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Fiend: The Shocking True Story Of Americas Youngest Serial Killer
The unputdownable true crime story about a killer who preyed on children but was not much older than his victims.
When fourteen-year-old Jesse Pomeroy was arrested in 1874, Boston’s nightmarish reign of terror came to an end. Called the “Boston Boy Fiend,” he was finally safely behind bars. But questions remained about how and why a teenager could commit such heinous crimes.
Acclaimed true crime writer Harold Schechter brings his brilliant insight and fascinating historical documentation to this unforgettable exploration of one of America’s youngest serial killers.
When fourteen-year-old Jesse Pomeroy was arrested in 1874, Boston’s nightmarish reign of terror came to an end. Called the “Boston Boy Fiend,” he was finally safely behind bars. But questions remained about how and why a teenager could commit such heinous crimes.
Acclaimed true crime writer Harold Schechter brings his brilliant insight and fascinating historical documentation to this unforgettable exploration of one of America’s youngest serial killers.
402 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2000
About the author
Harold Schechter
68 books1,302 followersAka Jon A. Harrald (joint pseudonym with Jonna Gormley Semeiks)
Harold Schechter is a true crime writer who specializes in serial killers. He attended the State University of New York in Buffalo, where he obtained a Ph.D. A resident of New York City, Schechter is professor of American literature and popular culture at Queens College of the City University of New York.
Among his nonfiction works are the historical true-crime classics Fatal, Fiend, Deviant, Deranged, and Depraved. He also authors a critically acclaimed mystery series featuring Edgar Allan Poe, which includes The Hum Bug and Nevermore and The Mask of Red Death.
Schechter is married to poet Kimiko Hahn. He has two daughters from a previous marriage: the writer Lauren Oliver and professor of philosophy Elizabeth Schechter.
Harold Schechter is a true crime writer who specializes in serial killers. He attended the State University of New York in Buffalo, where he obtained a Ph.D. A resident of New York City, Schechter is professor of American literature and popular culture at Queens College of the City University of New York.
Among his nonfiction works are the historical true-crime classics Fatal, Fiend, Deviant, Deranged, and Depraved. He also authors a critically acclaimed mystery series featuring Edgar Allan Poe, which includes The Hum Bug and Nevermore and The Mask of Red Death.
Schechter is married to poet Kimiko Hahn. He has two daughters from a previous marriage: the writer Lauren Oliver and professor of philosophy Elizabeth Schechter.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews
March 14, 2021
I was sick with what I now think was a mild case of Covid when I read this, so although i know i was very impressed with the storytelling (it is Schechter after all), I can’t remember one detail. So I will read this again
May 21, 2017
When Jesse Pomeroy was arrested in 1874, he was fourteen years old. When he was twelve he had abducted and tortured young boys, this lead to him being sent to reform school. He fooled people into believing he had changed, and was released. Returning to Boston, he went to work in his mother’s store, eventually killing two young children. He was dubbed “The Boston Boy Fiend”.
This book covers the life of Jesse Pomeroy, as much as is known, the crimes, the details of the investigation, trial and Pomeroy’s eventual sentence. It is also a history lesson, detailing how life was at that time, how ‘the good old days’ were not always so good. And how juveniles committing crime is not a modern day phenomenon. I know some will take exception to Pomeroy being labeled a serial killer, because he only killed two people, however, if he hadn’t been caught he would surely have killed more. He fits all the other criteria.
When reading Schechter, I have learned to carry a notebook with me, he has so much other interesting information in his books. This is another well written book that I have no problem recommending.
This book covers the life of Jesse Pomeroy, as much as is known, the crimes, the details of the investigation, trial and Pomeroy’s eventual sentence. It is also a history lesson, detailing how life was at that time, how ‘the good old days’ were not always so good. And how juveniles committing crime is not a modern day phenomenon. I know some will take exception to Pomeroy being labeled a serial killer, because he only killed two people, however, if he hadn’t been caught he would surely have killed more. He fits all the other criteria.
When reading Schechter, I have learned to carry a notebook with me, he has so much other interesting information in his books. This is another well written book that I have no problem recommending.
June 9, 2021
Although he's facing challenges from the likes of Erik Larson and Jeff Guinn, Harold Schechter remains, for me, the go-to guy for late 19th and early 20th century true crime.
One of Schechter's earlier works, "Fiend" recounts the story of teenage serial killer Jesse Pomeroy, who in 1874 became the youngest person in Massachusetts history to be convicted of first-degree murder. In his now-familiar way, Schechter charts Pomeroy's life from beginning to end, straining always to create a vivid picture of the world surrounding him even as he endured decades of solitary imprisonment for his crimes.
