I wanted to share a new book with you called The Bootlegger of Illinois by Keith Lawson (Author) that I received a PDF Copy of from Voracious Readers and the Author in exchange for this review. Inside this post is my affiliate links if you click on the links and make a purchase I will make a small percentage from the items you purchase.
I choose to read The Bootlegger of Illinois because the cover reminded me of times gone by featuring prohibition and the era Bugsy Malon and Al Capone were alive. Over several years, the story of poor Irish immigrant riding to gang boss and, in parallel, a young Illinois farmer who distils gin to save his home. A journey for both, until their paths cross, with disastrous results. Blood is shed.
I can’t wait to share my copy of the book with David because the story captures our attention and at times I felt like I was actually in the story. Although I didn’t like knowing blood was shed and if you have a skirmish story you may not like this aspect either. I also believe the book is more form men but that shouldn’t stop women from checking the story out.
About the book:
Chicago is a city already deep in corruption. Gangs of Irish and Italians vie for control and when the Volstead Act is passed in 1920, new opportunities for criminal enterprises are seized.
Sean O’Leary arrived in Chicago several years earlier, starting with his journey from poor immigrant rising to be a mob boss. Successful at first, he is hit by hijacking and rivalry and needs a more secure source of Booze for his speakeasy and bars.
Also in Illinois, in a small town, having gone through the Great War and returning home a War hero, young Jesse Hakerman has to face running the family farm, in debt to the bank. Naively, he sees bootlegging as a short-term fix to relieve him of money worries and to secure the farm from foreclosure. His troubles begin when O’Leary learns of a potential source of liquor on his doorstep.
When their worlds meet, violence is unleashed. Jesse has to pushback against the mobsters and bloodshed in his neighborhood has him travelling to the City to deal with the mob boss to protect his friends.
The story of two men with different ideals and purposes but both strong and courageous
Meet the Author: Keith Lawson
Keith Lawson (born 1950 in Oxford) was Trackside Photographer for the local Speedway team – known as Oxford Rebels (1972-1975) then as Oxford Cheetahs (revising a previous nickname).
He previously wrote Guides to NVQs in Management while working in education but, since retiring, he looked back at his collection of photos and decided to create retrospective yearbooks of speedway. His photographs of speedway in the 70s are much used across social media and picked up by the press on occasions when a story of a rider is in the news. He is a contributor to Wikipedia on biographies.
Loves historical fiction (Hilary Mantel, S.J. Parris, Bernard Cornwell, Harry Sidebottom, C.J. Sansom) as well as non-fiction (Tom Holland, Mary Beard, Richard Dawkins) and would love to collaborate as photographer on sites such as Pompeii.
Favourite modern crime writers are Adrian McKinty, Steve Cavanagh, Don Winslow, Lou Berney, Dennis Lehane, Val McDermid and Jo Nesbo.
Writing his first fiction, with e-novella “Cat-As In Burglar” and has “The Bootlegger” in development – a tale of America’s Prohibition era and gangsters.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
