Son of a Grifter

Imagine a less sexy version of The Grifters and you'll get a picture of con artists Sante Kimes and her son Kenneth. The duo rose to dubious fame in 1998 after they killed a wealthy socialite for her Manhattan town house. Now Sante's other son spills. Son of a Grifter, Walker's memoir about growing up with the ''Dragon Lady,'' a story of compulsive criminals packed with tales of outrageous behavior (shoplifting, insurance fraud, arson, murder, you name it), is highly readable. But the clumsily written family rap sheet feels like a rush job that would have greatly benefited from a more judicious edit. And that distinctive cash-in odor is hard to ignore. Walker, who repeatedly cops to his own greedy nature, would make his mercenary mom proud.