Armed Candy: A True-Life Story of Organised Crime

by Reg McKay

Gunned down in broad daylight on his own home patch in 1998, the young man's murder seemed like just another street squabble between drug dealers, and the police marked the file unsolved. But in a one-mile stretch of Glasgow's slums, the victim's bodies started falling, disappearing, overdosing, and meeting accidents. The police were at a loss. This is the story of organized crime gone paranoid and turning in on itself, seen through unusual eyes. Kay, a call-girl by profession, was a member of the inner circle of one of the countries most vicious gangs. Raised in a rural middle-class home, she spent her teenaged years in rough housing schemes, and was conned into prostitution by her mother. After a chance meeting with a gangster in a bar, she was recruited by him as his confidante. Soon she was carrying a loaded gun. She took a lover, the gang's equalizer, who was the young man gunned down in the street. For Kay it was the start of her way out.

Genres: Biography, True Crime

224 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2002

Reviews

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again, a harrowing account of a disadvantage life. However, I grew to dislike Kay because of the choices she continually made. It was frustrating when she is clearly a clever women!

[Ross Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

My neighbourhood

[Lyndsay L · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me fall in love with reading . It was truly heartbreaking and inspiring. One book I will most definitely read again and again 👌

[Marion Brands · Rating 5 out of 5]

Firstly, I was recommended this book by a friend and I am so glad that I have read it. This book tells a brilliant account of a young woman living and trying to survive in the streets of Glasgow. The first few chapters of the book were quite shocking due to the childhood abuse that Kay endured from her own grandmother- which you would not normally expect. Kay seemed to have been forced to grow up very quickly when she returned to her mother's care, who put her through prostitution. She seems to adapt very quickly and uses this to her advantage later on by becoming a high class call girl earning herself good money. However, this led to Kay becoming involved in one of the most renowned gangs in Glasgow, and forming a relationship with Paul Ferris who was gunned down by his own gang. This book seems to highlight survival and the ability to adapt to situations quickly. It was also very beneficial to read this from a woman's perspective of organised crime as, I'm not being sexist here, a lot of reading material on organised crime is often written using the male perspective and their experiences. Furthermore, it was good to have that insight from Kay's experience of being involved in organised crime and also her experience from being a call girl.
In addition, for someone like Kay to go through all that trauma and still survive and manage to make it for herself is incredible. I know a lot of readers maybe quite judgemental of Kay's involvement in prostitution and drugs and the people she was involved with however this book needs to be interpreted with a very open mind being able to look underneath that. Kay is most definitley a strong, courageous character who had been through a lot. In addition, another courageous move from Kay was telling her story to Reg McKay which would've taken a lot of valor in my opinion if I had been in her situation.

Overall, definitley a brilliant read, may be controversial to some readers but as I say keep an open mind and stick with it!

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Living in glasgow I felt compelled to read this book after having scanned the back cover. So much is made of the male element of organised crime in Glasgow that it is interesting to see the female point of view.
It is undoubtedly gritty and very definitely not for the faint hearted. But it was easy to warm to the character Kay because of the difficult life she has led. And it makes me appreciate that even as much as I love this fair city, it is crawling with a dark underbelly. lest we forget!
RIP Reg McKay - a great author who must have had balls of steel!

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book it was the first book i read from start to finish i have now started another book wish i done this when i was younger i love true stories and true crime