American Demon

Starred review from July 4, 2022
Edgar winner Stashower (The Hour of Peril: The Secret Plot to Murder Lincoln Before the Civil War) provides the definitive look at the case of Cleveland’s Torso Killer, who claimed at least 12 victims in the 1930s. The killings happened on the watch of Eliot Ness (1903–1957), who became the city’s director of public safety in 1935 after his much vaunted, and exaggerated, role in bringing Chicago gangster Al Capone to justice. The killer’s victims seemed to have been randomly selected, and their dismembered remains were left in a poor neighborhood with a large vagrant population. Ness’s failure to catch the killer was devastating to his career and reputation. Stashower presents a warts-and-all portrait of Ness, who achieved some success in combating corruption in Cleveland but was unfaithful to his wife and less than fully engaged in the hunt for the Torso Killer. Despite that, Stashower manages to engender empathy for Ness, who was out of his depth dealing with a kind of murderer law enforcement in general was ill-equipped to handle, and who died at 54 after being reduced to working in a bookstore to earn some money. The combination of a baffling unsolved crime with a nuanced portrayal of an American icon adds up to another winner for this talented author. Agent: Susanna Einstein, Einstein Literary Management.

June 10, 2024

Edgar-, Agatha-, and Anthony Award-winning Stashower (Teller of Tales) digs into the history of Cleveland to uncover the details of Eliot Ness's work for the city. In 1935, Ness, the well-known Prohibition agent and leader of Chicago's "The Untouchables," began work as Cleveland's safety director, having been hired away from government work by Mayor Harold Burton. His assignment: eliminate graft, implement police reform, and improve traffic safety. While in Cleveland, Ness found himself peripherally working on the chilling case of the local serial killer known as "the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run." Will Damron performs a meticulous, exact narration of Stashower's work. He unpacks the background and history of the places and players with the calm and collected authority of an insider, yet exudes the excitement, confusion, and fear of outsiders when delivering numerous gruesome passages about the 13 dismembered murder victims. The disdain that Ness held for the occupants of the depressed shanty neighborhood is evident when Damron chillingly repeats his words, "Burn it down!" VERDICT Armchair detectives will enjoy this carefully narrated deep dive into a grisly serial crime.--Stephanie Bange

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.