Lowe; and a restaurant guide, Vittles and Vice (1952), Patricia Bronte, which provided Chez Paree background. My research associate George Hagenauer’s True Crime Series Three: G-Men & Gangsters (1992)—a card set, the first series of which we (notoriously) did together—was a handy useful resource.
The Riverview sequence draws upon my own memories of the park and George Hagenauer’s as well as Chuck Wlodarczyk’s valentine to the park, Riverview: Gone but Not Forgotten (1977). Some minor liberties, primarily geographic, have been taken.
Dozens of books about organized crime served as reference, most significantly: Accardo: The Genuine Godfather (1995), William F. Roemer, Jr.; All-American Mafioso (1991), Charles Rappleye and Ed Becker; Blood and Power (1989), Stephen Fox; Captive City (1969), Ovid DeMaris; Capone (1971), John Kobler; The Don (1977), William Brashler; Double Cross (1992), Sam and Chuck Giancana; The Hollywood Connection (1993), Michael Nunn; The Legacy of Al Capone (1975), George Murray; The Mafia Encyclopedia (1987), Carl Sifakis; Mafia Princess (1984), Antoinette Giancana and Thomas C. Renner; Mr. Capone (1992), Robert J. Schoenberg; Mob Lawyer (1994), Frank Ragano and Selwyn Raab; and Playboy’s History of Organized Crime (1975), Richard Hammer.
Other helpful books included: Jack Ruby’s Girls (1970), Diana Hunter and Alice Anderson; Mid-Century Modern (1984), Cara Greenberg; Playing the Field: My Story (1987), Mamie Van Doren with Art Aveilhe; The Plot to Kill the President (1981), G. Robert Blakey and Richard N. Billings; Twentieth-Century Pop Culture (1999), Dan Epstein; and This Was Burlesque (1969), Ann Corio with Joseph DiMona. Another Jack Ruby reference was “The Lost Boy,” a 1999 Gambling Magazine article by John William Tuohy.
The Acapulco sequence drew upon the beautifully written Now in Mexico (1947), Hudson Strode, as well as Around the World in 1,000 Pictures (1954), A. Milton Run-yon and Vilma F. Bergane; Pacific Mexico Handbook (1999), Bruce Whipperman; and The Wilhelms’ Guide to All Mexico (1959), John, Lawrence, and Charles Wilhelm.
A number of books on L.A. and Hollywood were also sources, including Death in Paradise (1998), Tony Blanche and Brad Schreiber; Great American Hotels (1991), James Tackach; and Sins of the City: The Real Los Angeles Noir (1999), Jim Heimann. Also, the WPA Guides for California, Los Angeles, Illinois, and Washington, D.C., were vital references.
Thanks to editor Genny Ostertag, for her strong support, and to my friend and agent, the indefatigable Dominick Abel.
As always, I am grateful for the love, support, and patience of my wife, Barbara Collins—the rare writer who can listen with interest and offer helpful suggestions to another writer when interrupted in the midst of her own work.
Photo Credit: Bamford Studio
Max Allan Collins has earned fifteen Private Eye Writers of America “Shamus” nominations, winning for his Nathan Heller novels, True Detective and Stolen Away, and receiving the PWA life achievement award, the Eye. His graphic novel, Road to Perdition, which is the basis of the Academy Award-winning film starring Tom Hanks, was followed by two novels, Road to Purgatory and Road to Paradise. His suspense series include Quarry, Nolan, Mallory, and Eliot Ness, and his numerous comics credits include the syndicated Dick Tracy and his own Ms. Tree. He has written and directed four feature films and two documentaries. His other produced screenplays include “The Expert,” an HBO World Premiere. His coffee-table book The History of Mystery received nominations for every major mystery award and Men’s Adventure Magazines won the Anthony Award. Collins lives in Muscatine, Iowa, with his wife, writer Barbara Collins. They have collaborated on seven novels and numerous short stories, and are currently writing the “Trash ‘n’ Treasures” mysteries.
