Journal Notes

Enter now to win a copy of

Meet the Kellys:

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

American gangster George Kelly Barnes (1895 – 1954), aka Machine Gun Kelly, with his wife Kathryn at their trial for the kidnapping of businessman Charles F. Urschel, at the Federal Court in Oklahoma City, 9th October 1933. Kelly has a bump on his head after being hit with a pistol butt during an altercation on his arrival at court. Kelly and his wife pleaded guilty and were sentenced to life imprisonment. (Photo by FPG/Archive Photos/Getty Images)

“This was a compelling and informative listen that offered a deep and often surprising look into the lives of Machine Gun Kelly and his wife, Kathryn. The story of the kidnapping, the aftermath, and the ripple effects on those connected to them was both sobering and fascinating. It’s the kind of story that stays with you—one that invites you to reflect on history, resilience, and the complexity of the people behind the headlines.

The author approached the subject with care and insight, and the narration brought an added layer of depth that made the experience all the more engaging. I found myself thinking about the people involved long after the audiobook ended.

This was more than just a true crime story—it was a powerful exploration of human experience.” Happy Amazon Reviewer

Meet the Kellys:

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

Available at bookstores everywhere!

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Meet the Kellys:

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

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is a page turner

Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2025

“The KELLYS come to life in a new biography by Chris Enss. Discover the back story of MACHINE gun KELLY in this page turner.” Reviewer Andrew Horowitz

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Meet the Kellys:

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

5.0 out of 5 stars Wild West Shows

“A historically well written (complete with extensive Footnotes) yet entertaining book on May Lillie, Pawnee Bill, and their Wild West Show. Book develops background of Wild West shows and their business practices. Good development of romance and marriage of May and Gordon (Pawnee Bill), she was an audience member who thought “he was a funny looking man”. Gordon was a horseback rider and trick shooter in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show who thought “May was the prettiest girl he’d ever seen”. The show operated seasonally.

Gordon had meet Blue Hawk from the Pawnee Reservation in the show and made good on his promise to visit him. Gordon became proficient in the Pawnee language and was given the name “Little Bear” ‘

After their marriage they would move to Gordon’s ranch near Willington, Kansas. May had always lived in the city. The ranch was located in the Pawnee Indian Agency, later to be known as Pawnee, Oklahoma. The heartbreak of losing their 6- week-old son and May almost losing her life would set the stage for May traveling with the show.

The book details their travels with the Show, their eventual forming of their own show and the various business problems they encountered. May was a major part of the popularity of the show, she was an expert Horsewoman and Businesswoman. Gordon early on was interested in Bison preservation and would grow his herd to be one of the largest pure blood Bison herds in the US. Gordon worked with Theordore Roosevelt to sponsor legislation for a Bison Preserve. This did not pass but a portion of the Wichita Reservation was designated a National Game Preserve for Bison.

Gordon and May would also built a historic Wild West Town on their Ranch that was open to visitors. The Pawnee Bill Ranch Historic Site and Museum is still open to visitors. Excellent book for history of The Wild West shows , early history of Bison Preservation and a great read!”

Thanks to True West Magazine for listing the Sharpshooter and the Showman as a recommended summer read!

Enter now to win a copy of

Meet the Kellys:

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

Kathryn Kelly, wife of gangster George “Machine Gun” Kelly (Original photo has no negative date or photo credit, published 08/03/1986 in The Daily Oklahoman)

Tune in to Zone 7 Cold Case as Crime Scene Investigator Sheryl McCollum sits down with bestselling author and private investigator Chris Enss to dig into the real story of Kathryn Thorne—the woman who didn’t just stand beside Machine Gun Kelly but helped build his legend. They discuss Kathryn’s sharp mind, bold choices, how she planned a headline-making kidnapping, and even called J. Edgar Hoover herself. Sheryl and Chris also explore the early days of the FBI, the origin of the term “G-Man,” and how the courtroom became Kathryn’s stage.

https://www.crimeonline.com/2025/06/27/the-outlaw-queen-kathryn-thorne-and-the-making-of-machine-gun-kelly/

“I listened to this yesterday on my work commute. It ended WAY too soon! I could have listened to hours of y’all chatting! I honestly didn’t want it to end! Guess I am gonna have to read the book now and hope that you have her on again soon! It was a brilliant interview! Wonderful! Thank you!” Elizabeth Deschesne Godard

Enter now to win a copy of

Meet the Kellys:

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

Thanks to True West Magazine for the review of 

The Sharpshooter and the Showman

Meet the Kellys: The True Story of Machine Gun Kelly and Kathryn Thorne. Don’t miss Zone 7 tomorrow with author and Wild West expert Chris Enss! @chrisenssauthor

Work a cold case alongside investigator Sheryl “Mac” McCollum, Director of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute. Every week, Sheryl dives into her cold case files alongside accomplished guests to look for clues into unsolved murders, missing people, and more. This ain’t just a podcast but a war room. Sheryl opens her cold case files, her heart and her little black book! You will quickly realize Zone 7 is not a place but a lifestyle!

https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-zone-7-with-sheryl-mccoll-106023288/

Enter now to Meet the Kellys:

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

5.0 out of 5 stars A page turning true life crime drama: Meet the Kellys

Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2025

Format: Hardcover

Author Chris Enss never disappoints. Her books are always well written and thoroughly researched. So much time must’ve been put in to this story finding all the newspaper clippings and court records. I appreciate how she finds such interesting facts and brings her characters to life once again. Meet the Kellys was definitely page turning.

