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Getting Away with Murder
In March 1969, twins Reggie and Ronnie Kray were sentenced to life imprisonment for the gangland killings of George Cornell and Jack "the hat" McVitie. It was recommended that they served at least 30 years for their crimes. But why such strong sentences? Were there other murders? At last the truth can be told. The authors have negotiated rare interviews with the people close to the Krays criminal activities, people who have never stepped forward before but have done so now to tell the truth concerning the East End's bloodiest killers. This is the shocking true story of the Krays' reign of terror. With a special foreword by ex-gangster Eric Mason, this is the most authentic first-hand document of the Kray Twins. Prepare to be disturbed.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published August 25, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 20, 2022
There have been so many books written about the Kray twins that it would have been reasonable to assume that everything that needed to be written already had been but Lenny Hamilton's revelation in 'Getting Away With Murder' are very definitely fresh to the market.
There may previously have been suggestions that the Krays had been involved with some of those now documented but (a) there was no proof and (b) "Nipper" Read when prosecuting the Krays did not want to complicate the trial by bringing out many other killings that might have been committed by the Krays. Hamilton tells us that he felt that such action could prejudice the outcome of what he, rightly as it turned out, was to be an open and shut case.
Hamilton, who was at one time close to the Krays, writes of them 'I want people to see the Krays for the monstrous villains they were and finally knock down their hero status. Well, he certainly achieves his objective and often repeats his description of them along the way. Hamilton, who was, by his own admission himself a one-time jewel thief, was close to the Krays so he speaks with some authority and he also has interviews with other people not only close to the Krays but some of whom were also present at the scene of some of the criminal activities., Many of them were afraid to come forward previously for fear of retribution - Hamilton says that even though long since dead, the Krays' power can come from beyond the grave. They all tell the truth as they saw it about 'the East End's bloodiest killers'.
In March 1969, when twins Reggie and Ronnie Kray were sentenced to life imprisonment for the gangland killings they stood accused of, it was recommended that they served at least 30 years for their crimes. There were rumblings about such strong sentences but Hamilton closes that issue by saying that "Nipper" Read knew of these and was determined that the brothers would go away for a long time.
There are times in the book when one wonders, to parody Queen Gertrude in Shakespeare's 'Hamlet', 'The gentleman doth protest too much' when continually castigating the Krays for much of the brutality and killings that were handed out. But in fairness, he does comment, '[T]he Krays didn't kill everyone who died in mysterious circumstances in the East End. I certainly don't want to blame them for everything - quite the opposite. I want to separate the fact from the fiction and make sure the murders that they did commit is known.' And it seems that there were 11 of these, including two that they drove to suicide.
This book could very well be the most authentic first-hand document of the Kray Twins' reign of terror and it is definitely not for the faint-hearted so, if a read is, be prepared to be disturbed.
At one time when London had its fair share of gangs, the Krays were bosses of the Bethnal Green Gang and this came to my attention in 1965 when I met a young lady who happened to live in Bethnal Green, a place I had never been to and had hardly ever heard of then. So I enquired in the office, 'Where is Bethnal Green?' This request was met with raised eyebrows from my colleagues who rather pointedly commented, 'You don't want to go there. That is the home of the Kray twins.' Undeterred I had to go there for a first date (Linda subsequently became my wife of 36 years) but I now understand what they were trying to tell me!
There may previously have been suggestions that the Krays had been involved with some of those now documented but (a) there was no proof and (b) "Nipper" Read when prosecuting the Krays did not want to complicate the trial by bringing out many other killings that might have been committed by the Krays. Hamilton tells us that he felt that such action could prejudice the outcome of what he, rightly as it turned out, was to be an open and shut case.
Hamilton, who was at one time close to the Krays, writes of them 'I want people to see the Krays for the monstrous villains they were and finally knock down their hero status. Well, he certainly achieves his objective and often repeats his description of them along the way. Hamilton, who was, by his own admission himself a one-time jewel thief, was close to the Krays so he speaks with some authority and he also has interviews with other people not only close to the Krays but some of whom were also present at the scene of some of the criminal activities., Many of them were afraid to come forward previously for fear of retribution - Hamilton says that even though long since dead, the Krays' power can come from beyond the grave. They all tell the truth as they saw it about 'the East End's bloodiest killers'.
In March 1969, when twins Reggie and Ronnie Kray were sentenced to life imprisonment for the gangland killings they stood accused of, it was recommended that they served at least 30 years for their crimes. There were rumblings about such strong sentences but Hamilton closes that issue by saying that "Nipper" Read knew of these and was determined that the brothers would go away for a long time.
There are times in the book when one wonders, to parody Queen Gertrude in Shakespeare's 'Hamlet', 'The gentleman doth protest too much' when continually castigating the Krays for much of the brutality and killings that were handed out. But in fairness, he does comment, '[T]he Krays didn't kill everyone who died in mysterious circumstances in the East End. I certainly don't want to blame them for everything - quite the opposite. I want to separate the fact from the fiction and make sure the murders that they did commit is known.' And it seems that there were 11 of these, including two that they drove to suicide.
This book could very well be the most authentic first-hand document of the Kray Twins' reign of terror and it is definitely not for the faint-hearted so, if a read is, be prepared to be disturbed.
At one time when London had its fair share of gangs, the Krays were bosses of the Bethnal Green Gang and this came to my attention in 1965 when I met a young lady who happened to live in Bethnal Green, a place I had never been to and had hardly ever heard of then. So I enquired in the office, 'Where is Bethnal Green?' This request was met with raised eyebrows from my colleagues who rather pointedly commented, 'You don't want to go there. That is the home of the Kray twins.' Undeterred I had to go there for a first date (Linda subsequently became my wife of 36 years) but I now understand what they were trying to tell me!
July 6, 2025
Talks about hating snitches early on in the book. Writes an entire book snitching. Literally, nobody asked.
February 20, 2019
An excellent book for anyone who has an interest in the Krays this is a must read a 74 year-old man Lenny Hamilton gives his frank and honest opinion of the twins and pulls no punches this is not a book by anyone just wanting to make a quick buck he confesses to being no Angel and has you engrossed with how many things actually happened instead of myth two words absolutely brilliant 5 stars from me easily
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews