Black Bird, James Keene
Black Bird, James Keene
48 Rating(s)
List: $16.95 | Sale: $11.87
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Black Bird

Author: James Keene

Narrator: Robertson Dean

Unabridged: 7 hr 26 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/07/2010


Synopsis

The basis for the Apple TV+ show Black Bird.In with the Devil presents the true story of a young man destined for greatness on the football field—until a few wrong turns led him to a ten-year prison sentence. He was offered an impossible mission: Coax a confession out of a fellow inmate, a serial killer, and walk free.Jimmy Keene grew up outside of Chicago. Although he was the son of a policeman and rubbed shoulders with the city’s elite, he ended up on the wrong side of the law and was sentenced to ten years with no chance of parole.Just a few months into his sentence, Keene was approached by the prosecutor who put him behind bars. He had convicted a man named Larry Hall for abducting and killing a fifteen-year-old. Although Hall was suspected of killing nineteen other young women, there was a chance he could still be released on appeal. If Keene could get him to confess to two murders, there would be no doubt about Hall’s guilt. In return, Keene would get an unconditional release from prison. But he could also get killed.A story that gained national notoriety, this is Keene’s powerful tale of peril, violence, and redemption.

About James Keene

James Keene is the son of a former police officer who went from high school football star to major-league drug dealer. Serving a long prison sentence, he accepted an offer from the federal government to go undercover as an inmate in the nation’s toughest maximum security prison for the criminally insane in order to help solve the case of a serial killer who was incarcerated there. In exchange, he would gain his own freedom. After his release, he returned to college and earned a degree in business. He now lives in Chicago.

About Hillel Levin

Hillel Levin has been a contributing writer for the Nation, a staff writer for New York, and editor for Chicago magazine. He is the author of Grand Delusions: The Cosmic Career of John DeLorean and the coauthor of When Corruption Was King. He lives near Chicago.

About Robertson Dean

Robertson Dean has played leading roles on and off Broadway and at dozens of regional theaters throughout the country. He has a BA from Tufts University and an MFA from Yale. His audiobook narration has garnered ten AudioFile Earphones Awards. He now lives in Los Angeles, where he works in film and television in addition to narrating.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jennifer on November 13, 2012

Very hard for me to read this one. I grew up with Jessica Roach, the girl Larry Hall was eventually convicted of murdering. She was four years younger than I was; I was 18 when she went missing. We grew up in the same very small town (Georgetown, IL, population 3,600), belonged - at the time - to th......more

Goodreads review by TheBookWarren on September 07, 2022

3.75 Stars — Still need some time to ruminate and cogitate on this one. A good-read, a cracker of a tale & well written. But I need to take some time to better understand how I feel about the writer and protagonist, and whether he heroised himself overtly or not!......more

Goodreads review by ♥Milica♥ on August 12, 2022

I had no idea this was also a TV series when I picked up the audiobook, but now that I do I'm going to watch it too. This was really interesting, even though a few times there were perspective jumps like a few reviews mentioned, and I was like wait where are we now, who's talking, what's going on etc......more

Goodreads review by Yara on August 31, 2022

السيرة الذاتية لجيمي كين الذي ساعد المباحث في تثبيت تهمة القتل علي المجرم والقاتل المتسلسل لاري هول عرفت الكتاب من دراما ابل الحديثة black bird دراما حوارية ممتازة شاهدوها ممتعة وشاهدوا أيضا وثائقي CNN عن لاري هول......more

Goodreads review by Fraser on October 08, 2022

Falls under the technically, you told a story category, for me. It’s very oddly written in a way, since Keene is a third person perspective but it’s ostensibly his book? Clearly, it is written by the other person with details supplied by Keene, which makes it odd he’s the predominate name, but I gue......more


Quotes

“Reads like a fast-paced suspense novel.” Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune

“An amazing story.” Chicago Sun-Times

“Keene and coauthor Levin structure the book like a mystery novel, dramatizing events that Keene didn’t observe firsthand, and telling the story in the third person. It’s a clever way to narrate a true-crime tale, more involving, somehow, than a straight first-person account might have been. Recommend this fascinating, suspenseful book to readers of both true crime and crime fiction.” Booklist

“A low-key but fascinating view of life behind bars that deserves a wide audience.” Kirkus Reviews