As is also typical, Schechter observes the parallels between Pomeroy's time and ours, contradicting the notions that youth violence and the scapegoating of media that often follows is anything but a recent phenomena. Maybe pulpy dime novels did no more favours for the mind of Jesse Pomeroy than violent movies and video games do for his present-day equivalents, but Schechter makes a convincing case that the crimes of such killers as Pomeroy are rooted in abusive and emotionally crippled nonage.
There are flaws to the book that prevent it from being great. Pomeroy's victims are scarcely humanised and Schechter's attempts to weave other crimes of the late 19th century into his narrative sometimes have the distinct look of padding. Still, "Fiend", taken as a whole, is a worthwhile look at a serial killer whose life both outside and inside prison walls should prove fascinating fodder for true crime devotees.
One of Schechter's earlier works, "Fiend" recounts the story of teenage serial killer Jesse Pomeroy, who in 1874 became the youngest person in Massachusetts history to be convicted of first-degree murder. In his now-familiar way, Schechter charts Pomeroy's life from beginning to end, straining always to create a vivid picture of the world surrounding him even as he endured decades of solitary imprisonment for his crimes.
As is also typical, Schechter observes the parallels between Pomeroy's time and ours, contradicting the notions that youth violence and the scapegoating of media that often follows is anything but a recent phenomena. Maybe pulpy dime novels did no more favours for the mind of Jesse Pomeroy than violent movies and video games do for his present-day equivalents, but Schechter makes a convincing case that the crimes of such killers as Pomeroy are rooted in abusive and emotionally crippled nonage.
There are flaws to the book that prevent it from being great. Pomeroy's victims are scarcely humanised and Schechter's attempts to weave other crimes of the late 19th century into his narrative sometimes have the distinct look of padding. Still, "Fiend", taken as a whole, is a worthwhile look at a serial killer whose life both outside and inside prison walls should prove fascinating fodder for true crime devotees.
February 19, 2012
This book was a complete page turner until its mid-section. Although the newspaper article of the time were necessary for one to fully understand the era, the constant reports of how the people of the era felt got to be a little too redundant. In fact, I stopped reading the book for a while because of this. But once I started again about a week later, the book was devoured.
Schechter is a brilliant writer and always has the ability to tell the story straight while letting the reader reach his own conclusions about the horrific creatures that he writes about. I felt true sympathy for the people that were harmed at the hands of the Fiend.
This book was mesmerizing because of its explanation of evil at such a young age. One can never be completely sure as to why people behave the way that Jesse Pomeroy did, but learning about him can at least give us some possible reasons why.
This is a book I recommend to anyone interested in true crime reads!
Schechter is a brilliant writer and always has the ability to tell the story straight while letting the reader reach his own conclusions about the horrific creatures that he writes about. I felt true sympathy for the people that were harmed at the hands of the Fiend.
This book was mesmerizing because of its explanation of evil at such a young age. One can never be completely sure as to why people behave the way that Jesse Pomeroy did, but learning about him can at least give us some possible reasons why.
This is a book I recommend to anyone interested in true crime reads!
June 28, 2017
Harold Schechter really is at the top of the true crime game. Not only is he a solid writer, but he is also something of a true crime "historian." He reads less like a tabloid reporter (which is the way of most true crime authors I've read) than a professor taking a serious look at killers and their wider, sociological impact. And then there is his choice of criminals. Schechter is always picking the obscure and fascinating killers that others miss.
Case in point: Jesse Pomeroy.
Pomeroy was the "boy-fiend" of post U.S. Civil War South Boston. A process killer who started out by torturing eight boys younger than himself (his crimes began at twelve) in increasingly brutal ways before eventually moving on to the even more brutal murders of one young girl and one young boy.
Schechter covers all of that in the first half of the book, carefully cutting from Pomeroy himself to the wider Bostonian and even wider U.S. landscape of violence to contextualize Pomeroy's crimes. He uses the second half of the book to shift his focus to the U.S. culture of carceration, using Pomeroy's fifty-plus years in solitary confinement to examine, quite subtly, the ethics and arguments surrounding imprisonment. He takes no side in any of this (well ... mostly. There are times when Schechter's judgment can be felt, but this is mostly reserved for Pomeroy, his mother and others who claimed or believed that Pomeroy was innocent), simply presenting the facts of Pomeroy's incarceration alongside the arguments of those who believed that solitary was necessary and those who believed it was cruel and inhuman punishment.
