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American Demon: Eliot Ness and the Hunt for America's Jack the Ripper
New York Times bestselling author and Edgar Award-winner Daniel Stashower returns with American Demon , a historical true crime starring legendary lawman Eliot Ness.
Boston had its Strangler. California had the Zodiac Killer. And in the depths of the Great Depression, Cleveland had the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run.
On September 5th, 1934, a young beachcomber made a gruesome discovery on the shores of Cleveland’s Lake the lower half of a female torso, neatly severed at the waist. The victim, dubbed “The Lady of the Lake,” was only the first of a butcher’s dozen. Over the next four years, twelve more bodies would be scattered across the city. The bodies were dismembered with surgical precision and drained of blood. Some were beheaded while still alive.
Terror gripped the city. Amid the growing uproar, Cleveland’s besieged mayor turned to his newly-appointed director of public Eliot Ness. Ness had come to Cleveland fresh from his headline-grabbing exploits in Chicago, where he and his band of “Untouchables” led the frontline assault on Al Capone’s bootlegging empire. Now he would confront a case that would redefine his storied career.
Award-winning author Daniel Stashower shines a fresh light on one of the most notorious puzzles in the annals of crime, and uncovers the gripping story of Ness’s hunt for a sadistic killer who was as brilliant as he was cool and composed, a mastermind who was able to hide in plain sight. American Demon reconstructs this ultimate battle of wits between a hero and a madman.
Boston had its Strangler. California had the Zodiac Killer. And in the depths of the Great Depression, Cleveland had the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run.
On September 5th, 1934, a young beachcomber made a gruesome discovery on the shores of Cleveland’s Lake the lower half of a female torso, neatly severed at the waist. The victim, dubbed “The Lady of the Lake,” was only the first of a butcher’s dozen. Over the next four years, twelve more bodies would be scattered across the city. The bodies were dismembered with surgical precision and drained of blood. Some were beheaded while still alive.
Terror gripped the city. Amid the growing uproar, Cleveland’s besieged mayor turned to his newly-appointed director of public Eliot Ness. Ness had come to Cleveland fresh from his headline-grabbing exploits in Chicago, where he and his band of “Untouchables” led the frontline assault on Al Capone’s bootlegging empire. Now he would confront a case that would redefine his storied career.
Award-winning author Daniel Stashower shines a fresh light on one of the most notorious puzzles in the annals of crime, and uncovers the gripping story of Ness’s hunt for a sadistic killer who was as brilliant as he was cool and composed, a mastermind who was able to hide in plain sight. American Demon reconstructs this ultimate battle of wits between a hero and a madman.
342 pages, Hardcover
First published September 6, 2022
About the author
Daniel Stashower
41 books212 followersDaniel Stashower is the author of The Boy Genius and The Mogul as well as the Edgar Award-winning Teller of Tales: The Life of Arthur Conan Doyle. He is also the author of five mystery novels, the most recent of which is The Houdini Specter. Stashower is a recipient of The Raymond Chandler Fulbright Fellowship in Detective and Crime Fiction Writing, and spent a year as a Visiting Fellow at Wadham College, Oxford. A freelance journalist since 1986, Stashower's articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Smithsonian Magazine, National Geographic Traveller and Connoisseur. He lives with his wife and two sons in Washington, D.C.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 532 reviews
August 20, 2022
The cover sucked me in bc it looked so much like Devil in the White City, which is one of my favorite books (GO READ IT) but it's its own story about Elliot Ness and the torso murders and I was very much sucked in. My arc didn't have pictures so I can't speak to that but I thought the author did a good job of hitting the story without it being too gory or too dry and that's hard to do.
August 22, 2022
One word: Disappointing. I am somewhat familiar with Ness and his involvement in the Capone take down. So when I read the description of this book, I had to read it since it was supposed to be about Ness' involvement with a serial killer.
Basically, this book is more about the life and career of Eliot Ness and very little about his involvement in the Mad Butcher or Torso Killer investigation.
I almost didn't finish this book. I glossed over the chapters after 31% and it is not until the 44% point that the narrative started to focus on the torso killer. But Ness still played a very minor role in the investigations (though the author hints that there may have been a cover up.)
I think that rather than a single book, American Demon could have been written into two separate and distinct true crime novels -- one focusing strictly on Ness' life and career and the other book focusing on the unsub. But as it stands, American Demon just came across as an attempt to connect two unrelated events into a singular yet disjointed novel. A disappointing 1.5 stars rounded up.
I received a digital ARC from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.
Basically, this book is more about the life and career of Eliot Ness and very little about his involvement in the Mad Butcher or Torso Killer investigation.
I almost didn't finish this book. I glossed over the chapters after 31% and it is not until the 44% point that the narrative started to focus on the torso killer. But Ness still played a very minor role in the investigations (though the author hints that there may have been a cover up.)
I think that rather than a single book, American Demon could have been written into two separate and distinct true crime novels -- one focusing strictly on Ness' life and career and the other book focusing on the unsub. But as it stands, American Demon just came across as an attempt to connect two unrelated events into a singular yet disjointed novel. A disappointing 1.5 stars rounded up.
I received a digital ARC from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.
October 27, 2022
"I've got a bad feeling about this one." -- Detective Orley May of the Cleveland PD homicide unit, taking in the crime scene involving TWO decapitated and mutilated bodies, on 23 September 1935
Stashower's excellent biographical / true crime / historical piece American Demon has a sort of dual purpose, which is evident in early alternating chapters of the book. It focuses on Eliot Ness' time in the late 1930's as the public safety director (he oversaw police, fire, & sanitation departments) of the city of Cleveland, Ohio - directly after his brief lauded period as a gang-busting Treasury operative and his part in bringing down Chicago crime lord Al Capone - which happened to coincidentally align with a serial killer (although that exact phrasing was not coined until the mid-70's by an FBI agent) stealthily at work in said metropolis. Said murderer, known as the 'Torso Killer' or the 'Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run,' skillfully (and I don't like using that complimentary-sounding term, but it was believed by some that the assailant had a medical school education) dismembered and disposed of a dozen bodies between 1935 and 1938 in often depressed socio-economic parts of the city, and to this day a number of the victims - indigent folks on the fringes of society - are still lacking confirmed identities. While the narrative shows the good work done by the educated and progressive Ness in reforming the troubled police department - which was plagued by its fair share of corruption - and the handful of hard-working homicide investigators and coroners assigned to the incidents, it also shows how local politics likely affected the depressing 'cold case' outcome. After reading about the disturbing and outright odd behavior and actions of the prime suspect (and likely guilty party, given some of the evidence and information presented - but just in my opinion), Dr. Francis Sweeney, it is very difficult now NOT to associate him with Batman's criminally insane nemesis Joker . . . who made his comic strip debut in early 1940, just as those many real-life murders seem to subside.
