Son of a Grifter: Growing Up W/Sante & Kenny Kimes: The Twisted Tale of the Most Notorious Con Artists in America

by Kent Walker and Mark Schone

Book Overview

In 1998 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, an Oedipal team of scam artists who left a trail of blood, lies, and larceny from coast to coast. 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...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060188650
• ISBN13: 9780060188658
• Release Date: April 2001
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 1.67 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.1" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

A lesson for all!

For those out there who think that making more laws will make for less crime, this book will hopefully awaken you to the mind and life and the career criminal and predator. Sante Kimes saw laws as minor obstacles in her delusional path toward greatness and everyone, even here sons and husband, as either target from which to gain her desires or tools to use to fulfill her needs. All the laws, gun control, anti-crime bills, and other such things will not stop this sort of person. The book not only details the individual predators but also shows their victims and how they more or less set themselves up. This is a rare look into the type of family from which the law abiding public's enemies emerge and go on to manipulate the system and people to achieve their usually disastrous ends.Well written and a great read. It took a lot of guts to put down some of those words and Kent Walker deserves to be applauded for that and for getting on the right path and staying there.

An astounding memoir

This book is packaged and marketed like a standard brick of true crime with a photo section in the middle, but it is actually a unique and enthralling personal memoir, and a valuable contribution to late 20th century social history to boot. The prose is superb, and the clarity of Kent Walker's psychological insights, into both his family history and own mind are beyond impressive. Anyone generally interested in the phenomenon of charisma (REAL charisma, the Weberian kind, not manufactured "charisma" as seen on tv) will profit from this book, which plumbs its mysteries with particular intelligence. One would not think, either from the descriptions or photographs, that anyone would be able to find Sante Kimes as anything other than repulsive. And yet, she had this incredible, awful capacity to influence and control those around her, through sheer force of personality. This is a horrifying story, but also, in the strangest of ways, an inspiring one, in that Kent Walker somehow managed to transcend an upbringing among sociopaths to become some semblance of a human being. I read this book in two sittings, and it would have been one, except that I had to sleep.

Son of a Grifter is the Mother of All True Crime Books

OK - first of all, the content is fascinating. A highly detailed account of growing up in a family of sociopaths, and the aftermath thereof.What makes this book special, though, is how it doesn't just recite the criminal history of the Kimes family, but uses it to rise above the true crime genre. Instead of just reciting the sleaze and scams that Sante Kimes and her family pull off (which, let's face it, no matter how much of a highbrow you might be, are worth reading about in and of themselves), Son of a Grifter elevates this material by describing how the Kimes' criminal activities map into (and out of) that defining aspect of our society, the search for the American Dream. This book is not your usual tabloid quickie designed to cash in on a hot crime story. Thing more along the lines of Norman Mailer's "The Executioner's Song" or Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood." It's scrupulously researched, incredibly well written, and really captures the voice of its central characters.I hardly ever buy audio books, but I heard Kent Walker on NPR, and his speaking voice is perfect for this story. I'll be driving cross-country this summer, and think I'll get the audio version for the feeling of that coast-to-coast opportunistic drifting that Sante Kimes is emblematic of.

Son of a Grifter

This particular book was one I HAD to read after seeing the Kime's on 60 Minutes a couple of years ago. Watching their segment, it was obvious Sante and Kenny were astonishing liars, but why--and how--do people GET that way? The Mother, the Son and the Socialite was an account of their crime-ridden lives but dealt in facts regarding the crimes they'd committed, not a personal portrait of either of them. Those facts can only be revealed by a family member. Kent Walker seems to be honest in his assessment of his mother and brother, and certainly doesn't whitewash his role in the family dynamic. His story is a sad one in that the only extended family he has will never be a part of his life again, yet at the same time, they will be the "800 pound gorilla" till he dies. I am glad he was able to write this book to give us some insight into how a Sante Kimes can influence her own children so negatively. I am also very saddened for him, since no matter what this woman and her other son have done, they are still his mother and brother. The last 20 pages are heart-breaking to read. God bless Kent Walker.

My personal experience

I've known Kent Walker personally for years. His story is gripping and absolutely true. Kent tells, in vivid detail, what it was like being "The Other Son" of Sante Kimes. His story is both poignant and shocking. This is a must read for any crime buff because it goes into to such detail. Look for this one to top the bestseller lists. God Bless You Kent!