as young boys and how they ended up ‘professions in violence’. The fact the author personally had them really helped to tell there story.