In with the Devil: A Fallen Hero, a Serial Killer, and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption

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Despite the fact that Hall's map disappeared, Keene's role in the operation to get a confession out of Hall did lead him to be released from prison early in 1999 and his criminal record was scrubbed clean. Keene's sweeping rise, fall and hellish climb towards redemption are in stark contrast to the small peaks and deep valleys of Hall's lifelong tightrope walk between relative normalcy and disturbing evil. I said, "Well, that's great." I said, "You're right by me." I said, "You know what? I told you you were a cool guy, and I'm glad that you're by me" and all this and that. And that's when he basically offered sometime if I'd ever want to have breakfast with him and his friends. Now, in April 2023, James Keene just published his third book in the autobiographical franchise and titled it ‘The Chicago Phoenix: Jimmy Keene’s Untold Story’, which follows him prior to going to prison. Comic Years had an amazing opportunity to receive exclusive information about James Keene’s latest novel. James Keene about The Chicago Phoenix From a talented athlete who was a star MVP football player, star wrestler who mastered martial arts to getting swept up in the drug business and finally, to one of the biggest names in the business industry in the U.S., James Keene is a world-renowned novel author and producer. Keene wrote his first book titled ‘In With the Devil: A Fallen Hero, a Serial Killer, and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption’.

Hall would smell him a mile away,” Beaumont replied. “He’d be too polished, and Hall would sense that and clam right up. But you’re perfect. You can mix with anyone—from the street level to the board level.” As the prosecutor described Jimmy’s qualifications for the job, Keene realized that during all the years that they had tried to put him away, Beaumont and the narcotics squads had observed Keene’s social skills with grudging admiration. He says, “It seemed like a dream. One minute, I’m sitting in Michigan on the hot dime of a ten-year sentence with a long way to go. Then Beaumont pops up out of nowhere with this serial-killer thing and like tomorrow I could be out.” It was a life-risking operation and Keene hesitated to accept. But then his stepmother informed him his father had suffered a stroke. Still, on the drive to the prison in Missouri, Keene got cold feet. "I looked at the US marshal, and I said, 'Listen.' I said, 'How do we know Beaumont's going to live up to his word?' They all assured me he would. I said, 'I'm not sure if I can do this.'" El problema es que Keene resulta muy desagradable y parece ser un vendehumos. Con haberlo introducido en los dos últimos capítulos habría bastado. In Life, People can take a few wrong turns that destroy them. I’m one of those people. But I was given a second chance—not only to save myself but to redeem society for the wrong choices I made. Briefly, the book follows James Keene in the 1990s as he gets arrested and sentenced to ten years in prison. Keene’s novel follows the events that took place in the prison, notoriously known for keeping the worst of the worst.

The worst was yet to come. His mother sobbed hysterically somewhere behind him, but when the marshals grabbed his arms to lead him out of the court, he first scanned the spectators to find his father—his idol and his best friend. A tall, brawny man with a mustache and full head of dark hair, Big Jim looked a decade younger than his sixty years. But now, upon hearing the sentence, he, too, was stunned, his face pale and eyes unfocused. “Like he was lost,” Jimmy says. Keene – who now works as a consultant helping authorities profile serial offenders – was released from Springfield in 1999. But he was deeply affected by his time in Springfield, surrounded by the worst or most insane offenders in America, men with “no soul left” and no hope of release, unpredictable and violent. In a letter to his sister, Keene wrote: “The inhuman screams of the patients around me sounded like something straight out of Dante’s Inferno.” The book charts Keene's real-life story and the experiences he faced when he was tasked with trying to coax a confession from suspected serial killer Larry Hall (played by Paul Walter Hauser).

While Jessica Roach's case was closed, the disappearance of 19-year-old Tricia Reitler remained unsolved. To give her parents some semblance of peace, prosecutor Beaumont hatched a plan. Just days after the official release of his book ‘The Chicago Phoenix’, James Keene is sharing exclusive information with us. Read on to find out about his inspiration behind this autobiographical novel, as well as the challenges he had to overcome. Who is James Keene? Initially, Keene did not want to take part in the sting. But he changed his mind after his father Big Jim (played by Liotta) had a stroke that threatened his life. Still stunned, Jimmy stared at the photos of the girls and listened to Beaumont talk about Hall, barely absorbing the details. Finally he blurted out, “What does this have to do with me?” The novel follows young Jimmy Keene in the marijuana business. However, the business was undoubtedly dangerous. The job included surviving street shootings, brawls, and other dangerous situations. Do you recall any specific situations in which your life was in danger?Keene tried to get more information from Hall about where he allegedly buried Reitler, and Keene came across Hall with a map that showed the supposed location of several of his alleged victims. Jimmy Keene grew up outside of Chicago. Although he was the son of a policeman and rubbed shoulders with the city's elite, he ended up on the wrong side of the law and was sentenced to ten years with no chance of parole. James Keene’s book “The Chicago Phoenix”, courtesy of James Keene James Keene’s message: Your Freedom is Far Too Valuable