Fiend is a work of demystification when it comes to the legends that sprang up around Jesse Pomeroy, diminishing the "boy-fiend" apocrypha (a particularly fun version of this can be found in Caleb Carr's The Alienist) of bed time stories and fictional accounts, and showing, instead, that Jesse Pomeroy was a evil at its most banal.
I wonder? Can Schechter do the same with Carl Panzram?
Case in point: Jesse Pomeroy.
Pomeroy was the "boy-fiend" of post U.S. Civil War South Boston. A process killer who started out by torturing eight boys younger than himself (his crimes began at twelve) in increasingly brutal ways before eventually moving on to the even more brutal murders of one young girl and one young boy.
Schechter covers all of that in the first half of the book, carefully cutting from Pomeroy himself to the wider Bostonian and even wider U.S. landscape of violence to contextualize Pomeroy's crimes. He uses the second half of the book to shift his focus to the U.S. culture of carceration, using Pomeroy's fifty-plus years in solitary confinement to examine, quite subtly, the ethics and arguments surrounding imprisonment. He takes no side in any of this (well ... mostly. There are times when Schechter's judgment can be felt, but this is mostly reserved for Pomeroy, his mother and others who claimed or believed that Pomeroy was innocent), simply presenting the facts of Pomeroy's incarceration alongside the arguments of those who believed that solitary was necessary and those who believed it was cruel and inhuman punishment.
Fiend is a work of demystification when it comes to the legends that sprang up around Jesse Pomeroy, diminishing the "boy-fiend" apocrypha (a particularly fun version of this can be found in Caleb Carr's The Alienist) of bed time stories and fictional accounts, and showing, instead, that Jesse Pomeroy was a evil at its most banal.
I wonder? Can Schechter do the same with Carl Panzram?
April 11, 2011
This was a strange book. I assumed it would be because of the subject, but I found myself feeling totally engrossed in Jesse's story. He was so patheic as well as hateable, I spent half my time feeling sorry for him and half my time wanting him to die. It was very conflicting.
I wish that the author had spent more time on the psychology of serial killers instead of the back and forth legal things that happend in Jesse's case. But all in all a very interesting book (even for non-fiction!)
I wish that the author had spent more time on the psychology of serial killers instead of the back and forth legal things that happend in Jesse's case. But all in all a very interesting book (even for non-fiction!)
September 23, 2013
This book isn't an easy one to read. Jesse Pomeroy's actions before he was finally jailed for his crimes are unspeakably horrific and sickening. He cut, slashed, stabbed, bit, and tortured his victims, killing two, all of whom were very young children. The detail in the beginning of the book, where Schechter discusses Pomeroy's depravity, is quite horrific, making this book not for the faint of heart or the squeamish.
About the only positive thing that can be said about "the boy fiend," as he was called in the media, is that he was apprehended after killing "only" two children. Of course, he never should have been let out of the reformatory, which would have prevented these two murders, but had he not been caught, I'm guessing he would have killed so many more innocent children.
It is interesting to see how pop culture in the guise of dime novels was blamed for Pomeroy's violence back in 1874, just the same way we nowadays blame violent video games and graphic films. It just goes to show that there isn't anything new under the sun, and some people seem to be naturally evil and depraved.
I was a bit horrified to realize that Pomeroy spent 41 years in isolation, a feat unmatched by any other prisoner. Generally prisoners in solitary confinement go mad after only a few weeks, and yet Pomeroy managed to complete 41 years before his sentence was commuted to simply life in prison. He was not hanged for his crimes, mainly because of his youth (age 14) at the time of the killings. Massachusetts did not want to send a teenager to his death, yet his crimes were so horrific that they required a stiff punishment.
Schechter manages to make his point that society has too often blamed pop culture, instead of the responsible individual, quite well. He writes in such a way that the book reads more like a novel. However, I felt as though he gloried a bit too much in the lurid details of the case at the beginning of the novel.
About the only positive thing that can be said about "the boy fiend," as he was called in the media, is that he was apprehended after killing "only" two children. Of course, he never should have been let out of the reformatory, which would have prevented these two murders, but had he not been caught, I'm guessing he would have killed so many more innocent children.
It is interesting to see how pop culture in the guise of dime novels was blamed for Pomeroy's violence back in 1874, just the same way we nowadays blame violent video games and graphic films. It just goes to show that there isn't anything new under the sun, and some people seem to be naturally evil and depraved.
I was a bit horrified to realize that Pomeroy spent 41 years in isolation, a feat unmatched by any other prisoner. Generally prisoners in solitary confinement go mad after only a few weeks, and yet Pomeroy managed to complete 41 years before his sentence was commuted to simply life in prison. He was not hanged for his crimes, mainly because of his youth (age 14) at the time of the killings. Massachusetts did not want to send a teenager to his death, yet his crimes were so horrific that they required a stiff punishment.