Stashower's excellent biographical / true crime / historical piece American Demon has a sort of dual purpose, which is evident in early alternating chapters of the book. It focuses on Eliot Ness' time in the late 1930's as the public safety director (he oversaw police, fire, & sanitation departments) of the city of Cleveland, Ohio - directly after his brief lauded period as a gang-busting Treasury operative and his part in bringing down Chicago crime lord Al Capone - which happened to coincidentally align with a serial killer (although that exact phrasing was not coined until the mid-70's by an FBI agent) stealthily at work in said metropolis. Said murderer, known as the 'Torso Killer' or the 'Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run,' skillfully (and I don't like using that complimentary-sounding term, but it was believed by some that the assailant had a medical school education) dismembered and disposed of a dozen bodies between 1935 and 1938 in often depressed socio-economic parts of the city, and to this day a number of the victims - indigent folks on the fringes of society - are still lacking confirmed identities. While the narrative shows the good work done by the educated and progressive Ness in reforming the troubled police department - which was plagued by its fair share of corruption - and the handful of hard-working homicide investigators and coroners assigned to the incidents, it also shows how local politics likely affected the depressing 'cold case' outcome. After reading about the disturbing and outright odd behavior and actions of the prime suspect (and likely guilty party, given some of the evidence and information presented - but just in my opinion), Dr. Francis Sweeney, it is very difficult now NOT to associate him with Batman's criminally insane nemesis Joker . . . who made his comic strip debut in early 1940, just as those many real-life murders seem to subside.
October 28, 2022
American Demon covers the story of Elliot Ness’s hunt for a serial killer known as the Torso Killer in Cleveland. After Ness and his “Untouchables” arrested Al Capone, he took a job as head of public safety for the city of Cleveland in 1934.
This nonfiction starts with explaining Ness’s time in Chicago as head of the law enforcement group charged with enforcing prohibition. What I didn’t understand was how much bootlegging involved brewing beer, not distilling hard liquor.
The title is a bit of a misnomer. While Ness was head of public safety in the same city that the serial killer operated, Ness wasn’t actively involved in the investigation until a slew of body parts had shown up. The first half of the book concerns Ness's time in Chicago going after bootleggers and his attempts to shut down corruption in the Cleveland police department. And then a large part of the second half deals with his personal life. In a perverse turn, Ness becomes a drunk as his star begins to dim.
This book proved to me I’m not a fan of true crime. I found the book uneven. Body parts were showing up with such regularity, I became bored. It doesn’t help that the murderer was never apprehended, although Ness believed he knew who it was.
I was impressed by Will Damron as the narrator.
This nonfiction starts with explaining Ness’s time in Chicago as head of the law enforcement group charged with enforcing prohibition. What I didn’t understand was how much bootlegging involved brewing beer, not distilling hard liquor.
The title is a bit of a misnomer. While Ness was head of public safety in the same city that the serial killer operated, Ness wasn’t actively involved in the investigation until a slew of body parts had shown up. The first half of the book concerns Ness's time in Chicago going after bootleggers and his attempts to shut down corruption in the Cleveland police department. And then a large part of the second half deals with his personal life. In a perverse turn, Ness becomes a drunk as his star begins to dim.
This book proved to me I’m not a fan of true crime. I found the book uneven. Body parts were showing up with such regularity, I became bored. It doesn’t help that the murderer was never apprehended, although Ness believed he knew who it was.
I was impressed by Will Damron as the narrator.
August 23, 2022
American Demon: Eliot Ness and the Hunt for America's Jack the Ripper
by Daniel Stashower
I don't know about you but what I knew about Eliot Ness I learned from watching The Untouchables! So, not very much and not very accurate. This is an amazing read that gives us a look into the life of Ness when he left Chicago and landed in Cleveland. Here, he was faced with something that seemed he was ill prepared for. A serial killer that chopped up his victims. Eventually, he felt he knew who it was but was not able to arrest him. Partly because politics stood in the way.
The book also tells about his private life, a glimpse of the man at work and off the clock. The book takes us to his death and beyond. Very interesting.
The book gives the clues, the characters, witnesses, suspects, inspectors, politicians, and more. It flows smoothly and easy to read. Kept me intrigued throughout.
This is one book you don't want to miss! My favorite book so far this year!
I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this book!
by Daniel Stashower
I don't know about you but what I knew about Eliot Ness I learned from watching The Untouchables! So, not very much and not very accurate. This is an amazing read that gives us a look into the life of Ness when he left Chicago and landed in Cleveland. Here, he was faced with something that seemed he was ill prepared for. A serial killer that chopped up his victims. Eventually, he felt he knew who it was but was not able to arrest him. Partly because politics stood in the way.
The book also tells about his private life, a glimpse of the man at work and off the clock. The book takes us to his death and beyond. Very interesting.
The book gives the clues, the characters, witnesses, suspects, inspectors, politicians, and more. It flows smoothly and easy to read. Kept me intrigued throughout.
This is one book you don't want to miss! My favorite book so far this year!
I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this book!
February 5, 2024
A gripping account of the Torso Murders that would horrify Cleveland in the 1930s. Fresh from his exploits in Chicago where he and his band of Untouchables brought down gangster Al Capone, Eliot Ness assumes the role of Cleveland’s Safety Director and finds himself embroiled in the mystery surrounding the city’s Torso Murder spree. A fascinating look at police procedure and detective work at the time.
October 17, 2022
I first heard about The Cleveland Torso Killer aka The Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run on Buzzfeed Unsolved. I was instantly fascinated by the case since I only live 4 hours from Cleveland. And as you all know I'm a 80 year old in 30 somethings body so obviously I've watched the 1960's tv show The Untouchables (the 80's movie is also good) which follows the exploits of legendary lawman Eliot Ness.
Eliot Ness rose to prominence during the 1930's as a Prohibition agent who brought Al Capone to justice....only he didn't. The IRS took down Capone. Ness was a hero completely created by the press. But Ness would spend the rest of his life being presented as the man who got the most Untouchable criminals....
And then he landed in Cleveland as the director of public safety, whose job started out being about cleaning up the police department( he was a good guy) but all that would change once a string of gruesome murders gripped the city in fear. Despite feeling like he knew who the killer was, officially the case was never solved and the city completely turned on him.
American Demon combined 2 of my favorite things: Crime and History. I think even those who don't usually enjoy Historical Nonfiction might like this book. Daniel Stashower writes in a easy and not boring way. Stashower has written a couple other books that I'm also interested in, so I'm happy to have discovered possibly a new author to add to my favorite Nonfiction writers list.
I highly recommend American Demon. Nonfiction November is right around the corner and this book would be a perfect read.
Eliot Ness rose to prominence during the 1930's as a Prohibition agent who brought Al Capone to justice....only he didn't. The IRS took down Capone. Ness was a hero completely created by the press. But Ness would spend the rest of his life being presented as the man who got the most Untouchable criminals....
And then he landed in Cleveland as the director of public safety, whose job started out being about cleaning up the police department( he was a good guy) but all that would change once a string of gruesome murders gripped the city in fear. Despite feeling like he knew who the killer was, officially the case was never solved and the city completely turned on him.
American Demon combined 2 of my favorite things: Crime and History. I think even those who don't usually enjoy Historical Nonfiction might like this book. Daniel Stashower writes in a easy and not boring way. Stashower has written a couple other books that I'm also interested in, so I'm happy to have discovered possibly a new author to add to my favorite Nonfiction writers list.
I highly recommend American Demon. Nonfiction November is right around the corner and this book would be a perfect read.
May 22, 2022
Disclaimer: ARC via MacMillan.
If you watch NCIS, you know that it is a spin off of the 90s show Jag. One of the stars of Jag was David James Elliot who was one of the actors in the short lived Untouchables series that aired on Fox (I believe). No, he didn’t play Elliott Ness.
