This book was a little different than I thought initially. I love true crime and although there was this, it was also a lot about the life of Elliot Ness. I really liked the parts about the crimes and crime solving. They were horrendous crimes and you will read about how bloody they are.

This book has a different quality about it that makes it very easy to read and make you think about it after you put it down. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone!

If you are a true crime lover like me, YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK! I didn’t know much about Nese and came away with a much deeper knowledge about who he was and his approach to crime solving. Historically accurate and straightforward in its chronology of events which was great because this is where I often get lost in true crime books. Definitely recommend!

I stumbled upon this book shortly after I had read a fictional romance about Cleveland’s Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run and Eliot Ness’s involvement in solving the case. Unfortunately, this book didn’t really focus as much on the serial killer as it did Eliot Ness, and not necessarily his involvement in this case, so it felt a bit misleading that this is what the book was supposed to be about.

Not that I am macabre or thrive on gruesome details, but I the blurb made it sound like there would be a lot of time and detail spent on the discoveries of the bodies over the four-year period of time, but I felt like we learned more about Eliot Ness and his personal life and career outside of this case so it was a letdown. He’s a fascinating man, and had quite a history, but the book was supposed to focus on Mad Butcher, or so I thought. It was still an interesting read.

Poor Eliot Ness. After tackling the Mob and getting fame for Robert Stack he devolved into lethal alcoholism. But first he tried to solve the Kingsbury Run Depression carnage. It's a good book about a famous bunch of horrid crimes. It's a good book. I had already read quite a lot on this but this one covers it all.

This book starts out with promise but by the middle I was bored. It felt dry and text bookish. I was interested in the premise but the execution wasn’t for me.

A true story about Eliot Ness the Torso Killer. This story focuses his life and the unsolved murders. It's a gruesome tale and the terror in the city's residents feels palpable. It is also the story of how he grew up in Cleveland. A dark yet interesting tale of terror that is very well written.

Eliot Ness is on the hunt for the Mad Butcher in Cleveland. The story is set in the Great Depression Era. A gripping account of the events that occurred. An outstanding story and the author does a terrific job bringing the reader into this world and era.

Disclaimer: Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books for this review copy and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

SYNOPSIS
American Demon is written by the highly regarded biographer and historian Daniel Stashower. In this his most recent publication Stashower documents the life, times, and cases of the eponymous Detective Eliot Ness. American Demon focuses on Ness’ most notable cases: The Cleveland Torso Killer, Al Capone and one that got away; the aptly labeled, American Demon.

Daniel used a diverse range of research resources that included: Eliot Ness’ original Manuscripts and the Library of Congress Manuscript Division; as well as books, magazines and journals. Written in a biographical style, Stashower catalogues Ness’ meteoric rise from his humble beginnings as the youngest son of an immigrant family, through his education in law enforcement and to his involvement with some of America’s most ignominious and memorable cases.

CONCLUSION
American Demon by Daniel Stashower, is an interesting historical account of the trials, successes, and tribulations of Eliot Ness’ many high profile criminal investigations.

Stashower’s narrative is easy to read, informative, expertly researched and concise. It was not the monograph I was expecting, but a compendium of Ness’ cases across his career. It was remarkably interesting learning about his various cases; some of which I was unacquainted with.

There is much to discover in this notable work. If you find the accounts discussed in this tome worthy of further research, Stashower provides an extensive bibliography for your reference.

I highly recommend American Demon: Eliot Ness and the Hunt for America’s Jack the Ripper.

I enjoy true crime from time to time and the amount of detail the author went into is incredible. I found it hard to stay focused at time due to the amount of detail, but I was very glad I stuck with it to the end. Definitely worth the read if you want to learn more about Elliot Ness!

Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martins Press, and Minotaur Books for this ARC.

Interesting take on an old case Eliot Ness came to work on during his time as Cleveland's Director of Public Safety. I was not aware of this time in his life, only the Hollywood stories of his experiences in Chicago vs. Al Capone. It was eye-opening to see such gruesome crimes took place during a time where you cannot picture serial killing (although the term was unknown then) to be something that occurred in America. The book is more centered around Ness than I expected, although it was interesting to see how he navigated his desire to still want to be an important lawman post-Al Capone. 3.5 stars

A love letter to Eliot Ness.

I knew going in that this would be about Eliot Ness and his time in Cleveland. A story of legend vs. monster. perhaps even akin to the game of wits between Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty- only historically factual.