Schechter manages to make his point that society has too often blamed pop culture, instead of the responsible individual, quite well. He writes in such a way that the book reads more like a novel. However, I felt as though he gloried a bit too much in the lurid details of the case at the beginning of the novel.
May 31, 2020
I can't say I had much pity for this kid after the horrid things he did. And most likely if all those people that asked for pity for him had their own infant suffer to his evil intentions they wouldn't feel his sentence was "too much". He got what monsters deserve. This is another good book from a great true crime author. It just reminds about how "forgiving" people are to others when nothing bad happened to them. When their own child gets lured out to a remote place and is tortured and carved up we'd see how forgiving they really are.
October 15, 2022
Jesse Pomeroy was born in Charleston, Massachusetts in 1859. He had a tumultuous home life, resulting in his mother leaving his father and taking Jesse and his brother with her. His father used to beat him in a way that was eerily similar to how he beat and tormented his young victims. From 1871 to 1872, several young boys were lured into isolated areas, stripped naked, tied up, and beaten mercilessly. His mother moved the family to a different neighborhood, where the attacks carried on. One boy that was attacked was able to tell the police that it was an older boy with a weird looking eye. Jesse had one very milky colored eye, making him prime suspect. He was eventually arrested for his attacks on the boys and sent to State Reform School for Boys until the age of 18. Stupidly, he was paroled and returned to his mother not long after. He was arrested again, this time for murder.
I love Harold Schechter. He always does a lot of research on his subjects, and this one was no different. I had never heard about Jesse Pomeroy before reading this book, and I just bought it because of who the author was. He was a severely disturbed person, but apparently fairly intelligent. He did a good job getting over on the people at the reform school, getting them to release him early for good behavior and reformation....what a scam. He also got up to plenty of shenanagins in prison. I can't wait to get to the other books by this author. If you are interested in true crime, check this book out and others by this author!
I love Harold Schechter. He always does a lot of research on his subjects, and this one was no different. I had never heard about Jesse Pomeroy before reading this book, and I just bought it because of who the author was. He was a severely disturbed person, but apparently fairly intelligent. He did a good job getting over on the people at the reform school, getting them to release him early for good behavior and reformation....what a scam. He also got up to plenty of shenanagins in prison. I can't wait to get to the other books by this author. If you are interested in true crime, check this book out and others by this author!
July 13, 2022
I had never heard of Jesse Pomeroy, which is crazy considering what he did and then how he was punished. This YOUNG kid was just... sick. The things he did are brutal. He then spent over 40 years in solitary confinement... which is also insane. The fact that he appeared to be as "sane" as he did when released speaks (in my humble opinion) volumes on just how deranged his brain already was.
The author definitely had his opinions on the guy, and you could tell. But it seems like he stuck to the facts. The one thing I was in disagreement on was his description of Jesse. He is described (from more than just the author) as this disagreeable person to look upon, describing his features in very negative ways. When looking at the pictures, he just looked like a person... someone's grandpa. I didn't find his milky eye to be that obvious. /shrug
If you like true crime, then you should read it. Word of warning though- it has graphic descriptions of child abuse and murder.
The author definitely had his opinions on the guy, and you could tell. But it seems like he stuck to the facts. The one thing I was in disagreement on was his description of Jesse. He is described (from more than just the author) as this disagreeable person to look upon, describing his features in very negative ways. When looking at the pictures, he just looked like a person... someone's grandpa. I didn't find his milky eye to be that obvious. /shrug
If you like true crime, then you should read it. Word of warning though- it has graphic descriptions of child abuse and murder.
April 14, 2022
Fascinating life of Jesse Pomeroy, am atrocious murderer of children and the youngest person in the history of Massachusetts to be convicted of murder in the first degree. He was found guilty by a jury trial held in the Supreme Judicial Court of Suffolk County in December 1874. The crimes and conviction of the serial killer are one thing, then there is the sentence of death commuted to life to be served in solitary confinement in 1876, commuted to life imprisonment in 1917. Solitary confinement from 1876 to 1917, over forty years!
One thing of interest to me was the forensics involved in the early 1870s: microscopy and shoeprint molds with identification by comparison of accidental characteristics. Another was the scapegoating of gory media; in this case "dime novels" including torture by Indians, etc.
One thing of interest to me was the forensics involved in the early 1870s: microscopy and shoeprint molds with identification by comparison of accidental characteristics. Another was the scapegoating of gory media; in this case "dime novels" including torture by Indians, etc.
January 9, 2022
Very interesting, but repeats itself A LOT.