That series didn’t get a mention in this book, which is the only disappointing thing about this excellent book.
The Robert Stack series, the one that the newer series was in part rebooting, does get a mention as does the famous movie with Kevin Coster. Stashower, however, does not focus on the constantly retread history of Capone vs Ness as it were, but instead on what Ness did after Chicago when he went to work in Cleveland, land of the burning river and the burning mayoral hair, and was confronted by not only having to clear corruption out of a police force but also a serial killer who liked cutting up bodies after he killed them. Later people, usually children, would find a seagull chowing down on a body.
Ness was Cleveland’s director of public safety at the time and as such, people wanted and expected to handle the case. But Ness also found himself in a slightly unfamiliar place, having to play politics as well as simple detective work, and it would be fair, that Ness was more interested in, rightly or wrongly, police corruption.
Stashower not only focuses on Ness’ quest to solve the murders and the at times polarizing actions that he took, but also on the area and people who were the victims of the serial killer as well as the work of the less famous detectives who were tasked with the case, and who in some ways may have been hampered by Ness, who found himself in a situation where his ethics and what needs to be done may be at odds in ways that he is not prepared to deal with.
Stashower also focuses on how the detectives were driven to solve a case even as they sometimes acted on prejudices that most people at the time had. For instance, there was a belief that the killer was a sexual deviant, which definition at the time included homosexuality. Stashower points out this homophobia but also highlights the fact that some of the detectives were educating themselves on the topic of deviancy as the case played out.
Stashower’s writing is clear and concise. Why it is clear that he admires the Ness and the others, he is not blind to their faults. The book is far from a hagiography of Ness in term of his work ethic and style, and Stashower is sympathetic to the women in Ness’ life who had to deal with his late nights and constant on the go and never at home work style.
If you like historic true crime, this a very good read.
If you watch NCIS, you know that it is a spin off of the 90s show Jag. One of the stars of Jag was David James Elliot who was one of the actors in the short lived Untouchables series that aired on Fox (I believe). No, he didn’t play Elliott Ness.
That series didn’t get a mention in this book, which is the only disappointing thing about this excellent book.
The Robert Stack series, the one that the newer series was in part rebooting, does get a mention as does the famous movie with Kevin Coster. Stashower, however, does not focus on the constantly retread history of Capone vs Ness as it were, but instead on what Ness did after Chicago when he went to work in Cleveland, land of the burning river and the burning mayoral hair, and was confronted by not only having to clear corruption out of a police force but also a serial killer who liked cutting up bodies after he killed them. Later people, usually children, would find a seagull chowing down on a body.
Ness was Cleveland’s director of public safety at the time and as such, people wanted and expected to handle the case. But Ness also found himself in a slightly unfamiliar place, having to play politics as well as simple detective work, and it would be fair, that Ness was more interested in, rightly or wrongly, police corruption.
Stashower not only focuses on Ness’ quest to solve the murders and the at times polarizing actions that he took, but also on the area and people who were the victims of the serial killer as well as the work of the less famous detectives who were tasked with the case, and who in some ways may have been hampered by Ness, who found himself in a situation where his ethics and what needs to be done may be at odds in ways that he is not prepared to deal with.
Stashower also focuses on how the detectives were driven to solve a case even as they sometimes acted on prejudices that most people at the time had. For instance, there was a belief that the killer was a sexual deviant, which definition at the time included homosexuality. Stashower points out this homophobia but also highlights the fact that some of the detectives were educating themselves on the topic of deviancy as the case played out.
Stashower’s writing is clear and concise. Why it is clear that he admires the Ness and the others, he is not blind to their faults. The book is far from a hagiography of Ness in term of his work ethic and style, and Stashower is sympathetic to the women in Ness’ life who had to deal with his late nights and constant on the go and never at home work style.
If you like historic true crime, this a very good read.
July 12, 2022
I was aware of this Cleveland, Ohio case of the Mad Butcher. I didn’t realize that Elliott Ness was responsible for the police and fire departments at that time as the new public safety director. I learned a lot more about Ness and his career, (he was married 3 times and was socially awkward). My memory was refreshed on the sadistic murders. A very good true crime read about the 1930s era. Well written, I may have to check out the author’s other non-fiction work. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
April 9, 2022
Like always a big thank you to the publisher St. Martin's, the author Daniel Stashower and to NetGalley for letting me read and review American Demon. For those who don't knew I love nonfiction especially true crime , and when I saw that that St.Martin's had this on NetGalley to request I was couldn't say no , the title as well as the cover got me, and I was so glad they said yes. Because of 2 things , one I no idea who Eliot Ness was and the other was I knew non thing about the case . So after I requested it I went to look up Eliot Ness and found out that he was the leader of the police group known as the Untouchables ( those I did know some what about as well as the famous mob leader AL Capone - thanks to growing up watch old mob movies with my dad) but as for Eliot Ness - no thing at all , because it was like you never heard of him been talked about like you do Al Capone . So I was going in to this one blind and I'm glad that I did. The author brings to life what life was like in that time as well as the life and times of Eliot Ness, how the Untouchables came to be and who they were, Al Capon and how he mob worked , and of cause the murders of the American Jack the Ripper , the author tells the story in such a away that its like its more of a movie then a book , and you don't get lost in the information she tells.
September 25, 2022
Cleveland. 1934. The Depression. A famous investigator pits his wits and skills against a serial killer. 12 dismembered bodies. A panicked public. The American Ripper case....The Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run.
After listening to the audio version of this book, I had two main questions. Number one -- how had I never heard of this case before?? In all my true crime reading and listening, before this book I had never once come across this case. A serial killer who dismembered 12 people over 4 years and was never caught -- even by the legendary Eliot Ness. And number two -- how have I never read a book by this author before?
This is an excellent book. It tells the story of the brutal killing of 12 people on the fringes of society in a rough time in American history. Stashower obviously did copious amounts of research into this case and presents the facts in an interesting way. The story kept my attention from start to finish. The fact this killer was never caught is chilling and disturbing.
At times, the book does seem to be more about Eliot Ness and less about the murders, but any case involving Ness is going to have that problem. He's almost a larger-than-life character. In this case, it didn't matter how famous he was or how skilled an investigator. The killer was never officially caught, although there were several suspects. The appalling conditions in Kingsbury Run, the impoverished victims targeted by the killer, and the brutal tactics used by law enforcement (including burning down Kingsbury run, a shanty town inhabited by addicts, the homeless, prostitutes and the poor) made this a rough book to listen to. It was a brutal era. And the killer may have easily moved on to another area of the country to continue his killing spree....it was easy to hop a train or just fade into a crowd back then. Many murders like this -- the Villisca Axe Murders for example -- went unsolved.
The audio book is just a bit over 12 hours long and is narrated by Will Damron. Damron does an excellent job of narration. He has a pleasant voice and reads at a nice, steady pace. Very interesting listen...although the subject and brutality of the killings makes this a rough one.
I will definitely be reading more by this author.
**I voluntarily listened to a review copy of this audiobook from Macmillan Audio. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**
After listening to the audio version of this book, I had two main questions. Number one -- how had I never heard of this case before?? In all my true crime reading and listening, before this book I had never once come across this case. A serial killer who dismembered 12 people over 4 years and was never caught -- even by the legendary Eliot Ness. And number two -- how have I never read a book by this author before?
