Queen Bee and the Murder of Bugsy Siegel

 

Queen Bee and the Murder of Bugsy Siegel is a well written true crime monograph about the post-WW2 organized crime factions in the USA, especially Bugsy Siegel in Las Vegas written and annotated by Stuart Sobel. Released 16th April 2026 by Blackstone Publishing. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. Audiobook format due out in August from the same publisher.

This is an interesting and well written recollection around the murder of Bugsy Siegel, the dynamics of his family and associates, and much of the background climate in the heyday of Las Vegas of the postwar years. As a work of nonfiction, it's readable and worthwhile. The author is adept at bringing the various players to life. 

It's written in a narrative style, in everyday layman English, and isn't broken up with annotations. There are no chapter notes. The author/publisher have included a bibliography with links which will provide readers with further resources. 

Four stars, not an academic work, but readable and interesting. Worth a look. No illustrations or facsimile documents/news available in the media review copy. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.