This was a fun introduction to the gangsters of the Depression. I believe most of the dates & actual facts were true, but I'm not an expert & there was a lot of fictional filler, but it rang true. Certainly the characters were memorable & there were a lot of absurdities on both sides of the law as well as in the press.On the plus side, the entire era came alive through the diverse characters. Old lawmen who knew Pancho Villa, young paper hangers molded by the hardships of the Depression, & amoral gangsters were all well drawn.On the minus side, there were a LOT of them. The cast ran to dozens & the story bogged down with them at times. 3/4 of the way through, I was ready for it to wrap up. If it had, I probably would have given it 4 stars.It was well read with the voices very well done. Again, no section breaks & there were quite a few, so this hurt the reading a bit. Since there were so many characters, this usually wasn't a big problem, though.I'll look forward to other books by this author. "Infamous" is a hard-boiled historical crime novel, the fictionalized story of George 'Machine Gun' Kelly, his manipulative and even more devious wife, and the Texas Ranger who tracks Kelly and his hapless gang down after the kidnapping of an Oklahoma oil baron. It's based on an event that really did happen, but it's no stuffy re-creation of the past. Atkins writes a vivid Dust Bowl and Depression era crime caper here, that's got plenty of action and a decent amount of laughs, too. Be a perfect movie in the right hands -- Coen Bros. more than whoever it was that made the Johnny Depp 'Public Enemy.'2011/25
What do You think about Infamous (2010)?
Ace Atkins does the Machine Gun Kelly legend and the kidnapping that made and then broke Kelly.
—animegirl202
this book was ok. guess I kept reading it just to see how it all played out.
—Areej
I want to see the movie now!! Good gangster read!
—destynee