This is an excellent book. It tells the story of the brutal killing of 12 people on the fringes of society in a rough time in American history. Stashower obviously did copious amounts of research into this case and presents the facts in an interesting way. The story kept my attention from start to finish. The fact this killer was never caught is chilling and disturbing.
At times, the book does seem to be more about Eliot Ness and less about the murders, but any case involving Ness is going to have that problem. He's almost a larger-than-life character. In this case, it didn't matter how famous he was or how skilled an investigator. The killer was never officially caught, although there were several suspects. The appalling conditions in Kingsbury Run, the impoverished victims targeted by the killer, and the brutal tactics used by law enforcement (including burning down Kingsbury run, a shanty town inhabited by addicts, the homeless, prostitutes and the poor) made this a rough book to listen to. It was a brutal era. And the killer may have easily moved on to another area of the country to continue his killing spree....it was easy to hop a train or just fade into a crowd back then. Many murders like this -- the Villisca Axe Murders for example -- went unsolved.
The audio book is just a bit over 12 hours long and is narrated by Will Damron. Damron does an excellent job of narration. He has a pleasant voice and reads at a nice, steady pace. Very interesting listen...although the subject and brutality of the killings makes this a rough one.
I will definitely be reading more by this author.
**I voluntarily listened to a review copy of this audiobook from Macmillan Audio. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**
October 24, 2023
Having recently read a historical romance that was set against the backdrop of Cleveland’s Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run, I was excited to read the factual account of these gruesome murders as depicted in Daniel Stashower’s true crime novel, “American Demon.” Unfortunately, the focus of this novel was aimed more at the life and career of the legendary Eliot Ness than it was on the Mad Butcher. While I found aspects of Eliot Ness’ story interesting, the misdirection left me wanting more. That said, if you are interested in taking a deep dive into the backstory of Eliot Ness, then this is definitely the book for you. If, like me, however, you were hoping for a more detailed, in-depth accounting of Cleveland’s most notorious serial killer, you’ll likely find this book to be generally lacking.
September 5, 2022
Happy Publication Day, Sept. 6, 2022!
If you love true crime but aren’t familiar with the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run, Daniel Stashower’s American Demon: Eliot Ness and the Hunt for America's Jack the Ripper is an excellent but disturbing introduction. However this book is a two-for-one deal, and while the chapters on the “torso killer” are not for the squeamish, the chapters on Eliot Ness require patience and a grain of salt. Not to imply that Stashower hasn’t done his homework here (quite the contrary) but the figure of Eliot Ness, the “untouchable” lawman sent to clean up Cleveland, is so wrapped in legend that it is impossible to separate fact from fiction on all accounts.
After years of pursuing Al Capone in the 1930s for his bootlegging and other illegal activity during Prohibition, Ness moved from Chicago to Cleveland, where he became safety director during a time when the city was plagued by corrupt cops and a serial killer who gruesomely dismembered his victims and disposed of them in places where they would be found. While the main goal of Ness as safety director was to clean up the police department, he eventually became involved in the pursuit of the Mad Butcher, or Torso Killer, or America’s Jack the Ripper (your choice). This unsub concentrated his efforts in the Kingsbury Run area, a place with homeless encampments, frequented by prostitutes and other unsavory types. Over eight years, he committed 12 known murders, all dismembered and left to be discovered. Teams of police and investigators, including Ness, would search doggedly for this criminal mastermind who could hide in plain sight.
Alongside the story of this mad man is the story of Ness. Most are familiar with his role in taking down Al Capone on tax evasion, but this account gives a full picture of his personal and professional life. While interesting, I found myself a little surprised at the extent that the book focused on Ness. And, if you aren’t familiar with the account, you may find the ending a little dissatisfying, but such is life.
Overall, I think this book is well researched and well worth the read. I listened to the audiobook version narrated by Will Damron and found his deft execution of the text enhanced the experience. Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the chance to listen to this twisted tale in exchange for my honest review.
If you love true crime but aren’t familiar with the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run, Daniel Stashower’s American Demon: Eliot Ness and the Hunt for America's Jack the Ripper is an excellent but disturbing introduction. However this book is a two-for-one deal, and while the chapters on the “torso killer” are not for the squeamish, the chapters on Eliot Ness require patience and a grain of salt. Not to imply that Stashower hasn’t done his homework here (quite the contrary) but the figure of Eliot Ness, the “untouchable” lawman sent to clean up Cleveland, is so wrapped in legend that it is impossible to separate fact from fiction on all accounts.
After years of pursuing Al Capone in the 1930s for his bootlegging and other illegal activity during Prohibition, Ness moved from Chicago to Cleveland, where he became safety director during a time when the city was plagued by corrupt cops and a serial killer who gruesomely dismembered his victims and disposed of them in places where they would be found. While the main goal of Ness as safety director was to clean up the police department, he eventually became involved in the pursuit of the Mad Butcher, or Torso Killer, or America’s Jack the Ripper (your choice). This unsub concentrated his efforts in the Kingsbury Run area, a place with homeless encampments, frequented by prostitutes and other unsavory types. Over eight years, he committed 12 known murders, all dismembered and left to be discovered. Teams of police and investigators, including Ness, would search doggedly for this criminal mastermind who could hide in plain sight.
Alongside the story of this mad man is the story of Ness. Most are familiar with his role in taking down Al Capone on tax evasion, but this account gives a full picture of his personal and professional life. While interesting, I found myself a little surprised at the extent that the book focused on Ness. And, if you aren’t familiar with the account, you may find the ending a little dissatisfying, but such is life.
Overall, I think this book is well researched and well worth the read. I listened to the audiobook version narrated by Will Damron and found his deft execution of the text enhanced the experience. Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the chance to listen to this twisted tale in exchange for my honest review.
December 19, 2023
In 1934, a reign of terror hit the city of Cleveland, Ohio when a series of brutal killings started. The victims would be discovered in pieces, as the murderer chopped up the bodies and then scattered them around the city. The moniker, The Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run was given to the serial killer and a total of thirteen victims would be credited to the unknown perpetrator. At the same time, the most famous crime fighter in the United States, Eliot Ness, had taken over as Cleveland's Director of Public Safety. Would the Untouchable who had put Al Capone in prison be able to put an end to the killing madness?
Reports of stray bits of flesh and bone, floating boxes and old trunks -- all cast up by Lake Erie -- kept detectives busy today.
By the time he moved to Cleveland, Eliot Ness was very famous for his successful fight against the Chicago Mob. However, he was fighting his own personal demons. He wasn’t the most faithful of husbands and had started a downward spiral via excessive binge drinking. His public role had changed somewhat also, as his title suggested. But Ness had been brought in to clean up a corrupt police force and an even more corrupt city. He had few allies but viewed it all as a challenge, one to vindicate his earlier Chicago success. But serial killers can be difficult, especially when Ness and other cops identified the killer only to be stymied by the suspect’s close family relationship to a leading politician.
I chose this book because I thought it was going to be focused mostly on the serial killer. While the chapters alternate between the Mad Butcher and Ness, it really is more of a biography of Eliot Ness. That’s not a bad thing, as I had no idea he basically had a downward career trajectory after Capone. His later years were desperate, as he couldn’t succeed in the private sector. He wouldn’t live long enough to see the success of the TV series, The Untouchables, derived from his memoir. Like most people, I just assumed Ness was always a big shot so this book was enlightening.
