True Crime

Rating:
Summary: Best of the Heller Novels
Review: I have read all of the Nate Heller mysteries, and True Crime is the best of them. One of the most interesting touches to the series are the historical photographs showing the characters that Nate interacts with. True Crime is a good straightfoward read which draws you into the criminal world of Dillinger, Floyd, Barker, Karpis and others. The historical research appears to be excellent, (I'm no expert) and Collins fleshes out all of the characters satisfactorily. If you can, read True Detective first as it gives a good background to Nate Heller (and is a very good book as well).

Rating:
Summary: If only the history books in school were this fun to read!
Review: I love to read...but only fiction. I have never liked reading things about true to life people. But I loved reading about Nate Heller in this book as well as the book before this, True Detective. Mr. Collins has done an excellent job of telling the story of some of the nastiest criminals of the 30s but also by doing something others have failed to do. He has made the likes of Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, Frank Nitti and the Barkers human. Although never once sugarcoating the fact that they were killers and whatnot, he gives us an idea of what they were in real life.
Nate Heller is the perfect picture of the detectives of the era, tough, hard-boiled and not the kind to back down from a fight. But he is also a caring person and that is as evident as all of the other traits he shows.
This book grabbed me from the beginning and held on to the end. Much better than just well written, it moves seemlessly from one event to another. Although crammed full with descriptions of actual happenings, buildings, people and more, Collins has integrated all of it together to where it is just as exciting to hear about Chicago's Loop district as it was to hear about John Dillinger's "death" outside the Biograph theater.
Thank you Mr. Collins! I have loved these two and will be searching all of the rest of this series in the near future. If they are half as good as this one is, I am in for many hours of totally wonderful reading enjoyment!!!