Customer Reviews

Son of a Grifter: The Twisted Tale of Sante and Kenny Kimes, the Most Notorious Con Artists in America: A Memoir by the Other Son

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3 star:		(5)
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1 star:		(3)

 

 

The story of Sante and Kenny Kimes is widely known since their murder trial last year. But here we now have all the details under one cover. It is amazing to realize that one single human being can accomplish every crime imaginable, from shoplifting to murder. Sante sure has a focused negative mind, like a black marketeer who cannot envision a legal deal. And, like a gambling addict, she has to feed her habit. Amazing is the fact that she is basically dumb: all her major deals went wrong.

Kent, her oldest son who wrote this book, tells us that he has weaned himself from his mother. Yet he still calls her Mom and constantly mentions his love for her. I thought it very telling that in the many pictures he added to the book he constantly shows his mother - but never his father.

The book is completely disorganized, jumping around in time, location and subject. Properly edited, it could have been shortened considerably.

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.

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.

I first heard about this book while jogging on a treadmill at the gym while the "Today Show" was being shown. The author, Kent Walker lived on a treadmill for most of his life. While the book is written in the first person, Mr. Walker somehow manages to make it appear that he is on the outside looking in. Considering his life with his mother I'd say that he has been through the looking glass and back. While we have all known people who are flambouyant and perhaps a bit eccentric, Sante Kimes surpasses them all. I would not classify her as sociopathic, but she is definitely one of the most twisted narcissists I have ever read about. If this was a work of fiction, one might blame the author for having an over-active imagination. I can only liken living in this woman's world to spending a lifetime with a psychotic Lucy Ricardo. Chaos, of her own making, rules her life and the lives of those around her. Her second husband, Ken Kimes, comes across as her true soul mate. The author, her poor eldest son, would have you believe that Ken was a dupe for whom we should feel pity, when, in fact, he is as conniving and unfeeling as his wife. A short review cannot express the sheer evil this woman exudes, one must read the book! Even then, it is hard to believe the audacity of this woman. I personally felt embarrassment for her and her family during some of the surreal situations in which she placed herself and those around her. She, on the other hand, has no sense of shame at all. Whether filling her handbag with stolen lipstick or committing murder to gain access to another's riches, she acts at all times like she is engaged in an entertaining board game. Her greed knows no limits. Her cruelty is unbounded. If you are a fan of true crime and psychological thrillers, you must read this book. Her son, the author, states that he will miss her every day of his life! When you read what was done to him it is extremely difficult to believe that he could miss anything about her. I wonder that he didn't murder her in her sleep! Don't think that this book is a simple little tale of a dysfunctional family. This book is about a woman who is so extraordinarily evil that it difficult to believe that it is a work of non-fiction. It is difficult to believe that she was conceived of human parents! Simply put, whe is disgusting! If you doubt that there is evil in the world, read the book. Your doubts will be forever gone.

We all know the media-generated story of the oddly close mother/son team who killed Irene Silverman in New York City in July 1998. "Son of a Grifter" author Kent Walker, himself the son and the half brother of the grifting pair, takes us behind the gruesome mug shots and into the lives of Sante and Kenny Kimes.

Most shockingly, son Kent doesn't even know his mother's real name. He says, convincingly, that birth certificates and all such "official" documents are the easiest to forge and therefore doesn't quite believe what's registered on behalf of his mother. He's a loyal son, though, and attempts to paint a balanced portrait of Sante and Kenny, showing both the good and the bad elements of each and drawing credible conclusions as to how bad people become bad people. Kent himself was a childhood grifter, who, along with Mom, squirmed his way into all kinds of shifty situations and emerged--frighteningly--victorious.

There's too much to say about this book. I purposely did not finish it in one day just so I had something to look forward to for the next. It's a fast, fast read, loaded with detail and enough insight to really make you believe how criminals are made, not born.

Kent, once a strapping beach boy, has slid into paunchy middle age with the grace of a seasoned pro, someone who proudly proclaims his life "boring." He gets demerits, though, for exposing his wife and children to his mother's wicked ways, and glosses over the rumors of incest between mother and son like so much party gossip. One can't be that intertwined with one's sociopathic parent without something else goin' on. Also, he devotes all of one sentence to the fact that baby brother Kenny slept with his father until he was 14. (!) We need another author with Kent's access and ghostwriter Schone's brilliance with structure to tell the deeper, truer story of this criminal family.

Overall, cudos to all involved. A truly great, often funny and scary book that does more than take you "behind the scenes" of crime in America. It forces you to live with it until the final page.

I had been waiting for a book on Sante and Kenny Kimes for some time. SON OF A GRIFTER was fascinating at first, disgusting at finish.

I was disgusted that the police apparently ignored Kent Walker for years when he attempted to turn his amoral mother in.

Walker deserves credit for trying to stop her, or rather use other people to stop her, and he does appear to have broken away from Sante's malign influence (would a con man run a vacuum cleaner distributorship? The things have to WORK) but I was disturbed at some of the subtexts in the Silverman murder.

Sante Kimes apparently taught her son Kenny that 'other people were not important' but Walker describes her as a bigot and anti-Semite. Irene Silverman was Jewish. No mention is made of how this might have marked her as a potential victim to these people.

Walker also glosses over the probable fact that his brother and mother committed incest. The implications are there, however.

Sante Kimes is a woman with a hole in her soul who destroyed everyone and everything she touched. Ken Kimes was little better--this is really a story of TWO sociopaths who raised one monster and one human being. I can recommend this book to fans of true crime, if that is a legitimate term, but it will make you despair for the human race.

I read true crime with a vengeance, and can usually get through a mass murderer/serial killer/deviant nut book within hours. I can't understand why reviewers are saying they got through this book in 2 days. This book is so jam-packed with information and details that if anyone reads it within 2 days, they are skipping ahead to the murders and not reading all that came before. It took me a week to read this book,and grasp it all, and it was quite good. Mr. Walker makes no bones about the fact that he loves his mother and adored his brother. That's different, and perhaps nuts, but also interesting. And it takes a LOT longer than a day or two to read this book. I know: took me 3 hours to read "A Stranger Beside Me"; took me a total of 6 hours to read the three books out on Darlie Routier; took me a month to slough my way through the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy. This is NOT a quick read, but is worth the effort.

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.

This book is great.

It is a page turner, but I couldn't help but thinking, "This is your family"... I think the author has years of psycho therapy ahead of him.

But he tells a good story. I don't know if I beleive everything he writes, though. Maybe he's not as innocent as he says he is. He cops to a lot of bad behavior, but stops short of admitting anything that could result in leagal trouble for him.

Not that I blame him. His mother and brother are scary people.

I think he's a little scary too. Notice I didn't say "was".

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!