The research by Daniel Stashower is very good and the list of suspects and the victims brings the serial killing to the fore. Before reading this, I was completely unaware of the Mad Butcher but then there have been so many different serial killers in the United States, that’s not a surprise. Overall, a little bit of gruesome history.
Book Season = Autumn (season of beheadings)
Reports of stray bits of flesh and bone, floating boxes and old trunks -- all cast up by Lake Erie -- kept detectives busy today.
By the time he moved to Cleveland, Eliot Ness was very famous for his successful fight against the Chicago Mob. However, he was fighting his own personal demons. He wasn’t the most faithful of husbands and had started a downward spiral via excessive binge drinking. His public role had changed somewhat also, as his title suggested. But Ness had been brought in to clean up a corrupt police force and an even more corrupt city. He had few allies but viewed it all as a challenge, one to vindicate his earlier Chicago success. But serial killers can be difficult, especially when Ness and other cops identified the killer only to be stymied by the suspect’s close family relationship to a leading politician.
I chose this book because I thought it was going to be focused mostly on the serial killer. While the chapters alternate between the Mad Butcher and Ness, it really is more of a biography of Eliot Ness. That’s not a bad thing, as I had no idea he basically had a downward career trajectory after Capone. His later years were desperate, as he couldn’t succeed in the private sector. He wouldn’t live long enough to see the success of the TV series, The Untouchables, derived from his memoir. Like most people, I just assumed Ness was always a big shot so this book was enlightening.
The research by Daniel Stashower is very good and the list of suspects and the victims brings the serial killing to the fore. Before reading this, I was completely unaware of the Mad Butcher but then there have been so many different serial killers in the United States, that’s not a surprise. Overall, a little bit of gruesome history.
Book Season = Autumn (season of beheadings)
May 16, 2023
Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Robert De Niro, and Director Brian De Palma made "The Untouchables" a household name for a whole new generation with their 1987 movie by the same name. But like most Hollywood movies and shows "based on a True Character" there is much that was fictionalized. Although this was nt a book about Elliott Ness and the Untouchables. There was discussion about Chicago and his attempt to capture Al Capone. Instead this book tell of what Mr. Ness did after Chicago, when he went to Cleveland and became the Public safety Director in charge of the police and fire department. While working in this capacity Cleveland became terrorized by a serial killer who focused on the homeless and destitute, of which there were many. After a killing spree that covered the years 1935-1938 and included 12 victims in cannon, officially, the killer was never found or identified. This book concludes that the killer was a doctor who had some high political family ties. I had not heard of this killer before and so I found it very interesting. I also found the history of Mr. Ness as interesting.
Shelved as 'dnf'
December 18, 2022DNF. This book focuses too much on Eliot Ness's early career than the Cleveland Torso Killer. The title is really misleading.
June 25, 2024
Eliot Ness was an icon of the 1920s because of his efforts to put pressure on Al Capone's empire and eventually bring him down; Ness was helped by his hand-picked team that became known as the Untouchables. But once Capone was imprisoned, Ness was left to find something else in which to invest his energy. Still a young man, not quite 30 when Capone went down, Ness was offered the Safety Director job in Cleveland, a position he held until 1942. This book becomes something of a biography of Ness, a corrective to the mythologizing of the book The Untouchables and the 1950s TV show and 1980s movie that sprang from it. It does this by focusing on Ness' time as Safety Director and the torso murders that happened there during his tenure.
It would be inaccurate to say dealing with serial killers was in its infancy: In the 1930s the closest analog of the torso murders would have Jack the Ripper in London in 1888. (Oddly, perhaps, Stashower doesn't mention the torso murders that happened concurrently with the Ripper as a parallel.) So Ness and his police force and his team dedicated to solving the crimes, were making it up as they went along. Stashower explains all this in brisk prose, and seems even-handed in his assessment of Ness and his actions and words, as well as with those Ness interacted with, friend or foe.
A fascinating slice of American history, well-written and engaging.
It would be inaccurate to say dealing with serial killers was in its infancy: In the 1930s the closest analog of the torso murders would have Jack the Ripper in London in 1888. (Oddly, perhaps, Stashower doesn't mention the torso murders that happened concurrently with the Ripper as a parallel.) So Ness and his police force and his team dedicated to solving the crimes, were making it up as they went along. Stashower explains all this in brisk prose, and seems even-handed in his assessment of Ness and his actions and words, as well as with those Ness interacted with, friend or foe.
A fascinating slice of American history, well-written and engaging.
January 20, 2023
I must admit I was unaware that Eliot Ness even had a career after going after gangster Al Capone, much less 3 wives, a failed political campaign, and most ironically, a rather significant alcohol problem later in life. This was an interesting look at how Ness’ exploits with the Untouchables was initially a boon for him and helped make him the youngest Safety Director in Cleveland history, but how those same exploits and bravado became an anchor around his neck when Ness just couldn’t live up to the impossible standard his own past created for him.
October 26, 2022
Ostensibly the story of Ness pursuing Cleveland’s torso killer, but more the story of his time as public safety officer which just happens to coincide with a number of possibly interconnected beheadings. Of course, that’s just an opinion. It is well written, will hold your interest and leave you to decide for yourself
December 16, 2022
When I saw the cover of this book I was reminded of Devil in the White City, which was a book I loved. I requested a copy from Net Galley and was so excited to start reading. Unfortunately, this novel fell very short of my expectation. I would give it 2.5 stars if I could, but since I can't the book received 2 stars.
I will start with the positive aspects of this novel first. It was a very well written and informative novel. It included several personal anecdotes from the authors own experiences, which I felt did add to the story line.
The negatives, however, were too great to overlook. What disappointed me most was how much it talked about Elliot Ness' early life and career. Over half the book was spent discussing his work with the Untouchables, and his Al Capone take down. I didn't read this book to learn about his early career. I read it for his work on the Kingsbury Run torso killings. Only the last half of the book discussed the murders, and the text didn't go into as much detail about Elliot's involvement with the torso killings.
All in all it was not a bad novel it just wasn't what I had hoped it would be. It was well written but disappointing due to the expectations I had going into reading it.
I will start with the positive aspects of this novel first. It was a very well written and informative novel. It included several personal anecdotes from the authors own experiences, which I felt did add to the story line.
The negatives, however, were too great to overlook. What disappointed me most was how much it talked about Elliot Ness' early life and career. Over half the book was spent discussing his work with the Untouchables, and his Al Capone take down. I didn't read this book to learn about his early career. I read it for his work on the Kingsbury Run torso killings. Only the last half of the book discussed the murders, and the text didn't go into as much detail about Elliot's involvement with the torso killings.
All in all it was not a bad novel it just wasn't what I had hoped it would be. It was well written but disappointing due to the expectations I had going into reading it.
September 6, 2022
1. I had no idea that there was a serial killer that taunted Cleveland in the 30's and 40's.
2. I had no idea what happened to Eliot Ness after Chicago. I was shocked to learn he came to Cleveland. As someone who lived in a suburb of Cleveland in the 70's and went to school there, I am surprised it was never talked about. .
3. I remember the Flats and how we were always told how dangerous they were and how they still caught on fire. It wasn't until I was in my late 20's that they finally cleaned that area up and now it is a thriving area of music and arts and the such. It was a surprise, but very welcome for the Cleveland community.
