The book that inspired the new film, this chunky and thorough look at the 1940s and 50s LA battles between crime bosses and the police might seem a little staid if you've watched the movie – there are few, if any, of the action-packed shoot-outs that would seem to be a feature of the film (and I've yet to see it, so it's possible that the trailer is misleading). What it does have is a fascinating tale of slow burn police work and the taking down of criminals through any means necessary – and that doesn't mean through violence. I guess nailing gangsters for tax evasion doesn't make for an exciting movie finale though.

The book tells several stories. There's the clean-up of the almost laughably corrupt LAPD in the 1940s, and the establishment of what was an almost clandestine division – the Gangster Squad (renamed several times over the years) who were charged with taking out the bookies, the Mafiosi, the pimps and other organised criminals through fair means or foul. This often involved illegal bugging (facilitated by illegal breaking and entering), or simply driving hapless pimps up to the Hollywood Hills and making it clear what would happen to them if they didn't pack their bags and get out of town. Often, it was little more than constant harassment – making life too difficult for the criminals to go about their day to day business.

The book also tells the story of Jack Whalen, petty criminal, enforcer and small time bookie, who would have connections to both the police and the underworld; and of Mickey Cohen, LA's highest profile mob boss, who seemed untouchable and who flaunted his lifestyle to a press who saw some weird glamour in an OCD small-timer who was most likely a murderer.
Thoroughly researched, Paul Lieberman's book is heavy on detail, but thankfully avoids getting bogged down in facts. It's a vibrant, lively story with a collection of three-dimensional characters who are multi-faceted and far from stereotyped versions of heroes and villains. It's worth noting that the cops' unorthodox methods helped to get more than one criminal back on the streets because of the violation of their rights, while Cohen often seems like someone playing at being a gangster rather than the real thing, living the role with a bloody-minded determination that was bound to be self-destructive.

In the end, it's hard to say that the Gangster Squad cleaned up Los Angeles, even for a short time – they have as many failures as victories in this story. But their story, and the stories of the mobsters, bookies, hoodlums, strippers and movie stars caught in their wake, is a fascinating look at a world of organised crime that has been surprisingly under-reported. If the film captures a portion of that world, it should be worth a look.

DAVID FLINT

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