The Shocking True Story of a Family of Killers for Hire

The Hitmen

The No 1 Bestseller! 
 
'A triumph' Nicola Tallant, Sunday World Crime World podcast 
 
'An incredible catalogue of mayhem ... amazing' Pat Kenny, Newstalk 
 
'Riveting' Irish Times 
 
Meet the Wilsons - the deadliest family in crime 
 
Brothers Eric, Keith and John Wilson, their cousin Alan, and nephew Luke shared a trade - assassination. Working for Ireland's criminal gangs they brought bloodshed and chaos to the streets. 
 
The Wilsons were not choosy about their targets. Hutches, Real IRA chiefs or random opponents from pub rows - they were all the same to them. Nor were they picky about motives - as long as the price was right, they asked no questions. 
 
The Hitmen is the shocking story of how a family cornered the market in intimidation and vengeance. It details the terrible cost in human suffering, particularly the death of an innocent teenage girl, Mariaora Rostas, when she randomly crossed their path. And it reveals how, one by one, each of the Wilsons was put out of business. 
 
The Hitmen draws on exclusive access to wire taps, case files and interviews with sources close to the gang who have never spoken before. No 1 bestselling authors Stephen Breen and Owen Conlon have written an extraordinary account of a family business like no other.

Meet the Wilsons - the deadliest family in crime 
 
Brothers Eric, Keith and John Wilson, their cousin Alan, and nephew Luke shared a trade - assassination. Working for Ireland's criminal gangs they brought bloodshed and chaos to the streets. 
 
The Wilsons were not choosy about their targets. Hutches, Real IRA chiefs or random opponents from pub rows - they were all the same to them. Nor were they picky about motives - as long as the price was right, they asked no questions. 
 
The Hitmen is the shocking story of how a family cornered the market in intimidation and vengeance. It details the terrible cost in human suffering, particularly the death of an innocent teenage girl, Mariaora Rostas, when she randomly crossed their path. And it reveals how, one by one, each of the Wilsons was put out of business. 
 
The Hitmen draws on exclusive access to wire taps, case files and interviews with sources close to the gang who have never spoken before. No 1 bestselling authors Stephen Breen and Owen Conlon have written an extraordinary account of a family business like no other.

A gangster’s life – the bloody career of Freddie Thompson

Fat Freddie

The No 1 Bestseller 
 
'A fascinating read' Seán O'Rourke, RTÉ Radio One 
 
'Fat' Freddie Thompson first appeared in court in 1997. He was sixteen and already aspiring to be a major crime boss. Over the next twenty years his criminal career would be marked by mayhem, brutality and murder. 
 
In 2000 a row over a failed drugs deal ignited a murderous feud in Dublin's south inner city. The Crumlin-Drimnagh feud's first victim was a friend of Thompson's and he led his Crumlin crew in a series of tit-for-tat killings. Sixteen young men would lose their lives over the next fifteen years. 
 
Meanwhile, childhood friend, Daniel Kinahan, had become a senior figure in his father Christy Kinahan's international crime cartel. Working with the Kinahan Cartel Thompson launched himself as a drugs dealer in Dublin. 
 
When another deadly feud broke out in 2016 - between the powerful Kinahans and veteran Dublin criminal, Gerry 'The Monk ' Hutch - Thompson was ready to get his hands dirty. But Thompson's loyalty would be his undoing. In August 2018 he was convicted of murder and jailed. 
 
Fat Freddie is a gripping account of the rise and fall of Freddie Thompson. Award-winning crime journalist, Stephen Breen, co-author of the No 1 bestselling The Cartel, has written the definitive portrait of a notorious Dublin gangster, a shocking story of double-crossing, vengeance and murder.

'Fat' Freddie Thompson first appeared in court in 1997. He was seventeen and already aspiring to be a major crime boss. Over the next twenty years his criminal career would be marked by mayhem, brutality and murder. 
 