4. My father lived for a time in Bay Village [where Eliot Ness had a house]. It was one of the swankiest neighborhoods that I had ever seen at that time [I was young and impressionable. ;-) ]. I can see Mr. Ness and his family living there.
5. I love this author and would read anything he writes. Thankfully, IMO, he writes really well and writes excellent, thought-provoking books. This is no exception. This book will stay with the reader for a long time.
6. There is no happy ending here. There are moments of frustration because of this. I feel deeply for the families that are left wondering, even all these years later.
7. It is rough when one idolizes a public figure and then you find out they are just as fallible as the rest of us. That was the case here for me. I knew next to nothing about Mr. Ness except what I "learned" from the movies about him [and some historical fiction I had read that had him in it].
Again, this is a really good read. Both entertaining and, well, gross. Serial killers and their prey are never pretty and the author doesn't shy away from details, but doesn't cross that line into turning one off from reading, which is a real talent IMO. If you love true crime and want to know more about Eliot Ness and his life after Chicago and you appreciate really great writing that comes from excellent research, then this book is for you!
I was also lucky enough to get an audiobook ARC for this book and it was exceptional. Will Damron is one of my [new] favorite narrators and he does an excellent job in telling this story and really makes that time come alive. I am always glad when I can get an audiobook for an nonfiction books and even more so when it is a narrator that I love. I highly recommend listening to this book.
Thank you to NetGalley, Daniel Stashower, Will Damron - Narrator, St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Audio for providing this ARC and audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.
2. I had no idea what happened to Eliot Ness after Chicago. I was shocked to learn he came to Cleveland. As someone who lived in a suburb of Cleveland in the 70's and went to school there, I am surprised it was never talked about. .
3. I remember the Flats and how we were always told how dangerous they were and how they still caught on fire. It wasn't until I was in my late 20's that they finally cleaned that area up and now it is a thriving area of music and arts and the such. It was a surprise, but very welcome for the Cleveland community.
4. My father lived for a time in Bay Village [where Eliot Ness had a house]. It was one of the swankiest neighborhoods that I had ever seen at that time [I was young and impressionable. ;-) ]. I can see Mr. Ness and his family living there.
5. I love this author and would read anything he writes. Thankfully, IMO, he writes really well and writes excellent, thought-provoking books. This is no exception. This book will stay with the reader for a long time.
6. There is no happy ending here. There are moments of frustration because of this. I feel deeply for the families that are left wondering, even all these years later.
7. It is rough when one idolizes a public figure and then you find out they are just as fallible as the rest of us. That was the case here for me. I knew next to nothing about Mr. Ness except what I "learned" from the movies about him [and some historical fiction I had read that had him in it].
Again, this is a really good read. Both entertaining and, well, gross. Serial killers and their prey are never pretty and the author doesn't shy away from details, but doesn't cross that line into turning one off from reading, which is a real talent IMO. If you love true crime and want to know more about Eliot Ness and his life after Chicago and you appreciate really great writing that comes from excellent research, then this book is for you!
I was also lucky enough to get an audiobook ARC for this book and it was exceptional. Will Damron is one of my [new] favorite narrators and he does an excellent job in telling this story and really makes that time come alive. I am always glad when I can get an audiobook for an nonfiction books and even more so when it is a narrator that I love. I highly recommend listening to this book.
Thank you to NetGalley, Daniel Stashower, Will Damron - Narrator, St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Audio for providing this ARC and audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.
July 18, 2023
Edgar award-winning author Daniel Stashower’s most recent book, American Demon, contains two interlocking threads. The first is a biography of famous crime-fighter, Eliot Ness, focusing on his post-Capone years in Cleveland. Fans of this famous lawman will not like what they read. The second is an account of the infamous Kingsbury Run murders in Cleveland — most of which occurred during Ness’ term as the City’s Safety Director.
I attended a presentation by Stashower about American Demon, and I was sufficiently intrigued by what I heard to buy the book. I later learned that the presentation was drawn almost entirely from the book’s introduction. The introduction discloses just about everything worth knowing about Ness and the Kingsbury Run murders. The rest of the book consists of tedious particulars that did not add much to the story — except for readers who enjoy detailed accounts of gruesome dismemberments.
Although Ness is known as the guy who brought Al Capone to justice in the late 1920s, Stashower diminishes Ness’ role in the arrest and conviction of this notorious gangster. Ness pursued Capone for violating then-existing statutes prohibiting the sale of alcohol. An intriguing disclosure in the book is that Capone was no mere thug but was, rather, fiendishly clever about hiding his operations. Nonetheless, Ness enjoyed some success in penetrating Capone’s wall of secrecy. Ness’ team found and destroyed illegal booze and smashed distilling equipment. These efforts contributed to Capone’s demise because they deprived him of funds necessary to bribe law enforcement officials — an essential part of his success. But Ness’ efforts were not ultimately responsible for Capone’s conviction. Capone was convicted of and sentenced to prison for tax evasion, not for violating prohibition laws.
Stashower does, however, credit Ness for resisting the bribes to which so many other Chicago cops succumbed. That resistance led the local media to dub Ness and his team “the Untouchables.” Ness hoped to parlay the attention he received into a high level position with the FBI. But the FBI’s newly appointed director, J. Edgar Hoover, concluded that Ness did not fully deserve the praise he received, and the famously vain Hoover was not in any event willing to share the spotlight with this young upstart. So, the prestigious federal appointment never came.
Ness’ reputation did, however, bring him to the attention of city officials in Cleveland, which was suffering from a police corruption problem in the early 1930s at least as serious as what Ness had encountered in Chicago. It was sobering for me to learn that, when he led the Untouchables, Ness had not yet turned 30. So, when Ness was offered and accepted a position as Cleveland’s Safety Director, the appointment was greeted with a great deal of skepticism. Ness was, at the time, just a kid, and he had neither policing nor administrative experience.
Ness made rooting out corruption his primary objective as Safety Director. Working with a young prosecutor whom he befriended, Ness fired some of the dirty cops and brought criminal charges against the worst offenders. Not surprisingly, Ness’ anti-corruption campaign made him lots of enemies in the local law enforcement community. Ness also sought to bring modern, scientifically-based investigatory practices to the police department — practices he had learned as a student at the University of Chicago. Ness’ efforts were ballyhooed by the Cleveland press, whose opinions Ness carefully cultivated — frequently at local saloons after work. But the favorable publicity came at a price as resentment over Ness’ perceived grandstanding grew.
Over time, Ness’ popularity took a hit as he became enmeshed in the shifting winds of Cleveland politics. But it was mostly Ness’ failure to solve the Kingsbury Run murders that tarnished his reputation — and that’s where the two strands of the book merge. The murders were named for an area south of the city where some — but not all — of the bodies were discovered. The common denominator in the killings is that all of the victims had been decapitated; in some but not all cases, decapitation was the cause of death. Most victims were also found missing parts of their arms, legs, and sometimes genitals. Most, but not all, victims were men. There is no consensus on how many Kingsbury Run murders there were. The estimated range is 10 to 13 victims, although it could well be more or less. As one would expect, the murders received extensive coverage in the local newspapers, and the population was on edge.
