EBOOK

Crooked

A Crime Novel

Dietrich Kalteis
4
(2)
Pages
368
Year
2024
Language
English

About

A page-turning crime tale based on a true story
Notorious outlaws Alvin Karpis and Fred Barker meet the old-fashioned way: serving time in Kansas State Prison. After their release in 1931, the two reconnect and form the infamous Barker-Karpis Gang and begin a spree of robberies that leave a wake of terror in their path, including two dead cops. Now hunted in several states, the gang settles into hiding in St. Paul, Minnesota, where they thrive under the protection of a crooked police chief, who happily turns a blind eye to their activities - so long as they commit crimes outside of his jurisdiction. With increased security at banks, the Barker-Karpis Gang switches to kidnapping, catching the attention of J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI and landing them at the top of the most-wanted list. How long can these wily men evade capture? Who can they trust? Where will they run when the entire country is hunting them, dead or alive? This novel, based on a true story, follows the criminal career of Alvin Karpis, a Chicago gangster in the 1930s. Karpis joins forces with the notorious Barker Gang as they set on a trail of bank robberies, murders, and kidnappings and become the most hunted men in America.
Dietrich Kalteis is a critically acclaimed author of 11 novels, two of which won Independent Publisher Awards. Under an Outlaw Moon won the 2022 Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence for Best Crime Novel. Dietrich's debut was hailed as one of Vancouver's best crime novels, and his second became a bestseller in Germany. He enjoys life with his family in Vancouver, BC.
Sales and Market Bullets




• INTERNATIONAL APPEAL: Kalteis was born in Köln, Germany, and speaks fluent German. His 2015 novel, The Deadbeat Club, was published in German by Suhrkamp Verlag under the title Shootout and was an instant bestseller.


• THE HEIR APPARENT TO ELMORE LEONARD: Kalteis's 2023 book, The Get, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly: "Fans of Elmore Leonard and George Pelecanos will find much to enjoy."


• BASED ON A TRUE STORY: Kalteis has invented dialogue and specific settings, but the core of the book is based on the life of Alvin Karpis, Public Enemy #1 in the 1930s. The frame of the story is an aged Karpis, living in Spain, telling his criminal past to a couple of tourists who are interested in his life story.

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