In 2000 a row over a failed drugs deal ignited a murderous feud in Dublin's south inner city. The first victim of the Crumlin-Drimnagh feud was a childhood friend of Thompson's. He vowed revenge and led his Crumlin crew in a series of tit-for-tat killings. Sixteen young men would lose their lives over the next 12 years. 
 
Meanwhile, another childhood friend, Daniel Kinahan, had become a senior figure in his father Christy Kinahan's international crime cartel. Working with the Kinahan Cartel Thompson launched himself as a drugs dealer in Dublin. 
 
So when an even deadlier feud broke out in 2016 - this time between the powerful Kinahans and veteran Dublin criminal, Gerry 'The Monk ' Hutch - Thompson was one of their staunchest allies and prepared to get his hands dirty. But Thompson's loyalty would be his undoing. In August 2018 he was convicted of murder and jailed. 
 
Fat Freddie is a gripping account of the rise and fall of Freddie Thompson. Award-winning crime journalist, Stephen Breen, co-author of the No 1 bestselling The Cartel, has written the definitive portrait of a notorious Dublin gangster, a shocking story of double-crossing, vengeance and murder.

The shocking story of the Kinahan crime cartel

The Cartel

The No.1 Bestseller 
 
The definitive account of the rise of the Kinahan gang and the deadly feud that shocked a nation and brought the gang to the edge of destruction. 
__________ 
 
February 2016. A daring gun attack in the Regency Hotel brings Dubliner Christy Kinahan and his international criminal cartel to a horrified public's attention. 
 
Kinahan's son Daniel, the target of the attack, escapes. A trusted henchman dies at the scene. And the deadly rivalry between the Kinahans and the family and associates of the veteran Dublin gangster Gerry Hutch becomes all-out war. It results in a never-before-seen level of international cooperation - including Irish, UK and US police forces - to topple the Kinahan gang. 
 
The Cartel offers a unique behind-the-scenes account of how the Kinahan organised crime organisation got so big, and why a local feud sowed the seeds for the gang's destruction. 
__________ 
 
'It's incisive, it's intriguing, it's fascinating' Ryan Tubridy 
 
'Fascinating!' Keith Ward, FM104

The No 1 bestselling story of the rise of Ireland's first international crime cartel - the Kinahan gang - and the bloody feud that may be its undoing.

The Cartel is the definitive account of how a working class Dublin lad rose to figure on Europol's top 10 list of criminal godfathers. It outlines how Christy Kinahan crossed borders at will to send drugs and arms all over Europe, dealing decisively and something lethally with anyone who got in his way, while remaining beyond the reach of the authorities. 
 
The Cartel also explores the recent events that have brought the Kinahan gang centre stage. It explains how once-firm allies have now turned on each other in the most shocking criminal feud Ireland has ever seen.

Stephen Breen

John Hand

Grim, forensic and often eye-opening … meticulously researched and soberly written

The Ruthless Hit Squads Who Brought Terror To Dublin Streets And How They Were Stopped

After an audacious assassination attempt on boss Daniel Kinahan's life, the Kinahan Cartel recruited an unprecedented number of killers to retaliate against their attackers, the Hutch gang. Kinahan Assassins is the compelling behind-the-scenes account of one man's thirst for vengeance and how it proved fatal for his organization. 
 
Kinahan Assassins has the stories of the men who killed for the cartel - including vulnerable drug addicts, a former British soldier, an MMA fighter and an invisible 'Mr Nobody' who acted as a cartel quartermaster - as well as those who gave them orders. 
 
And it details how, one by one, the hit teams were identified, surveilled and taken down by the Irish police. Featuring new and exclusive material – conversations from wiretaps, insights from gardaí at the heart of the operations and interviews with the loved ones of innocents caught in the crossfire – Kinahan Assassins is a startling and gripping read that throws a new light on the war on organized crime.

Stephen Breen

Praise for Kinahan Assassins

Grim, forensic and often eye-opening … meticulously researched and soberly written

Books by Stephen Breen

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter