"13 Steps For Charlie Birger" - A Novel By Kevin Corley

Charlie Birger's legend might have begun the day the sheriff allowed him to keep his Tommy gun in the jail cell with him. Or it might have begun the year he teamed up with the notorious Shelton Gang to fight the bloody war against the Glenn Young and his 3,000 Ku Klux Klan members. 

Others might say it was how he lived his life or more importantly, how he ultimately died. No matter the reasons for Charlie's fame, everyone agrees he left behind a trail of gruesome corpses. 

This novel is based on the incredible true story of the Shelton and Birger Gangs who built bootlegging empires that rivaled anything found in Al Capone's Chicago during the prohibition years of the1920s.

Kevin Corley masterfully blends authenticity of history with an intriguing story line that captures this enigmatic "century old" series of Southern Illinois events. This exceptional novel is truly compelling.

Robert Rea, President, Franklin County Historic Preservation Society