I will say that what Stashower does, he does well. His work is incredibly-well researched and anything but dry (once you get past the introduction). He paints characters, motivations, and settings with color that you just don't find in historical non-fiction. (Or at least, I rarely do.)

However, I was disappointed when the first third was still a recounting of Ness' time in Chicago. Climbing the corporate ladder, busting stills and making a name for himself. By the description I would have assumed that the author and reader had agreed that Ness' early career had been done to death. If anything it felt as though Stashower decided to pad his book with research he found too amusing to axe. Unfortunately, it left me wondering where the story was set to begin.

Oh, and don't get me started on the fact that Ness' wife was relegated to the role of an unhappy housewife with no identity beyond her relationship to her husband. If there had been anything worth fleshing out, it might have been the details of Eliot's homelife.

For what it's worth, I found American Demon to be an engaging read with frequent (albeit repetitive) humor in the form of 'Character A thought it he did this, that would happen. Character A was wrong.' But at the end of the day I found it lagging. I will, however, look for some of Stashower's other books to see if I can resonate more deeply with his other studies.

I would consider this an excellent read for anyone who knows vague details about Eliot Ness' life and are eager to learn more. Start to finish. American Demon. The love letter, the biography.

[Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.]

I have to admit I've always been fascinated by Eliot Ness because of Prohibition and his part in bringing down Capone. It was interesting to learn that Ness was as much as teetotaler in real life as I would have expected of a Prohibition agent. And I have to admit that all I knew about the Mad butcher of Kingsbury run I learned about from two different episodes of Criminal Minds. So learning that this was a case involving Ness I knew I had to read it. And I loved every second of. And I learned a lot.

This is a book that gives you insight to a legend of a man, Eliot Ness. It dabs into his rise to fame taking down Al Capone. It then spends the majority of the book on a serial killer in Cleveland. I think this book could have given a lot more with a little bit of direction. There were places that could of used more depth and a little bit more focus. Overall I did enjoy the book and did learn more about the real Eliot Ness.

True Crime at its finest! I thought I knew this story, but I sure did not. Stashower gives all the information we did not know and kept me turning pages and yelling to my husband every few pages about what was happening. Would make a great gift this holiday season!

I was....underwhelmed. Sadly this didn't hit the mark for me. I was expecting more about the murders and it was more about Eliot Ness. The cover really drew me in and like everyone else I was hoping it was along the lines of The Devil in the White City but it wasn't, however if you are truly interested in Eliot Ness it hits the nail on the head.

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Eliot Ness I knew, and really didn't know! Stashower investigates the real story behind the life of the man who took down Al Capone (which I was aware of this story) and the hunt for a serial killer (which I didn't know of his investigation nor the gruesome crime spree this individual went on). Very well done, very detailed yet reads like an Erik Larson novel, which is high praise. There is so much I didn't know about Eliot Ness and I am grateful for a realistic picture of who he really was. I wish I knew more of what Eliot was thinking, but he really was more of a secretive man. Interesting read!
*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. This review is my own opinion*

Much like an Erik Larson book, Stashowser dug deep and left no stone unturned. I never knew the Ness story...what a slug he ended up being in Ohio!

I was not familiar with the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run, and even less familiar with the fact that Eliot Ness was eventually assigned to the case to try and find the killer later in his career. It was an interesting perspective on Ness, which I was not expecting. The details of the Butcher are extremely graphic, I didn’t mind it but might be a lot for some. In fact, I liked these chapters a bit more than the ones on Ness, as it almost seemed like two different stories in one book that were not cohesively combined. The narrator for the audio did a great job, and he did not disappoint as I really prefer reading true crime books via audio.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the digital copy to review.

Let me be the first to say, true crime isn't usually my genre. But when I got the opportunity to review an advance copy of this book, I picked it up because of the intersection of Eliot Ness and Cleveland, a major city in my new home state. I grew up loving The Untouchables movie with Kevin Costner as Ness and a screenplay by David Mamet, so finding out what happened to Ness after his early rise to glory definitely hooked me. Stashower, a Cleveland native (his grandfather was in the same supper club as Ness), writes lively and engaging prose. He charts Ness' appointment to safety director of Cleveland, upping his reponsibility from running an eight-man squad to overseeing fire and police for the 8th largest city in the USA. And he charts Ness' frustrating catch for "The Torso Killer," a serial madman who dismembers his victims and casually leaves their body parts around the city. Stashower deftly weaves together historical evidence, the rise (and fall) of Ness' political career, and the identity of the Torso Killer that remains debated even today. This book is a great lesson in how to write well-researched yet entirely readable nonfiction. I don't mind true crime after all.