Bodies without heads were difficult for the police to identify — particularly at a time when fingerprinting had not yet developed to the point it has reached today and DNA analysis had not yet been invented. Incredibly, when the police located one victim’s head, they put it on public display, and literally hundreds of ordinary citizens passed through the morgue to get a look. The few victims the police were able to identify were transients, prostitutes, and other loners — i.e., not the kind of people likely to have relatives and friends looking for them when they disappeared. As the book’s subtitle suggests, the murderer was America’s Jack the Ripper — a fiend preying on a vulnerable population.
Solving these crimes would have been difficult even if all the investigators had been pulling together, but that’s not what Ness encountered. Some of the investigators thought that the Cleveland murders were linked to a series of similar homicides in Western Pennsylvania; others saw no connection. The city’s coroner and chief medical examiner offered differing interpretations of the autopsies conducted on the Cleveland victims, and they sometimes later changed their minds. The beat cops charged with investigating the murders had different theories than the secret team that Ness himself created to investigate.
There were some who thought that the dismembering incisions were so precise that they could have been made only by a surgeon or a butcher. (I’m not sure how surgeons feel about being having their technique lumped in the same category as that employed by butchers, but that’s a story for another day.) Dozens of physicians thought to be disgruntled were interviewed by the police. But other investigators did not see a level of refinement in the cuts that one would expect from a surgeon. Years into the investigation, the Cleveland coroner convened a conference of forensic scientists and law enforcement officials from all over the country to dissect the case (pun intended); the conference generated lots of theories, but did not solve the crimes.
At one point, the police arrested a suspect who confessed to killing one of the identified victims. But this suspect confessed under duress that surely would have invalidated his confession under today’s legal standards, and he never confessed to the whole series of slayings. The suspect died in police custody before Ness ever had a chance to interrogate him.
But Ness never thought that that unfortunate fellow was a serious suspect. [Spoiler alert!] Instead, Ness was convinced that the killer was a disgraced doctor named Francis Sweeney. Ness brought Dr. Sweeney to a secret location where he was questioned for days. (Miranda was decades in the future, and no lawyer was present for the examination.) Part of the interrogation consisted of administering lie detector tests. The machine operators concluded that the tests showed that Dr. Sweeney was the murderer. But lie detector technology was in its infancy then, and the results of such testing were not admissible.
Still and all, one is left to wonder why Ness — armed with the results of the lie detector tests — did not work to develop a case against Dr. Sweeney. Stashower offers some interesting speculation. Dr. Sweeney was the brother of prominent Cleveland Congressman Martin Sweeney. In addition to being Dr. Sweeney’s brother, Congressman Sweeney was also Ness’s harshest critic in the greater Cleveland community. Ness was fiercely loyal to his boss, the mayor, and had political ambitions of his own. Ness feared that, if he prosecuted Francis, Martin would claim that the prosecution was politically motivated, bring down the mayor, and ruin any chance Ness might have of higher office. So, Ness and the Congressman struck a deal. Francis would be committed to a mental institution; in return, Ness would drop the prosecution.
No one was ever tried for, much less convicted of, the Kingsbury Run murders. While some later evidence emerged fingering Dr. Sweeney as the culprit, that evidence is not conclusive. Indeed, those who later reviewed the files are not even convinced that these crimes were committed by a single person. Once the theory of a serial murderer emerged, those investigating the crimes worked to make the evidence fit the theory. But there were significant differences between and among the victims. Moreover, dismembering murder victims was not unknown at the time. Indeed, it was not at all uncommon for mob hits to include dismemberment that would frustrate the ability of the police to identify the victim.
While there is no evidence that Ness ever took a bribe, Stashower suggests that Ness was not the Boy Scout his friends in the media made him out to be. As hinted above, Ness ended most days with a trip to local watering holes, where he was known as a prodigious drinker. Ness was handsome and athletic, and Stashower intimates that Ness enjoyed the attention of the ladies. It was apparently the ethos of the time that reporters looked the other way when Ness was engaged in these indiscretions. If Stashower’s speculation is correct, it is not surprising that Ness was married three times — all to women whose names began with the letter E (Edna, Evaline, and Elisabeth).
But the partying ultimately became Ness’ undoing. Returning home from a night on the town, Ness was involved in an automobile accident that resulted in injury and property damage to another driver. Although the damage was not serious, there were rumors that Ness tried to cover up what occurred. While it is far from clear that Ness made any effort to conceal what occurred, the damage to Ness’ reputation had been done. He quietly stepped away from his job as Safety Director.
Later years were not kind to Ness. He ran for mayor of Cleveland, but was soundly defeated in the general election. Thereafter, he was involved in a series of failed business ventures. Eventually, his cash reserves ran low. Over drinks one evening, a reporter friend suggested that Ness write a book about his days as an Untouchable. Ness’ collaborator on the book pushed him to embellish the story. While Ness initially resisted, his increasingly desperate financial situation caused him to give in. Unfortunately Ness died of a massive heart attack at the tender age of 55 before the book was published. When the book was published, it became a best seller and later formed the basis for a television series that ran for several seasons.
American Demon, then, is a book written by a personable and award winning author of detective fiction about horrendous and largely unknown crimes in a city whose top cop is one of the nation’s most famous lawmen. So, then, what’s not to like? Why is my review of this book only luke warm? There are several explanations. First, in this age of cancel culture, Stashower tarnishes the reputation of yet another American icon. The author claims that Ness was only a minor player in the campaign against Al Capone, portrays Ness as a skirt-chasing, alcoholic, glory hog, understates the importance of Ness’ efforts to combat corruption on the Cleveland police force, suggests without much supporting evidence that Ness made an unethical deal to allow the Kingsbury Run killer to go free, and claims that Ness’ biography wildly exaggerates his accomplishments. While there was perhaps some need to correct Ness’ reputation, I am left thinking that this character assassination goes too far.
Second, Stashower distorts the historical record by viewing the characters and events he describes through the prism of contemporary standards. The government officials who appear in the story are all self-absorbed, greedy, incompetent, deceitful, and corrupt. The medical and scientific people who sought to unravel the Kingsbury Run murders are all portrayed as quacks. The law enforcement officials who worked the cases are all Keystone Kops. Looking back on this narrative, I am hard-pressed to remember a single admirable character in this drama. There can be no doubt that the investigators could have done better with modern techniques. But I think that we need to acknowledge that most of the people working these cases were acting in good faith and did the best they could with the tools available to them at the time. It does not follow, as Stashower seems to believe, that the failure to solve these crimes reflects either corruption or incompetence.
Third, much of the book consists of filler — related tangentially at best to the book’s main theme. As the title suggests, the book is about America’s Jack the Ripper — a serial killer who committed a dozen or so gruesome murders in America’s heartland in the 1930s. There was no need to discuss at length Eliot Ness’ work as a prohibition agent in Chicago. Nor was there any need to discuss Ness’ anti-corruption campaign in Cleveland, his excessive drinking, or his womanizing. The story of the Kingsbury Run murders should stand on its own, and the other topics addressed are mere distractions.
Finally, the book is too repetitious. Every time a new body was discovered, the author meticulously details where it was found, its state of decomposition, who made the discovery, which police officers were called to the scene, and the medical examiners’ observations at autopsy. It is difficult for me to see how these details advance the narrative arch. We then hear the investigators’ conflicting theories about how the latest discovery fits — or does not fit — the killer’s profile and the efforts to conduct follow-up investigations, which never lead anywhere. Perhaps Stashower’s objective was to show how frustrating the investigation proved to be; if so, he was wildly successful. But hearing the same story a dozen times got to be tiresome. Readers oftentimes speak of books they could not put down. Here, in contrast, it seemed that we were frequently treading the same ground.
