When you hear there was a gangster in the 1930s in the US called George “Machine Gun” Kelly, what kind of guy would you think he was? Like me, you may have imagined a killer who shot people using a machine gun. In reality, George Kelly Barnes was a criminal who specialised in boot legging, bank robberies and kidnapping. He never killed anybody, leave alone with a machine gun!!
I came to know this and other interesting facts on reading ” Meet The Kellys” by Chris Enss. Thanks to #NetGalley I got a review copy of #MeettheKellys. This book – described as- The True Story of Machine Gun Kelly And His Moll Kathryn Thorne- is scheduled to be published by Kensington Publishing later this month.
Following the years of the Great Depression and Prohibition, the 1930s saw many criminals gain notoriety in the United States. “Machine Gun” Kelly was one of them, and his name was as well known as others like Al Capone, Ma Barker, John Dillinger, and the couple : Bonny and Clyde. Basing her story on newspaper articles and recollections of those who lived in those times, the author describes the lives of George Kelly and his wife Kathryn Thorne.
As you read this well-researched book, you will understand the personalities of this couple and the dynamics that were at play between them. George Kelly Barnes was from Memphis, Tennessee, and had an unhappy childhood. He wanted the good life and wanted money without working for it at all. Kathryn Thorne was already divorced twice when she first met him. She was street smart, good looking, willing to take risks and loved a life of luxury. She felt that Kelly would be the one to provide her with all that she wanted. All in all, she was the gangster’s moll.
The book describes in detail how the Kellys kidnapped Charles Urschel, the oil tycoon and the trial that followed. This was the biggest crime they committed. The case caught the attention of the media all over the country. Kidnappings were happening in plenty at that time and Urschel was kidnapped shortly after the Lindbergh case. This was the first big case of this type assigned to the FBI as kidnapping had been made a Federal offence.
The book paints a realistic picture of life in the United States in the 1930s. Poverty, greed, ambition, desperation and even little or no fear of the law made many take to crime. Some cases were more infamous than others. George “Machine Gun” Kelly and Kathryn Thorne were one amongst them.
I liked the book which was informative and interesting .
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