Portrait of a Mobster

by Harry Grey

Book by Harry Grey

180 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1960

Reviews

[Gordie LaChance]

Pretty standard gangster yarn about real life gangster "Dutch" Schultz. It is told in the first person, The story is a fairly broad but quickly told description of this gangster's rise and fall. The prose is hard-boiled, gritty and efficient. I was surprised at the allusions made to certain activities such a three-ways and wife swapping--though there was nothing R-rated, just the allusions seemed pretty randy for a book from 1959.

There are no likeable characters, much less heroes, in this book so it definitely comes off as a sleazy read. It kept my interest but was overall not very remarkable.

[Kittaroo]

Insomma... non un granché.