The Kray Brothers: The Image Shattered

In order to shatter the image of the Kray brothers, one must first strip away their celebrity status and take a look inside the sharp suits to expose the true characteristics of London's most notorious gangsters. Since 1995, the journalist Craig Cabell has been researching the lives of the Kray twins, Ronnie and Reggie. Following a meeting with their older brother, Charlie, shortly after Ronnie's funeral, Cabell became intrigued by all the myths and legends surrounding the Krays. This book is a fascinating study, based on research at the Public Records Office and on interviews with those who formed the Krays' "inner circle". It details the criminal lives of the twins up to their incarceration for the murders of Jack "The Hat" McVitie and George Cornell. It also examines their time in prison, the conspiracies surrounding them, and the offical line that states that the Krays never showed any remorse for their crimes, that they were single-minded, and that they were made an example of. Cabell delivers a step-by-step account of the murders committed by these two villains and describes the killing of "Mad Axeman" Frank Mitchell. He discusses the likelihood of other murders that they may have been responsible for, and finally lays to rest any argument for the alleged murder by Ronnie of Reggie's wife, Frances. This book presents the unglamorous truth, where inaccuracy and sensationalism have previously been the accepted version. With the use of previously unpublished photographs and detailed interviews with those close to the Kray brothers, the author analyzes London's most notorious criminal family, and lays to rest many of the myths surrounding the infamous twins.