“Mob books are never this elegant.”
The Darkest Night
The riveting true story of the rise and fall of Murder, Inc. and the executioner-turned-informant whose mysterious death became a turning point in Mob history.
Michael Cannell's A Brotherhood Betrayed traces the history of Murder, Inc. through Reles’ rise from street punk to murder chieftain to stool pigeon, ending with his fateful death on a Coney Island rooftop. It resurrects a time when crime became organized crime: a world of money and power, depravity and corruption, street corner ambushes and elaborately choreographed hits by wise-cracking foot soldiers with names like Buggsy Goldstein and Tick Tock Tannenbaum.
For a brief moment before World War II erupted, America fixated on the delicate balance of trust and betrayal on the Brooklyn streets. This is the story of the one man who tipped the balance.
“A riveting read from start to finish about notorious New York in the ‘30s and ‘40s when guns, gangsters, molls, and Murder Inc. ruled the shadowy streets and the politicians in their blood-stained pockets. Michael Cannell’s impeccable research is exceeded only by compelling writing that has the staccato impact of a Thompson machine gun.”