August 10, 2024
The age old question of what to do with child murderers!
December 14, 2018
Yes, I read two books called Fiend recently. I can across this one when looking for another one. The author teaches courses in American lit and culture at Queens College, and based on this book, he really knows his stuff!
I have always been fascinated with true crime, but the genre can be kind of dry, depending on the author’s skill. Schechter’s skill is outstanding. Using documents and newspapers from the time, he fleshes out the story of Jesse Pomeroy with all the flair of an action packed, adventure filled spy novel sort of way.
I would have given this five stars but for the graphic cringing, teeth baring descriptions of the crimes. I felt brutalized myself.
I have always been fascinated with true crime, but the genre can be kind of dry, depending on the author’s skill. Schechter’s skill is outstanding. Using documents and newspapers from the time, he fleshes out the story of Jesse Pomeroy with all the flair of an action packed, adventure filled spy novel sort of way.
I would have given this five stars but for the graphic cringing, teeth baring descriptions of the crimes. I felt brutalized myself.
Read
June 14, 2016This was a slow but interesting read for me. However, it was also disheartening. Not because of the subject matter but because I always thought scapegoating - blaming music, religion, video games, parents, etc - for violent crimes was something relatively new. However I see now it's something humanity has been doing for a long time. Jesse CHOOSE to murder and do evil from his own free will, and yet people blamed dime novels instead of blaming him. His mother blamed his smallpox vaccine. The author even blames the beatings Jesse received from his father.
Evil is a CHOICE.
I've known men and women who went through far worse abuse than Jesse, right down to their own fathers raping them, who turned out to be outstanding citizens. And I've known people who's parents never punished them for anything and acted like these spoiled little darlings pooped gold who grew up to be worthless drug addicts, hookers, and gang bangers. All because of the CHOICES the people made. NOT because of how they were raised.
And the people's sympathy in the past for Jesse made me want to steal a TARDIS and go back in time and cut the monster's throat. Jesse should have been executed, not left to sponge of taxpayers for years like Charles Manson still does today. Neither deserves sympathy or kindness - because both are monsters who have nothing of value to give to humanity. Because they CHOOSE to be evil.
It's disheartening to see even in the past people wanted to scapegoat and give sympathy to monsters who don't deserve it.
Evil is a CHOICE.
I've known men and women who went through far worse abuse than Jesse, right down to their own fathers raping them, who turned out to be outstanding citizens. And I've known people who's parents never punished them for anything and acted like these spoiled little darlings pooped gold who grew up to be worthless drug addicts, hookers, and gang bangers. All because of the CHOICES the people made. NOT because of how they were raised.
And the people's sympathy in the past for Jesse made me want to steal a TARDIS and go back in time and cut the monster's throat. Jesse should have been executed, not left to sponge of taxpayers for years like Charles Manson still does today. Neither deserves sympathy or kindness - because both are monsters who have nothing of value to give to humanity. Because they CHOOSE to be evil.
It's disheartening to see even in the past people wanted to scapegoat and give sympathy to monsters who don't deserve it.
September 29, 2020
An extremely thorough account of a young serial killer. I'm not really sure if his life merited such an expansive treatment because there is unfortunately nothing too remarkable about him - a deeply disturbed boy who killed and tortured - but here it is. And I guess he was legendary 100 years ago.
I think the most interesting part of the whole book was the meta-discussion on the historical context (people's views and attitudes) that affected how Pomeroy was seen.
But what really irked me were the sometimes voyeuristic descriptions of his victims' suffering. Sometimes, the same deed was described several times and in detail which seemed inappropriate for me. The book seemed to sort of linger on the vile details. It reduced the value for me.
All in all, a remarkable piece of investigation, but lengthy and cheap in a few areas.
I think the most interesting part of the whole book was the meta-discussion on the historical context (people's views and attitudes) that affected how Pomeroy was seen.
But what really irked me were the sometimes voyeuristic descriptions of his victims' suffering. Sometimes, the same deed was described several times and in detail which seemed inappropriate for me. The book seemed to sort of linger on the vile details. It reduced the value for me.
All in all, a remarkable piece of investigation, but lengthy and cheap in a few areas.
January 25, 2009
Although I enjoyed this book, it often had the feel of reading fiction. I don't know if Schechter's other books follow the same line of fictional seeming narrative, but I often felt that there was too much of the author's personal interest in what was supposed to have been a detailed catalogue of Jesse Pomeroy. I feel that the middle of book dragged a bit as the author had to search for material to pad the detail that he could glean about Pomeroy's life in prison. All in all, it was interesting, but the style of the work put me off.
