The Book of Criminal Quotations

The Book of Criminal Quotations is the result of the editor, J.P. Bean, scouring virtually every true crime ever written for quotable quotes. Whenever some criminal or someone involved in the criminal justice system has been credited with saying or has written something macabre, funny, insightful, poignant or just worth quoting Bean has selected and included it in this book.

It is a highly entertaining read as well as being a valuable source for anyone with a professional interest in crime. It is indexed and has an extensive bibliography. It records from all over the world the words of murderers, conmen, gangsters, jailbreakers, supergrasses, detectives, judges, even public executioners. John Gotti, Ronnie Kray, Pablo Escobar, Ned Kelly, Ruth Ellis,and more…

Meyer Lansky, Mafia godfather: “One quarter of us is good. Three quarters is bad. That’s a tough fight, three against one.”

Mad Frankie Fraser, gangster: “They call me mad because they put me in Broadmoor twice. Obviously I’m not mad, but I could hardly call myself Sane Frankie Fraser, could I?”

Cynthia Payne, Streatham Madame: “The trouble with men is that for a woman to have a civilised conversation with them they need despunking first.”