We’ve all heard stories—or can guess at—what happens to gang members who talk to the cops. At the height of the mob’s power in New York City, the late 1930’s, a band of mobsters known as Murder, Inc. took money to eliminate witnesses who were willing to testify against their fellow mobsters to escape punishment themselves—until the head of Murder, Inc. became a rat himself. A Brotherhood Betrayed comes out next Tuesday, October 6, and is available for preorder now.

This book is loosely framed around the life of Abe “Kid Twist” Reles, using his rise through the mob ranks to describe the movement of mob politics from the 1920’s to 1940’s. Cannell doesn’t just tell the story about how Reles eventually turns against the mob to save his own skin, but builds up to it by describing his early days as a “schlammer” before moving on to the early political careers of men like William O’Dwyer, who would end up working with Reles to prosecute mob bosses like Lepke Buchalter.

This is a very dense book, although it isn’t particularly challenging to read. If you try to remember every person’s name, you will have a tough time because there are a lot of moving parts. However, I think Cannell did a great job organizing the book in such a way that it isn’t overwhelming—different people feature for a few pages at a time, and then fade into the background; there are a few people who end up being important later, but Cannell frequently reminds the reader about their formerly described crimes in order to refresh our memory, and I didn’t find many instances where I needed to really remember a scene from earlier in the book. In fact, if you’re the type to keep a book on your coffee table and read it in short bursts over the course of months, this would be the perfect candidate.

I wouldn’t call it light reading, though, at least not in terms of subject matter. This book is about a man who, in order not to be taken to court for the 11 murders he committed, turned state witness against other men who took money to kill people, and those murders are often described in horrific detail. This book is not for the faint of heart. If you’re the type (like me) to listen to true crime documentaries on the regular, then this will be right up your alley; however, if you are at all squeamish, this may be a book you should pass on.

As far as I can tell, this book has been extremely well researched, and compiles tons of information into one easy-to-read narrative. One thing lacking in my digital ARC was photography; I’m not sure if the publisher intends to add photo spreads in the final publication, but I found myself googling images of mobsters several times (particularly at a point where Cannell described a photo of Joe Masseria), so I think it would be a worthy addition.

The one aspect of this book I struggled with were the descriptions of various mobsters, particularly Reles himself. I found that Cannell relied on contemporary descriptions to a fault, and often parroted them, such as when he described Reles as looking “like a hairy, thick-lipped troglodyte with a street-dumb Brooklyn accent.” His frequent, disparaging comments about Reles’ appearance led me to search for an image of Kid Twist, who didn’t look at all like how I felt Cannell was describing him. I ended up feeling uncomfortable with this because I was concerned about whether Cannell was falling into antisemitic descriptors of Reles (in early chapters of the book, Cannell spent a lot of time discussing the politics between the Jewish mob, which Reles was a part of, and the Italian mob), or at the very least, repeating descriptions from sources with antisemitic views. I don’t think this was done intentionally, but I would have preferred more photos and fewer physical descriptions, or more factual descriptions rather than opinions, whether they were Cannell’s or someone else’s.

In the end, though, I did find this to be an enjoyable and informative book about New York City mobsters, and their downfall. I think it takes a lot of talent to weave together so many loose ends into one coherent narrative, and Cannell has certainly taken the time to do his research properly. If you are at all interested in early 20th-century gangsters or mobs, I think this would be a worthwhile book for you to pick up.

A Brotherhood Betrayed gives a brutal account of the American Mafia and their sub-organization of mob enforcers known as Murder Inc. A fantastic read for lovers of true crime. The book is comprehensive and well researched; fascinating page turner! Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to review.

Disclosure: This review is of an advance copy provided through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

A Brotherhood Betrayed gives an account of the prosecution of the America Mafia in New York, focusing on its enforcement arm, Murder Inc. The book tells the story of the professional hitmen relied upon by the mob mosses to carry out sanctioned assassinations of not only police informants, but also anyone about whom it was merely suspected or feared could become an informant. Thus the mob truly did eat its own.

The central figure is Abe “Kid Twist” Reles, a leader of Murder, Inc. The book begins with Reles’s death, (an accident, suicide, or defenestration?) then goes on to recount his exploits and ends with the story of the investigation into his demise. The writing is straightforward and free of any bias or sensationalism. Sometimes it was hard to keep track of all the players, particularly the killers and their targets.

While not a gripping read, I did enjoy it and was glad I read it. The subject was successfully enough presented that I was led to look up pictures and more information about the key players (the copy I was provided did not have pictures, which would have greatly enhanced the presentation). The book is not overly detailed, but having seen some serial documentaries/dramatizations about the early decades of organized crime, I found it was a good book from which to start learning more..

I wish to thank Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press Publishing for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a powerful book about the man behind the rise and fall of Murder Inc. It is extremely well researched and if you are interested in the history of the mob in New York with all the details then this is a book that will intrigue you and reel you into the story with a solid tug.

For me it was more brutal than I care to read but if that does not bother you this is a must read book. I had to read it in stages and there were so many characters that I had a hard time keeping up with all of them. But, in the history of the mob in New York there were a lot of characters and Michael Cannell included them all. The book described in detail many secret meetings and body disposals.

There were so many players in the game that I found this book to get slightly confusing and too long. While well researched, there was just too much going on.