November 17, 2010
This book was okay. It spent a great deal of analysis on the trial and the reaction moreso than the crime. If that interests you, than you will like this book. If not, than I would avoid it. It is great from a psycho-analysis point of view.
April 14, 2011
The story was interesting but the book was not. I wanted to keep reading to find out more about the boy but the way it was written made it hard to read. I found the writing style was very boring but the content was extremely intriguing.
January 23, 2016
Totally disturbing story of a serial killer caught and punished, not only a century before it became fashionable, but when the killer had only reached the tender age of 14.
March 7, 2016
A very good but disturbing book about a very young serial killer in 1874. Writing has a fiction feel to it and has a little history here in there to put perspective to the time period.
February 12, 2019
I LOVE true crime, as I should have been a detective rather than a banker. I have read several of this author’s books, but most have seemed o be more of an encyclopedia of crime. This one - wow - was so thorough and exploratory. Seems well-researched and well-written, especially challenging since the crimes occurred in the late 1800s.
I especially appreciate Schechter’s relating the past to current times. I abhor the media’s constant proclamation “this xyz of 2019 is the worst ever”, “this unprecedented xyz of 2019”, “blah blah blah”, or “the good ole days”, as if the past was full of rainbows & unicorns & lollipops! My parents say it, teachers say it, the media says it — and it just isn’t true. There have always been murderers, crime, shootings, racial problems, overly-explosive media, ‘overly-violent books/tv/media/movies/games’, bad apples, as well as wonderful peaceful charitable individuals..... and there always will be. I appreciated Schechter’s reminder of how cleaner and safer we are in America, largely because we continue to learn from past mistakes (such as short prison sentences for sexual crime, that has been rectified.). If only Americans would read history, we might realize how amazing we have it right now.
Lastly, Schechter describes the arguments for & against the death penalty, as well as for & against the death penalty for children - from a criminal justice standpoint, and Christian standpoint, and political standpoint, bringing together many of the critical issues including justice, retribution, punishment, safety, forgiveness, a mother’s blind love, vengeance & revenge, —- his exploration of these issues were so well done that I have no idea what Mr. Schechter’s personal opinion is about the issue. I wasn’t touched or influenced by his own preference — which given our pathetic bias by most media — was refreshing. Personally, I am still conflicted by these issues, and enjoyed hearing many sides of the issues without incredulity & judgment.
The depictions of the crimes are not for the squeamish, take note.
I especially appreciate Schechter’s relating the past to current times. I abhor the media’s constant proclamation “this xyz of 2019 is the worst ever”, “this unprecedented xyz of 2019”, “blah blah blah”, or “the good ole days”, as if the past was full of rainbows & unicorns & lollipops! My parents say it, teachers say it, the media says it — and it just isn’t true. There have always been murderers, crime, shootings, racial problems, overly-explosive media, ‘overly-violent books/tv/media/movies/games’, bad apples, as well as wonderful peaceful charitable individuals..... and there always will be. I appreciated Schechter’s reminder of how cleaner and safer we are in America, largely because we continue to learn from past mistakes (such as short prison sentences for sexual crime, that has been rectified.). If only Americans would read history, we might realize how amazing we have it right now.
Lastly, Schechter describes the arguments for & against the death penalty, as well as for & against the death penalty for children - from a criminal justice standpoint, and Christian standpoint, and political standpoint, bringing together many of the critical issues including justice, retribution, punishment, safety, forgiveness, a mother’s blind love, vengeance & revenge, —- his exploration of these issues were so well done that I have no idea what Mr. Schechter’s personal opinion is about the issue. I wasn’t touched or influenced by his own preference — which given our pathetic bias by most media — was refreshing. Personally, I am still conflicted by these issues, and enjoyed hearing many sides of the issues without incredulity & judgment.
The depictions of the crimes are not for the squeamish, take note.
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June 14, 2023Wonderful Book about Jesse Harding Pomeroy
Wonderful and fascinating book about the life and crimes of Jesse Harding Pomeroy, who was only 14 when he was arrested for murdering a young boy in Boston in 1874. Approximately a month after Pomeroy's arrest a neighbor discovered the body of a young girl that had disappeared after going to Mrs. Pomeroy's news stand. Before committing the murders Jesse Pomeroy had already been in trouble before. When he was 12 he started to assault and torture younger boys that had the misfortune of seeing him in isolated areas. He would beat and molest them and he cut one boy's face with a pocket knife. The papers picked up on the story and published many sensationalistic articles about Pomeroy's crimes and also christened him "The Boston Boy Fiend," before he was identified by one of the younger boys that he assaulted and arrested. He served his time in a reform school and was then allowed to go home to his mother and older brother. In the one month period, after he was released from the reform school but before he was arrested for the murders, that Pomeroy was free he murdered two children. Jesse Harding Pomeroy was sentenced to death, despite only being 15 years old at the time but the governor eventually commuted his death sentence to life in prison without parole in solitary confinement. Pomeroy was incarcerated from 1874, when he was 15 until he died there in 1932 when he was 72 and served most of his sentence in solitary confinement.
