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Meet the Kellys:

The True Story of Machine Gun Kelly and His Moll Kathryn Thorne

It’s 1933 and Prohibition has given rise to the American gangster. Bank robberies at gunpoint are commonplace and kidnapping for ransom is the scourge of a lawless nation. With local cops unauthorized to cross state lines in pursuit and no national police force, safety for kidnappers is just a short trip on back roads they know well from their bootlegging days. Gangster George “Machine Gun” Kelly and his wife, Kathryn, are the most celebrated criminal husband-and-wife team of the Great Depression. With gin-running operations facing extinction and bank vaults with dwindling stores of cash, Kathryn persuades Kelly to set his sights on the easy-money racket of kidnapping. His target: rich oilman, Charles Urschel.

Enter J. Edgar Hoover, a desperate Justice Department bureaucrat who badly needs a successful prosecution to impress the new administration and save his job. Hoover’s agents are given the sole authority to chase kidnappers across state lines and when Kelly bungles the snatch job, Hoover senses his big opportunity. The Kellys abduct a young girl to help them avoid capture. What follows is a thrilling 20,000 mile chase over the back roads of Depression-era America, crossing 16 state lines, and generating headlines across America along the way.

The Kellys’ crimes and subsequent arrests marked a number of significant firsts for the American justice system. The Kellys were the first to be tried after the Lindburgh Law was approved by Congress. The Kellys were the first gangsters to be transported by plane to the location of their trial and their trial was the first to be filmed. The FBI National Emergency Phoneline created to manage the increased number of high-profile abductions was first used by the victims of the Kellys’ kidnapping escapade. The ransom the Kellys received in the kidnapping was the largest ransom ever paid in the nation.

To learn more about the criminal duo read

Meet the Kellys:

The True Story of Machine Gun Kelly and His Moll Kathryn Thorne.

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Enter now to win a copy of

Meet the Kellys:

The True Story of Machine Gun Kelly and His Moll Kathryn Thorne

“Going to see Bonnie and Clyde at a local drive-in was the start of my interest in the Great Depression and that era’s gangsters. Bonnie and Clyde. Pretty Boy Floyd. John Dillinger. Ma Barker. Bugs Moran. I’m not quite sure why I found these gangsters to be so fascinating. I didn’t think they were romantic. I certainly didn’t want to emulate them. I think it probably had something to do with how people reacted to and survived the Great Depression. So, it’s no wonder that when I heard about Meet the Kellys that I wanted to read it.

I was familiar with other books written by Chris Enss, so I was expecting a well-researched history of Kelly and Thorne. That’s exactly what I got. Kathryn Thorne saw the potential in small-time bootlegger George Kelly to give her the lifestyle she had always craved. And with her gift of a machine gun to Kelly, history was made. The couple’s endless road trips not only had me hearing some of the music from Bonnie and Clyde, but they almost made me carsick.

I learned quite a bit from this book. I’d forgotten how kidnapping had taken center stage for several of these gangsters, so much so that the government passed the Federal Kidnapping Act in an attempt to put an end to it. In true diva style, when everything disintegrated, Kathryn Thorne tried her best to keep herself and her parents out of jail. She was definitely what my family would refer to as a “piece of work.” If you have any interest at all in this time period, Meet the Kellys is well worth a read.” Net Galley Reviewer

Meet the Kellys

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Meet the Kellys:

The True Story of Machine Gun Kelly and His Moll Kathryn Thorne

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Meet the Kellys:

The True Story of Machine Gun Kelly and His Moll Kathryn Thorne

“Meet the Kellys: The True Story of Machine Gun Kelly and His Moll Kathryn Thorne by Christopher Enss was an interesting read. I’d heard of Machine Gun Kelly, but didn’t know much about him and I’d never heard of Kathryn Moll. I enjoy books that both entertain and inform me and this book did it.”

Apart from referring to me as “Christopher”, I appreciate the review.

Enter now to win a copy of

Meet the Kellys:

The True Story of Machine Gun Kelly and His Moll Kathryn Thorne.

Enter now to win a copy of

Meet the Kellys:

The True Story of Machine Gun Kelly and His Moll Kathryn Thorne

“Going to see Bonnie and Clyde at a local drive-in was the start of my interest in the Great Depression and that era’s gangsters. Bonnie and Clyde. Pretty Boy Floyd. John Dillinger. Ma Barker. Bugs Moran. I’m not quite sure why I found these gangsters to be so fascinating. I didn’t think they were romantic. I certainly didn’t want to emulate them. I think it probably had something to do with how people reacted to and survived the Great Depression. So, it’s no wonder that when I heard about Meet the Kellys that I wanted to read it.

I was familiar with other books written by Chris Enss, so I was expecting a well-researched history of Kelly and Thorne. That’s exactly what I got. Kathryn Thorne saw the potential in small-time bootlegger George Kelly to give her the lifestyle she had always craved. And with her gift of a machine gun to Kelly, history was made. The couple’s endless road trips not only had me hearing some of the music from Bonnie and Clyde, but they almost made me carsick.

I learned quite a bit from this book. I’d forgotten how kidnapping had taken center stage for several of these gangsters, so much so that the government passed the Federal Kidnapping Act in an attempt to put an end to it. In true diva style, when everything disintegrated, Kathryn Thorne tried her best to keep herself and her parents out of jail. She was definitely what my family would refer to as a “piece of work.” If you have any interest at all in this time period, Meet the Kellys is well worth a read.” Kittling Book Reviews

Meet the Kellys

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Meet the Kellys:

The True Story of Machine Gun Kelly and His Moll Kathryn Thorne