What is it with gangsters and other bad guys? We hate and fear them, with good reason, yet we tend to have a love affair with anything gangster related when it comes to literature and film. There seems to be no end to the amount of works one can find on the subject. Many are fictional, taking their cues from real life. Then there are the ones that delve into the history and details of those authentic characters and dastardly deeds that define the genre. A Brotherhood Betrayed: The Man Behind The Rise And Fall Of Murder, Inc. by Michael Cannell is such a book.

Cannell presents us with the history of a branch of organized crime called Murder, Inc. which was, in part, the domain of a man called Abe Reles; aka, Kid Twist. During the 1930s, a few high level mobsters, such as Lucky Luciano, formed a branch of The Syndicate they dubbed Murder, Inc. for the sole purpose of taking out individuals they felt were either a threat to the mob or wanted removed for various other purposes. Abe Reles was the man who ran that stable of cold hearted thugs who would murder their best friends, and had done so, if that was the job given them.

Reles, the quintessential street thug, grew up in Brooklyn where he learned his criminal ways at a ripe young age, only to emerge as the chief executioner for Murder, Inc. But then one day, something happened. A twist of fate for the cocky and brazen scourge of all who knew and feared Kid Twist. Reles moves on to become a very dependable stool pigeon against his very own colleagues.

There's much to tell about Reles and what he squeals about to the authorities. The book is loaded with true crime stories and chock full of history about many of the players on both sides of the law. To this day, there are still questions about Reles' death as well as a bit of intrigue regarding several of the politicians and other so called good guys. Cannell does not try to sway a conclusion but, instead, presents the facts with theories and let's us try to decide on our own what might have really happened. His portrayal of each individual is done in a way that easily paints a picture, along with their mannerisms and other peculiarities that you easily get a sense of knowing these people. He also takes us on several Murder, Inc. assignments, complete with some of the unsavory details.

This is a highly readable and fascinating account of the life and death of the man who made death his life's work.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of the eBook for a fair and honest review.

Outstanding book. Had a hard time putting it down and was sorry when it ended. I guess, for me, what made this book were the amazing characters! Bravo!

A must read for any true crime fan. Tells the true tale of the mafia and some of the things they did.

A very thorough review of an interesting chapter in mob history, Perhaps a bit too long but many characters with interesting stories to tell.

This book was excellent. I enjoyed reading it. I would recommend it to friends. I would like to follow the author in the future.

This book is an engaging history of the development of the Commission, by Lucky Luciano, which comprised the five main Mafia families and the role that Abe Reles played in the organization of Murder, Inc. which took care of problems for the Commission and his role in bringing down some of the major players by becoming a snitch for the District Attorney. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the events that took place involving the battle between the Commission and the Law.

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my nonfiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook  page

This is largely the engaging criminal career of Abraham "Kid Twist" Reles, the New York mobster hit man for Murder, Inc., the enforcement contractor for The Syndicate. Besides his crimes and that of his associates is their roles in testifying against each other. This includes much about the career of future Governor of New York, Thomas E. Dewey, before the "Dewey Defeats Truman" headline. Also covered is the shady District Atty O'Dwyer and mobster Anastasia. It is interesting to read of the vigorous efforts of Hoover pre-WWII, considering his later reluctance to go after organized crime.

The first half of this book was great. That half, about Abe Reles and the rise of Murder Inc, was a fascinating tale. Power struggles, betrayal, the works. The second half had too many players involved, too many court cases.

Murder, Inc is one of the most notorious gangs (or organized crime groups) that people don't know about but think they do. They know the legends but not the real stories. "A Brotherhood Betrayed" is an inside look at the actual history of this group.

This is a very interesting and riveting book for all mafia fans. It is easy to read and really informative. If you know anything about Murder Inc and the Mob you will like this book.

An interesting and informative book about the rise and fall of key players in Murder Inc., the largest mafia group in New York City. This book was very detailed and well written, with accounts that are almost too horrible to believe they are real. At times, the crimes and names became overwhelming, but it was still worth the read.

I received this free book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

fascinating account on the origins of Murder Inc and all the major New York "players" of the day. I ahve read a lot of books on the Mafia and found this to be a fresh look with a lot of information not found in other books of the same subject. Very well researched

I have always been interested in true crime, ever since I was a wee one. Professionally, I am a Crime Analyst so I am surrounded by crime and its various elements nearly 100% of the time, via both my professional and my personal life. With that being said, my main interest has typically been with the psychology of killing and serial killers (those outside of organized crime); I never invested much time in researching or reading about the mob. For whatever reason, the mob never appealed to me, which is exactly why I wanted to read A Brotherhood Betrayed - consider my interest sparked!

Abe Reles reminds me of Frank Serpico, but on the other side of the law, especially due to the innate struggle to do what is right despite going against the "mob mentality," if you will. I give this book 4 stars because "I really liked it." Note: I rate based on the Goodreads system. I enjoyed A Brotherhood Betrayed because I learned something, was exposed to a topic I hadn't been interested in prior, and it wasn't dry or boring, as many true crime stories and books tend to be.

Considering my life is filled with the analysis of crime, reading about crime, and being around criminals and law enforcement, it can be difficult to impress me, but the author has done just that!

I have read a lot of mob books but this one has to be a the top. A Brotherhood Betrayed follows the rise and fall of Abe Reles, one of the main members of the notorious Murder Inc. As will all mob books there is a lot of underhand things being done. As with all mob families there is always one that feels remorse and wants to to the right thing and this book was no different.

A Brotherhood Betrayed by Michael Cannell

I am a huge fan of the genre and I found this read to be both exciting and interesting. I definitely recommend.