Zero at the Bone: The Playboy, the Prostitute, and the Murder of Bobby Greenlease

This haunting true crime tale brings to life the infamous 1953 kidnapping and murder of Bobby Green-lease. The son of a wealthy Kansas City automobile dealer, Bobby was just six years old when a pair of grifters, Carl Austin Hall and Bonnie Heady, snatched him away---and set what was then the country's highest ransom ever paid. Six hundred thousand dollars later, Bobby was killed anyway, setting off a chain of events that would culminate in notorious mobster Joe Costello stealing half the ransom and Hall and Heady's eventual double execution. Told by acclaimed journalist John Heidenry in bone-chilling detail, and featuring a cast of characters ranging from underground crime bosses and hard-boiled detectives to the victim's family and the murderers themselves, this is the story of one of the most complex and least understood crimes in American history.

"This true crime caper...carries a solid punch... Heidenry neatly tells this harrowing tale and its impact on all involved."---Publishers Weekly

"Heidenry delivers a lean, mean account...Harsh, chilling, lurid, and gripping."---Kirkus Reviews

John Heidenry is a contributing editor to The Week, founding editor of St. Louis Magazine, and author of several books, including The Gashouse Gang and What Wild Ecstasy. He lives in Hoboken, New Jersey.