Ten top books about gangsters

Rod Reynolds's new book, his third Charlie Yates novel, is Cold Desert Sky. One of his ten favorite books about gangsters, as shared at the Guardian:

American Tabloid by James Ellroy

Ellroy dedicates his masterpiece to “bad men, and the price they paid to secretly define their time”. Covering the period from JFK’s election to his assassination, Ellroy takes us into the world of thugs, fixers and killers on the fringes of power. It still amazes me that in 600 pages, the closest thing to a hero is a hitman who by his own reckoning has killed more than 500 people. It was accused of glorifying criminals, but I prefer Ellroy’s own explanation: this is a story of three men crushed by the weight of their own evil.

Read about another entry on the list.

American Tabloid is among Max Décharné's ten top slangy crime novels.

--Marshal Zeringue