Wonderful and fascinating book about the life and crimes of Jesse Harding Pomeroy, who was only 14 when he was arrested for murdering a young boy in Boston in 1874. Approximately a month after Pomeroy's arrest a neighbor discovered the body of a young girl that had disappeared after going to Mrs. Pomeroy's news stand. Before committing the murders Jesse Pomeroy had already been in trouble before. When he was 12 he started to assault and torture younger boys that had the misfortune of seeing him in isolated areas. He would beat and molest them and he cut one boy's face with a pocket knife. The papers picked up on the story and published many sensationalistic articles about Pomeroy's crimes and also christened him "The Boston Boy Fiend," before he was identified by one of the younger boys that he assaulted and arrested. He served his time in a reform school and was then allowed to go home to his mother and older brother. In the one month period, after he was released from the reform school but before he was arrested for the murders, that Pomeroy was free he murdered two children. Jesse Harding Pomeroy was sentenced to death, despite only being 15 years old at the time but the governor eventually commuted his death sentence to life in prison without parole in solitary confinement. Pomeroy was incarcerated from 1874, when he was 15 until he died there in 1932 when he was 72 and served most of his sentence in solitary confinement.
August 18, 2024
Children were supposed to go to school, play, learn, obey parents, attend Sunday services and those who were in poorer communities, work to provide for their families. Children were to be raised as model citizens, and at such a young age, innocent and should be protected. That was what adults were there for, among other things. So, when a terror was unleashed in Boston in the 1870s - the Massachusetts city was shocked. The gruesome manner which the monster left the state of his or her victims was certainly perplexed not only the police but all of Boston. What lurked in the dark? What kind of a monster would do this? In an age before Jack the Ripper would terrorize London, a menace was prowling the streets in search for little children.
Boston is the setting of Harold Schechter's, 'Fiend' and Jesse Pomroy is the main focus of this true crime tale. What was torturing in the most sadistic manner, crimes so appalling that it bares caution to even tell... was committed by a mere child himself. In these 320+ pages, Schechter breathes life into those horrific crimes as he tries to show readers who Jesse Pomeroy was as an individual and how he may have turned into a monster. What went wrong? Was it his deformed appearance? What ignited and addicted him to the bloodlust, the torturing of children? And because of his age, what was to be his fate? It is a story that no one wishes to have existed and one that Harold Schechter doesn't hold back; that of America's youngest serial killer. 4/5 stars
Boston is the setting of Harold Schechter's, 'Fiend' and Jesse Pomroy is the main focus of this true crime tale. What was torturing in the most sadistic manner, crimes so appalling that it bares caution to even tell... was committed by a mere child himself. In these 320+ pages, Schechter breathes life into those horrific crimes as he tries to show readers who Jesse Pomeroy was as an individual and how he may have turned into a monster. What went wrong? Was it his deformed appearance? What ignited and addicted him to the bloodlust, the torturing of children? And because of his age, what was to be his fate? It is a story that no one wishes to have existed and one that Harold Schechter doesn't hold back; that of America's youngest serial killer. 4/5 stars
June 4, 2021
Really interesting. It shows not only the crimes themselves but all the aftermath that followed, true that the book also strives for a sancionalist effect but also makes very interesting points. Would it be correct though to call him a Serial Killer if, that is known, has murdered only to kids? (To my understadig, we do not brand it unless s/he has comitted more than 3 murderers) despite that he does show many signs of psycopathy and would have continued to murderer children if he wasn't been discovered. Find really interesting also the differences between how he tries to "hide" the corpses. As a kid, he still has no concept of how the law works etc so his way of doing so is pretty plain, compared to other adults serial killers who have shown a deep knowledge on how to do so. It is stricking to think, as he also later in life appoints, that none of his victims could actually recall any details of his attacker except for his eye. (Would he had ever been aprehended were not for his most stricking physical distiction -even douh he didn' hide himself in any other way-? We'll never know the answer to that question)
September 22, 2022
The good old days were never so great, after all. In 1872, a twelve year-old boy, Jesse Pomeroy, was arrested for sadistically torturing younger boys. A stay at a reform school near Boston for seventeen months did not improve his character.
