Surviving the Krays

I think I've read every book about the Krays ever published over the years, from the one Ron Kray "commissioned" John Pearson to write to promote his self-image as London's Al Capone to the more recent ones that show the reality of a couple of low-rent sick and twisted psychopathic perverts.
I thought I'd read it all and heard it all,surely decades after the gruesome twosome's reign of terror,several books,newspaper and internet articles and TV documentaries over the years everything about the Krays had been done to death?

I was proved wrong,this book promises "The Final Explosive Secret About The Krays" ,and some very surprising,and worrying, facts do come to light for the first time . Without giving anything away David Teale's book shows that there were people in roles that are supposed to protect the British public who were well-aware of what the Krays were doing but left them alone for their own reasons. mostly that was "bent coppers" but more shadowy forces were also following their own agenda.
I'd already read Bobby Teale's book about many of the events in the book but there's plenty more in here and it's always good to get a different perspective on things. I fully understood David's anger at what he saw as Bobby putting the rest of the family at risk, not least as he was fully aware of the nature of the Krays and what they were capable of doing.

This is a great read,I lost day reading it from start to finish as soon as I'd downloaded it. There are quite a few new revelations .If ,like me,you thought you'd read all there is to know about the Krays and their entourage......you haven't until you read this.Apart from anything else it's another nail in the coffin of the reputation of a pair of truly loathsome and despicable characters.

The only book about the Krays I had read prior to this was 'The Profession of Violence' by John Pearson, and that was in the 1990s, so I came to 'Surviving the Krays' as a reader with only a general overview.

Not being steeped in Krays lore I found 'Surviving the Krays' a fascinating read. I cannot comment on how it stacks up against the plethora of other accounts however there is no doubting David Teale's insider credentials. It was David's family flat the twins and their entourage stayed in for a couple of weeks after Ronnie had shot rival gangster George Cornell. David, his wife and young family were virtually held hostage.

To say that David (and his brothers) regret getting involved with the Krays would be an understatement. The toll this involvement took beggars belief. I'll keep this review spoiler free but, suffice to say, it's horrendous with little if any upside.

David and his brothers all gave evidence at the Kray trials having previously been imprisoned on a trumped up charge, apparently to keep them protected, whilst Detective Inspector "Nipper" Read was building the case against the Krays.

To add further context to this account, David scrutinised newly released documents in the National Archives, and using this previously classified information, together with his own experiences, has some interesting insights into how and why the Krays remained untouchable for a few years, and what lead to their demise. Being the late 1960s, bent coppers and establishment cover ups play a big part.

I heartily recommend 'Surviving the Krays'. It's an engrossing and interesting account from a Krays insider.

4/5