Meet the Kellys: The True Story of Machine Gun Kelly and His Moll Kathryn Thorne is available at bookstores everywhere, at Barnes & Noble.com, Amazon.com, and Kensingtonbooks.com.

Since the famous “first” western movie, The Great Train Robbery, starring Broncho Billy Anderson, made its debut in 1903, cowboy heroes have continued their easily won dominance— but little has been written about the cowgirl stars and their fans. Young women looked up to independent cowgirl characters played by Barbara Stanwyck and Dale Evans in the 1940s and 1950s. Who were the stars before these women? Surprisingly, Hollywood was well-populated with leading cowgirls and real cowgirls. Early Hollywood actresses and stunt women kept the cowgirl spirit alive. They performed every conceivable feat of horsemanship and displayed professional skills coupled with their best efforts and devotion. For some of these working women, the financial rewards for their daring and athletic prowess were at least reasonable.

Hollywood Cowgirls is the story of more than a dozen trick ropers, bronc busters, and bulldoggers turned actresses, who like the early ranch women and rodeo competitors, had pluck and charm. These women performed their own stunts, riding horses at breakneck speed, firing guns, and capturing outlaws. Cowgirl actresses such as Ruth Roland, Helen Gibson, Texas Guinan, Marin Sais, Anne Little, Marie Walcamp, and Evelyn Selbie received top billing above the cowboy and his horse in hundreds of films. This is their story.

Coming soon!

Enter now to win a copy of

Meet the Kellys:

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

American gangster George Kelly Barnes (1895 – 1954), aka Machine Gun Kelly, with his wife Kathryn at their trial for the kidnapping of businessman Charles F. Urschel, at the Federal Court in Oklahoma City, 9th October 1933. Kelly has a bump on his head after being hit with a pistol butt during an altercation on his arrival at court. Kelly and his wife pleaded guilty and were sentenced to life imprisonment. 

“Chris Enss is one of the finest writers ever. She has created a powerful brand writing about women who made history a subject that has been sorely lacking. Her portrayal of Machine Gen Kelly and Kathyrn reads like a novel with characters that are hard to believe but every word is true. She brings us into the Great Depression and the age of gangsters vividly and accurately with superb character development and fast paced action. I have loved all of her books but this is a favorite. A must read of a tragic couple who were comically flawed.”

Bestselling Author David Crow

Enter now to win a copy of

Meet the Kellys:

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

Kathryn Kelly, wife of gangster George “Machine Gun” Kelly (Original photo has no negative date or photo credit, published 08/03/1986 in The Daily Oklahoman)

The Urschel kidnapping was the first prominent case in which FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover exercised his control of the print media and laid the groundwork for building his legendary status. He not only recruited talented individuals to help develop scientific methods to solve crimes and track offenders but hired publicists to feed information to the press that highlighted the Bureau’s accomplishments and the methods employed by relentless agents to apprehend notorious outlaws. Throughout the investigation into Charles Urschel abduction, Director Hoover turned every lead, either uncovered by his men or reported by a civilian, into an opportunity to promote the agency as a superior crime-fighting force.

Much of what the Bureau reported about the capture of Machine Gun Kelly and Kathyrn Thorne was accurate, but some of the events they claimed occurred were fiction. Kelly pointed out the discrepancies to newspaper reporters, but journalists were disinclined to take the gangster’s word, and Hoover counted on that. Kathryn Kelly had a flair for manipulating the press as well, but her talent was discovered too late to improve her circumstances. News of the Kellys’ crimes and various law enforcement agencies pursuits of the pair appeared in newspapers across the country. Hoover and his staff painted Kathryn as a materialistic femme fatale who drove her husband to commit the crimes he did. She tried to change the public’s opinion of her by giving interviews with respected journalists and candidly sharing her truth about her relationship with Kelly and how he misled her.

George’s upper-middle-class background was in sharp contrast to Kathryn’s depressed past. She referred to the difference in their upbringing often when she spoke with reporters and was quick to tell them that it was Kelly who intimidated her into breaking the law and not the other way around. “The first time I ever saw a machine gun was when Kelly had one at my house in Fort Worth,” Kathryn told Pulitzer Prize–winning Scripps-Howard staff writer Lee Hills in mid-October 1933. “It is being told that I provided my husband with weapons and that he taught me how to use them. He never taught me to use a machine gun or any other kind. I wouldn’t know what to do with one. This talk about him being about to write his name on a wall with machine gun bullets may be so, but I don’t know whether he even can shoot.”

Kathryn herself circulated the rumor about his shooting prowess long before she and Kelly embarked on their first kid napping. That kind of promotion had served its purpose well when they were deciding to graduate from robbing banks to abducting the wealthy, but once they were caught, Kathryn denied it all to the press. To avoid life in prison, it was important potential jurors saw her as a naïve young woman with ordinary wants and dreams who was taken advantage of by the man she loved.

To learn more about the woman behind the gangster read Meet the Kellys:

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