First published 1992
Charles Arthur Floyd grows up poor in Oklahoma, watching his family struggle to survive. The young man turns to small crimes to make ends meet, then discovers the profitable world of bootlegging during Prohibition. Floyd marries, but his criminal lifestyle creates constant tension at home. His wife endures his absences as he serves jail sentences and becomes increasingly violent. Floyd commits his first murder, then more follow as he builds his reputation in the criminal underworld. Law enforcement begins hunting him across state lines. The boy who started stealing out of desperation transforms into Pretty Boy Floyd, one of the most wanted men in America. His story reveals how poverty and limited choices can push someone toward a life of escalating crime and violence.
Genres: american-fiction, 20th-century, crime, biography-memoir
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: escalating-crime, rags-to-riches
Setting: Oklahoma
Period: Prohibition
375 pages · Hardcover · St Martins Pr
Content warnings: violence