A page-turning crime tale based on a true story

Notorious outlaws Alvin Karpis and Fred Barker meet the old-fashioned way: serving time in Kansas State Prison. After their release in 1931, the two reconnect and form the infamous Barker-Karpis Gang and begin a spree of robberies that leave a wake of terror in their path, including two dead cops. Now hunted in several states, the gang settles into hiding in St. Paul, Minnesota, where they thrive under the protection of a crooked police chief, who happily turns a blind eye to their activities — so long as they commit crimes outside of his jurisdiction. With increased security at banks, the Barker-Karpis Gang switches to kidnapping, catching the attention of J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI and landing them at the top of the most-wanted list. How long can these wily men evade capture? Who can they trust? Where will they run when the entire country is hunting them, dead or alive?

Dietrich Kalteis’s short stories have been published widely, and his screenplay Between Jobs was a finalist in the 2003 Los Angeles Screenplay Festival. Kalteis lives in West Vancouver, British Columbia. This is his first novel.

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“In Crooked, Dietrich Kalteis skillfully chronicles the rise and ultimate fall of the Barker-Karpis Gang’s reign of terror. He knows his stuff, and his dialogue crackles and pops, giving the reader the vicarious thrill of a period in American history when gangsters were as well known by the public as Hollywood movie stars.” — Charles Salzberg, three-time Shamus-nominated author

“Though readers well-versed in the era’s history will know how the story ends, the action is tightly coiled enough to keep them flipping pages and rooting for the rogues. It’s another winner from Kalteis.” — Publishers Weekly

“Crooked takes us inside the world of a pair of young hoodlums who choose the wrong side of the law for fun, fame and profit … [Kalteis] had me hooked on their story like a cop pinned against the wall or a bank manager locked in his empty safe.” — The BC Review

“Crooked is a well rendered story of cocky, charming rogues, and the fast life. Dietrich Kalteis so immerses you in their world that you feel the bullets whizzing by your head as you swerve out of trouble and down the highway to the next escapade.” — Murder in Common

“Crooked travels down an outlaw road in a fast Ford coupe with bullets flying out and in and Kalteis’s foot on the gas.” — The Hard Word

“Kalteis has the gift of turning historical fiction into a cinematic adventure. A powerful storyteller at the top of his game. Crooked is a crime fiction must-read.” — John Lansing, national bestselling author of the Jack Bertolino series.

“Dietrich Kalteis has a soft spot for real life Depression-era gangsters. The crimes he chronicles are very real, but it's the rat-a-tat-tat phrases and dialogue Kalteis invents that bring the characters to life and propel the story at breakneck speed. Crooked is another winner for one of the best crime novelists of this era.” — Ken MacQueen, author of Hero Haters.

“Crooked immersed me in the world of poor, working-class young men and women in the early 1930s. But these particular young men see a way to riches — and it ain't pretty. Grab a copy and enjoy the ride.” — Robert W. Mackay, award-winning author of The Forgotten.