Shortly after being released, Jesse tortured and killed a five year-old boy. The Boston tabloids had a field day with the story. Dime store novels, with frequent depictions of violence, were to blame for the savagery of young Pomeroy. One hundred years later and now it is video games, or for Ted Bundy, pornography.
The trial was over in only three days and a guilty verdict an easy one with the jury recommending a life sentence rather than death for the fourteen year-old boy.
Solitary confinement for forty-one years was to be Jesse's punishment.
He utilized his time to read a few thousand books from the prison library and was eventually transferred to a prison farm. Schechter is an excellent writer and I highly recommend this book.
Shortly after being released, Jesse tortured and killed a five year-old boy. The Boston tabloids had a field day with the story. Dime store novels, with frequent depictions of violence, were to blame for the savagery of young Pomeroy. One hundred years later and now it is video games, or for Ted Bundy, pornography.
The trial was over in only three days and a guilty verdict an easy one with the jury recommending a life sentence rather than death for the fourteen year-old boy.
Solitary confinement for forty-one years was to be Jesse's punishment.
He utilized his time to read a few thousand books from the prison library and was eventually transferred to a prison farm. Schechter is an excellent writer and I highly recommend this book.
June 16, 2019
Harold Schechter has done the research and presented it in a biography that answers most questions the average reader would have about one of Americas most notorious child killers and torturers. What he says is always based on the facts he has uncovered. Jesse Pomeroy, called by the Boston press in 1872 the "Boy Torturer" among other names. He had tortured over a half-dozen children and butchered two more by the time he was fourteen. For example, letters written by the boy killer in jail, though not found for many years, show that he was fascinated by corporeal punishment and torture. The mind of a boy psychopath is revealed in this book. Yet Schechter never indulges in morbid speculation or exaggeration beyond what his research suggests.
April 1, 2020
The young man pictured jesse Harding Pomeroy was a fully paid up member of the psychopaths' club of the 19th century. Equally as shallow, glib, manipulative and dangerous as those in the 20th century hall of devil's. Namely,Ted Bundy,Jerry Brudos, Ed Kemper and their ilke.
Equally polite society pointed to the same ills for the emergence of such characters; you got it; a breakdown in family values, and violent detective magazines. And a general erosion of morality. De ja vu.......
There are a couple of traits that set Pomeroy apart; his relentless escape attempts.
He grew to be admired for his indefatigable attempts. And doughty forbearance of solitary confinement which he withstood for over 40 years.
Equally polite society pointed to the same ills for the emergence of such characters; you got it; a breakdown in family values, and violent detective magazines. And a general erosion of morality. De ja vu.......
There are a couple of traits that set Pomeroy apart; his relentless escape attempts.
He grew to be admired for his indefatigable attempts. And doughty forbearance of solitary confinement which he withstood for over 40 years.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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October 17, 2022So I started reading this without knowing what I was getting myself into. Most of the time I start a book without reading reviews or summaries. This, I should have.
I'm not one for the torture and/or murder of children/animals.
I'm not going to rate it because I can't say that it was a "good read". It made me sad and disgusted.
I have three boys ages 13 to 20 years old. I love my children yet I can honestly say had any of them done the things that man (boy at the time) did.... I would wash my hands of said child.
Ruth absolutely disgusted me with how she knew of the things he had done yet still maintained his innocence.
I'm not one for the torture and/or murder of children/animals.
I'm not going to rate it because I can't say that it was a "good read". It made me sad and disgusted.
I have three boys ages 13 to 20 years old. I love my children yet I can honestly say had any of them done the things that man (boy at the time) did.... I would wash my hands of said child.
Ruth absolutely disgusted me with how she knew of the things he had done yet still maintained his innocence.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 30, 2024
Schechter puts forth another tome about a long forgotten history from the depths of the U.S. justice system. This book tells the story of the "boy fiend" of Charleston, Jesse Pomeroy.
The book is at its best telling the facts. Where the book stumbles is Schechter's constant usage of tons of news articles, editorials, etc, to fill out book with needless fluff. This book should be a solid 75 pages or more shorter. I honestly found myself skipping pages of quotations and editorials, as they provided little value to the overall story.
Unfortunately, this is Schechter's shtick and the main reason I rarely read his books anymore.
A tepid 2.75 stars.
The book is at its best telling the facts. Where the book stumbles is Schechter's constant usage of tons of news articles, editorials, etc, to fill out book with needless fluff. This book should be a solid 75 pages or more shorter. I honestly found myself skipping pages of quotations and editorials, as they provided little value to the overall story.
Unfortunately, this is Schechter's shtick and the main reason I rarely read his books anymore.
A tepid 2.75 stars.
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