American Demon
Books | True Crime / Historical
3.7
Daniel Stashower
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 Erie: 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 safety: 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.
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More Details:
Author
Daniel Stashower
Pages
368
Publisher
St. Martin's Publishing Group
Published Date
2022-09-06
ISBN
1466837314 9781466837317
Ratings
Google: 4
Community ReviewsSee all
"Follow Eliot Ness and his team as they hunt a brutal serial killer in the early 20th Century. In Cleveland, the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run is leaving dismembered corpses around the city, and government officials— amidst their efforts to stomp out police corruption— are on the case.
The similarities to “Devil in the White City” don’t stop at the cover aesthetic: if you appreciated the tone of Eric Larson’s book, you’ll probably like this one as well. It’s a conversational style of history, not dissimilar to a true crime podcast.
However, this book primarily follows the detectives search for the killer rather than building a narrative around the killer’s history and psyche in opposition to the police. The book candidly chronicles infighting between government offices, missteps in the investigation, and the tinge of classism."
Kari Kirfman
"American Demon does a good job of weaving the stories involved together in a way that gives enough information to keep you wanting more. The stories are raw, interesting, and important to the overall narrative, with plenty of insight from contemporaries. I enjoyed this greatly and recommend it to history or true crime fans. "
Gage Addington