Product Description

In 1988 a troubled young man and his flamboyant mother were arrested for murdering a wealthy widow in her New York City mansion. Suddenly, America was transfixed by a pair of real-life film noir characters. The media couldn't get enough of the twisted relationship between Sante Kimes and her twenty-three-year-old son Kenny.

But the most chilling story of all was never told—until now. Kent Walker, Sante's elder son, reveals how he survived forty years of "the Dragon Lady's" very special brand of motherly love and still managed to get away.

As a child Kent watched his mother destroy his hardworking father, Ed Walker, and then—with Kent's painful collusion—snare what Sante called "my millionaire." When she married seemingly respectable real-estate developer Ken Kimes, it was a match made in hell.

For the next two decades Kent's mother and stepfather indulged in a globetrotting orgy of criminal behaviour.

Kent, their would-be recruit, was privy to the family business—torching houses, defrauding friends, crashing White When Kent's half-brother, Kenny was born, Kent was twelve years old—old enough to know that he was his younger sibling's only protector. Kent tried desperately to save Kenny from his mother's sinister bidding. His failure haunts him to this day.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #601232 in Books
• Published on: 2002-03-14
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .1 pounds
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 512 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Convicted last year of murdering millionaire heiress Irene Silverman in New York City and waiting to stand trial for a second murder in California, Sante and Kenny Kimes, mother and son, have become two of the best-known American criminals of recent years. In the wake of widespread, high-profile media coverage, this book purports to fill in missing details of Sante's murky biography. Walker, who is Sante Kimes's eldest son and half-brother to Kenny, catalogues the wrongdoings of the woman he still affectionately calls "Mom," including everything from shoplifting and theft to multiple counts of arson, insurance fraud and slavery. Walker vividly recounts his childhood with Sante and her third husband, Ken Kimes, detailing how the couple indoctrinated him into criminality. The author, who appears to be exorcising personal demons, does a fine job of elucidating the psychological and emotional price of being loved and cared for by a sociopath. It is this tension, between the loving mother and the criminal willing to neglect and at times even betray her child, that pushes the story forward. Unfortunately, the litany of crimes is so vast and comes so fast that the narrative never quite lingers long enough to develop real drama or suspense. Well researched and touching, though, it testifies to how one son can evolve into a killer and the other live to tell the tale. As a chronicle of Sante Kimes's life, it's unlikely to be surpassed by any other. The only person likely to tell a more intimate tale is Sante herself. Photos not seen by PW. (April 23)Forecast: This is the first major look at the criminal Kimes family, and with the media attention surrounding the forthcoming trial as well as appearances by Walker on Larry King and NBC's Dateline it should attract many readers throughout the summer.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
The authors tell a compellingly sordid and ultimately very sad story that began, at least for the newspaper-reading and TV news-watching public, when a middle-aged woman named Sante Kimes and her twentysomething son, Kenny, were arrested for murdering a wealthy woman in New York City as part of an involved plot to abscond with her money and possessions. But there is much more to the story than that, and Walker, Sante's older son and Kenny's half-brother, tells it all in astounding detail. Sante Kimes was a finagler, con artist, manipulator, and thief from practically the first day she drew breath; soon enough, murderer would be added to her list of labels. Perhaps the most amazing aspect of her career in crime was the way she was able to enlist her two sons in her brazen illegal activities. Author Kent wised up to his mother, although it took him a long time to summon the strength to pull away from this Lady Svengali. But unfortunate Kenny, now incarcerated, as is Sante, seems yet to understand that he was psychologically poisoned by his mother. A movie attempting to tell Sante Kimes' story would be criticized for being overblown and implausible. And yet, this story is neither; instead, it is one of the most engrossing true-crime accounts to be published in recent memory. Expect this compelling book to get all the attention it deserves. Brad Hooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
“Well-researched and touching...A a chronicle of Sante Kime’s life, it’s unlikely to be surpassed by any other.” (Publishers Weekly )

“One of the most engrossing true-crime accounts to be published in recent memory.” (Booklist )

“A colorful guide to Kimes family values...a fluent first-person account of Walker’s weird formative years.” (Janet Maslin, New York Times )

“Enthralling...A mesmerizing account of growing up as the child of a world-class sociopath.” (David Plotz, New York Times )