It cannot be denied that a story about a psychopath who murdered twice as many people as Jack the Ripper in our own back yard and is still largely unknown is worth hearing. But I recommend finding someplace where you can hear Stashower deliver a one-hour account of these events instead of reading the book. The lecture provides all you need to know.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 30, 2024
I think I was expecting something fairly propulsive because of the promise of the premise and I found this a bit of a slog. It did make me realize how little I know about Ohio considering I have lived here for nearly 20 years though, and maybe I will work on fixing that at some point.
March 3, 2024
More like a history of Cleveland and Ness, with some additional focus on the city’s first serial killer. Probably only worth the read if you have an interest in Cleveland’s history. Stay away from Kingsbury run and the flats!!
January 30, 2023
(3.5⭐️) Thank you to my friends at @minotaur_books and @macmillan.audio for the gifted copies.
I love true crime. And given that I devoured @amy.harmon.author ‘s The Unknown Beloved last year (a romance set amongst the unfolding horror in 1930’s Cleveland) , this new spotlight on the Mad Butcher peeked my interest.
The Untouchables introduced most of us to renowned lawman Elliot Ness. Legend tells us of his vigor and roughness. Two fisted justice. A man larger than life.
But as legends often go, Ness’ tends to be inauthentic and exaggerated.
In American Demon, Stashower aims to clarify those falsehoods while also taking a look at one of America’s most devious, albeit little known, serial killers.
Given the title, I went into this read expecting a primary focus on the Mad Butcher. However, Ness doesn’t just take part in this story, he is the headliner. While the end game is that battle of wits between the sadistic serial killer and Ness, most of the buildup is devoted to Ness’ life and career.
Once I adjusted to the actuality of the premise, I was able to enjoy this disturbing look into history and crime.
🎧As I usually do, I partnered the physical and audio copies of this book. Will Damron’s gritty and dark tone captured the sinister nature of this read in the audiobook.
I love true crime. And given that I devoured @amy.harmon.author ‘s The Unknown Beloved last year (a romance set amongst the unfolding horror in 1930’s Cleveland) , this new spotlight on the Mad Butcher peeked my interest.
The Untouchables introduced most of us to renowned lawman Elliot Ness. Legend tells us of his vigor and roughness. Two fisted justice. A man larger than life.
But as legends often go, Ness’ tends to be inauthentic and exaggerated.
In American Demon, Stashower aims to clarify those falsehoods while also taking a look at one of America’s most devious, albeit little known, serial killers.
Given the title, I went into this read expecting a primary focus on the Mad Butcher. However, Ness doesn’t just take part in this story, he is the headliner. While the end game is that battle of wits between the sadistic serial killer and Ness, most of the buildup is devoted to Ness’ life and career.
Once I adjusted to the actuality of the premise, I was able to enjoy this disturbing look into history and crime.
🎧As I usually do, I partnered the physical and audio copies of this book. Will Damron’s gritty and dark tone captured the sinister nature of this read in the audiobook.
August 31, 2022
American Demon: Eliot Ness and the Hunt for
America's Jack the Ripper
by Daniel Stashower
Stashower does an amazing job on this well-researched, well-written true crime book. Post-Chicago Eliot Ness, newly relocated to Cleveland,
is faced with a number of brutal acts by a serial killer that viciously mutilated and chopped up his victims.
This American Jack the Ripper story not only paints a fabulous portrait of the lesser known Cleveland career of Ness - it also shows a 1930s city ravaged by poverty and a political system suffering from corruption. A great number of lesser characters also help round out this must read for any fan of the genre.
I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for letting
me read this book!
America's Jack the Ripper
by Daniel Stashower
Stashower does an amazing job on this well-researched, well-written true crime book. Post-Chicago Eliot Ness, newly relocated to Cleveland,
is faced with a number of brutal acts by a serial killer that viciously mutilated and chopped up his victims.
This American Jack the Ripper story not only paints a fabulous portrait of the lesser known Cleveland career of Ness - it also shows a 1930s city ravaged by poverty and a political system suffering from corruption. A great number of lesser characters also help round out this must read for any fan of the genre.
I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for letting
me read this book!
July 14, 2022
Stashower took an interesting historical and buried it in so much verbiage that it was no longer interesting. Too much extraneous material.
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
September 8, 2022
⚫️Book Review⚫️
It’s #thrillerthursday but, I’m here to share this true crime book that I WISH was a fictional thriller. Let’s start by my saying thank you to @netgalley and @minotaur_books and @macmillan.audio for the eARC and ALC for American Demon.
Did you know that America had its own Jack the Ripper? I sure didn’t!
Most of us have heard of Eliot Ness, in passing at the minimum. He was the head of The Untouchables, the crew that worked to bring down Al Capone. After that whole shebang ended Eliot Ness went on with his life as the untouchable public figure he was and took on the role of director of public safety for Cleveland.
Eliot Ness then came face to face with the hardest case of his life. Bodies started showing up in Cleveland…and I’m not going to get into detail here because the book does that in depth. It’s brutal and awful.
I think this book was well written and I highly enjoyed learning about Eliot Ness, including much about his personal life. This murderer was just 🤢 though. There were a few parts that dragged for me, but overall I thought this book was good. Not my most favorite true crime/nonfiction book, but I would still recommend it to true crime enthusiasts!
It’s #thrillerthursday but, I’m here to share this true crime book that I WISH was a fictional thriller. Let’s start by my saying thank you to @netgalley and @minotaur_books and @macmillan.audio for the eARC and ALC for American Demon.
Did you know that America had its own Jack the Ripper? I sure didn’t!
Most of us have heard of Eliot Ness, in passing at the minimum. He was the head of The Untouchables, the crew that worked to bring down Al Capone. After that whole shebang ended Eliot Ness went on with his life as the untouchable public figure he was and took on the role of director of public safety for Cleveland.
Eliot Ness then came face to face with the hardest case of his life. Bodies started showing up in Cleveland…and I’m not going to get into detail here because the book does that in depth. It’s brutal and awful.
I think this book was well written and I highly enjoyed learning about Eliot Ness, including much about his personal life. This murderer was just 🤢 though. There were a few parts that dragged for me, but overall I thought this book was good. Not my most favorite true crime/nonfiction book, but I would still recommend it to true crime enthusiasts!
March 13, 2024
this was a very interesting book!! it definitely had a lot more to do with eliot ness than with the cleveland torso murders, and he didn't seem to have a ton to do with those murders, but both subjects were explored in depth and in interesting ways, and their intersections were deeply fascinating. i enjoy stashower's efforts and research, as well as the way all this information was presented. a lengthy book that was definitely interesting and rather enjoyable. a very solid book!
April 16, 2024
A good book but not great either. Touted as a book about the Cleveland Torso Murderer, also known as the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run in Cleveland, Ohio and Elliot Ness but it was more a biography of Elliot Ness than anything. It does cover the murders and the search for the killer it just doesn't seem to be the focus of the book at times. Definitely worth a read due to the extensive research done by a great author.
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