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Karas found no Goodfellas or Godfathers in the hours she spent reporting her true-crime accounts. At Barnes and Noble, as audience members clutch copies of Brutal awaiting Weeks’ signature, she gives a vivid disclaimer. “I never tried to white-wash, sanitize, or glamorize that life. It’s filled with death and murder,” she notes.
Adds Weeks, “I grew up in a small circle of people. I realize that there’s a majority of people out there that obey the laws. We were on the fringe of humanity. When you actually read what you’ve done and take stock, it’s eye opening. I’ve done a lot of damage.”
Karas doubts whether Weeks has learned anything from her, but she doesn’t deny that they developed an unusual bond. “We are very competitive. And I think we don’t leave any stones unturned,” says Karas, laughing, “even though his might be while digging graves. He wrote a book and he wants it to do well. I really want it to do well.” For his part, Weeks came around to sharing Karas’ journalistic mission: if we’re going to write a mob book, they thought, this mob book will be the truth. “And if you can’t handle it, don’t read it,” he says.
From all over the country now, criminals call Karas up and ask her to write their gruesome stories. Are there plans for another true-life crime thriller on her horizon? “Maybe a book about a woman who gets mixed up in the mob,” she jokes. “Only if Whitey himself came up and asked me would I do another one, but never say never.”
