Scan barcode
badseedgirl's review against another edition
3.0
It is fairly obvious that the author of The Profession Of Violence : The Rise And Fall Of The Kray Twins Mr. John Pearson liked and admired the Kray Twins, Ronnie and Reggie. He goes out of his way to condemn their crimes, but you can hear the admiration he had for these two men. I was drawn to this novel because I saw an episode of "Whitechapel" on the BBC America dealing with the London "mob" and the Kray's in particular. Before this, I had never heard of them, even though they had a reign of terror over the Eastend and eventually the Westend of London for over a decade. A good introduction to the world of the Kray's. It has whet my appitite for more information on the crime and more importantly the life of these men. 3 of 5 stars.
justpeachie's review against another edition
4.0
Surprisingly, the most shocking crime described by Pearson is in the postscript, when he tells how he and his wife lost everything after he tried to publish the truth about the Boothby scandal.
aday15's review
medium-paced
3.75
I enjoyed the movie more than the book but still an interesting read.
ronanmcd's review
3.0
It's ok. It starts well, with the news journalist's sense of style and directness. Quickly through the book it transpires the author also has the journalists' tendency to strengthen arguments and bolster content by reiteration; Ronnie is gay and deranged, surrounded by boys, Reggie is more collected by easily swayed by a brother he can't handle.
There are long periods throughout punctured with descriptions of fights and attempts at fights. But it all gets run-of-the-mill and a bit tedious very quickly.
Minor personalities with glorious cockney names drift in and out until it's all over.
The there is the postscript, which tantalisingly hints at much bigger and more interesting stories: cover-ups, blackmail, collusion and all the really juicy stuff.
There are long periods throughout punctured with descriptions of fights and attempts at fights. But it all gets run-of-the-mill and a bit tedious very quickly.
Minor personalities with glorious cockney names drift in and out until it's all over.
The there is the postscript, which tantalisingly hints at much bigger and more interesting stories: cover-ups, blackmail, collusion and all the really juicy stuff.
larryschwartz's review against another edition
4.0
These guys were some nasty customers. I read it because of the "Whitechapel" series on BBC America.
samwisery's review
4.0
Intriguing - but lacks a few details I was curious about. Maybe the gaps are filled in Pearson's other books...?
More...