No Handcuffs: The Final Word on My War with The Krays

by Eddie Richardson (Narrator), Karl Jenkinson (Narrator)

Eddie Richardson is the last brand-name gangster. Say the name and the world of violent criminality grabs you by the throat.

The Richardson brothers, Eddie and Charlie, and their infamous 'Torture Gang', made money while their rivals Ronnie and Reggie Kray made fatal mischief. They fought each other, but now, in 2018, Eddie Richardson says: 'They tell me blood is thicker than water, but with Charlie it wasn't so. He was evil.'

With his brother dead, Eddie Richardson feels free to detail the story of a vicious family feud that provoked extravagant acrimony. No Handcuffs unravels the mysteries of decades of crime and political incident. The story of a turbulent era, it rivals the most imaginative fiction in its portrayal of gangland life with all its chanciness and rawness and careless disregard for any obstacle on the way to its target, the big money.

In an inspired collaboration with bestselling author Douglas Thompson, the mature Eddie Richardson is given a voice to reflect on his journey from the scrapyards of South London to the glitz and glamour of the West End nightclubs, to the flesh and tease of Soho, down Downing Street and through the door of Number 10 to the perils of espionage and international intrigue, and his elevation to demigod status in hard-men territory - and finally as a high-security inmate at Her Majesty's pleasure, but with a personal fridge kept well stocked with gourmet food.

No Handcuffs resonates today for, if anything, greed and corruption are more perverse, more rampant. As Eddie Richardson points out: 'We wrote the handbook for them.'

Genres: True Crime, Audiobook, Nonfiction, Biography, Autobiography

Audible Audio

Published May 16, 2019

Reviews

[Nigeyb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm interested in 1960s London gangland and have read a few books on the Krays however didn't know much about the Richardson brothers (Charlie and Eddie) whose names also frequently crop up in the history of the era.

No Handcuffs: The Final Word on My War with The Krays - The Last King of Gangland was published in 2019 and with many associated criminals now dead Eddie Richardson is free to be more honest about what actually happened.

If you are interested in this stuff then this book is well worth a read. Eddie refutes a lot of the mythology and claims that he made far more from his legitimate businesses than from any of his criminal enterprises.

He is very negative about his reckless brother Charlie who betrayed him on numerous occaions and was indirectly responsible for his first stretch in prison. This prison sentence was as a result of the infamous Torture Gang trial. Eddie states he had no involvement and that the establishment was out to get him. It has the ring of authenticity as he appears to be so honest about so many of his less attractive characteristics. But who knows?

He is unapologetic about his violent past, various scams, and how he participated in paying off police. I came away liking the mature Eddie Richardson and really enjoyed his story. A typical working class London upbringing during the 1930s, into South London scrapyards, bars, night clubs, fruit machines etc as he moved into London's West End and Soho.

Despite the subtitle, the references to the Krays are relatively few but Eddie has no time for them, believing them to be stupid and ill equipped to deal with running businesses. He's also convinced in a one to one "straightener" he'd have had no problems in coming out on top. He actually encounters Reggie Kray a few times in prison and they get on well. He describes Reggie as lost and unable to deal with prison life. By contrast Eddie spends his first stretch fighting the system, and his second prison sentence taking every opportunity for education, finally reinventing himself as a fairly successful artist.

If you are intersted in the era then this memoir is full of great anecdotes, is well written and well structured. It's significantly better than I was expecting.

4/5

[andy russell · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book is titled, The final word, on my war with the Krays.
There is mention of the Krays, but not much at all.
This book is more about what Eddie got up to and his time in the prison systems and about his friends and foes

[Ralph Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

75% of the book is a comprehensive list of the crimes he committed and mostly got away with due to a corrupt system and bribing police. 25% is complaining about being given a big jail sentence from the same corrupt system.

[Tim Ransom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating read...

A fascinating read highlighting Eddie Richardson's life both inside and outside of the Prison system.If true crime and in particular the gangs of 1960's London are of interest,this book is a must read.Most insightful is his strained relationship with his brother Charlie and also details about the characters both friends and enemies for whome Eddie associated with in and out of prison.Also his time spent behind bars is interesting and insightful,and how he coped with the situations presented to him at this time is quite admirable,and to come out the other side as a talented artist is amazing...

[Tom Birkett · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5. Good at the start, but couldn't overlook the blatant hypocrisy throughout. Spends half the book on about the crimes he's committed and got away with, and the other half complaining about being locked up for crimes he did commit but was slightly different than how it was portrayed in court. His story is obviously interesting and I enjoyed reading about it, but how it was written was quite repetitive and irritating.

[angie harkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant

Fantastic Read! Wow through adversity this man found beauty through his Art! A true insight & truth I felt about 60s gangsters & lifestyle! Thank you it was a real joy getting to know you through your book!

[Hayley · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok at first, but I ended up not finishing it. He bashes the Kray twins, goes on about how he was the dog's bollox and better than his brother.
Self-indulgent and quite frankly, boring.
And I love a true-crime gangster story normally!!

[Aaron Tong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Considering the book is titled the final word on my war with the Krays there isn’t any in depth information into it more is just him feeling sorry for him self not a bad read but wouldn’t recommend it

[Allen Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, interesting perspective of the Richardson’s opinion of the Kray twins, and gives good insight into a lesser known London gang.

[Adam Treen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, enthralling and an easy read page turner. Some aspects were a bit gruesome but in general would recommend this

[Jonathan Tabreham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like other reviews say not lots of things about the Krays but what there is in there is very interesting. Well worth a read.

[Calum McCabe · Rating 4 out of 5]

If any of it is true, then it is a real insight to the glory years of being a London gangster. An easy read