I was drawn to this title by the title and subtitle, which promised the story of the hunt for America's Jack the Ripper. Unfortunately, that is not what this book is.

Stashower opens with his connection to Eliiot Ness, through a family member that was at one point investigated by Ness. This drove the author to be interested in Ness, resulting in this biography. The problem for me was Stashower's chosen focus for the book. The author tries to center Ness's story around the Cleveland torso killer, rather than around what Ness is better known for-- his take-down of Capone and breaking up of other gangster activities.

This focus did not work for me. In the story of Eliiot Ness, this murder case is a sidenote, not a focal point. In this book, the first half gives very little attention to the murders, instead telling us about Ness, Capone, and other gangsters. In the second half, the focus is on the murder investigation. The trouble is that now we lose Ness. In the story of the murder investigation Ness was a sidenote, having very little direct involvement with the case.

The result is that we get a biography that doesn't get us very close to the subject and a true crime story that doesn't get us very close to the case. The "wrap up" of the investigation is all speculation and rumor that ties Ness to the solving of the case, even though the case remains officially unsolved.

Overall, I feel this book would have been better if the author had written a biography of Ness that really gave the reader some insight into the man, rather than trying to push the focus of his story to a case he has tangentially tied to.

This book is probably the most comprehensive tome written to date regarding Elliot Ness and his tenure in Cleveland. While I was fascinated by the historical nature of the setting, speaking as a lifelong Clevelander, I did find myself becoming bogged down with the sheer number and intricacies of the details. I love history, but the writing felt turgid and not particularly engaging at times and I had a hard time slogging through it. I think I expected this read to be more reminiscent of The Devil in White City and it just wasn’t. Perhaps this just isn’t my type of book.. I thank the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC, just wanted to like it more.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a chance to read an advanced copy of this novel.
As a fan of The Untouchables and Elliot Ness I was intrigued by the backstory on a murder mystery that I had only briefly heard about. This novel was a truly fascinating look at not only the man but also the case that ultimately everyone thought ended his career. Stashower proves himself to be an excellent story teller making an incredibly true take read almost like fiction with the reader thinking there is no way some of this stuff truly happened. A compelling read. Highly recommend.

American Demon
By Daniel Stashower

This is the story of Elliot Ness, from his legendary career in Chicago, where he participated in bringing down Al Capone and his gang, through his time as Director of Safety for the City of Cleveland and his ultimate inability to solve the murders and dismemberments of the Kingsbury Run killings. It is the story of a man of strong moral character who made his share of mistakes, but held himself to high standards.

I am old enough to remember the "Hollywood" version of Ness and the TV series starring Robert Stack which presented a glorified version of the man. Thus I found this more true to life version of his story fascinating as the "real" Elliot Ness with all his flaws is presented in a truer yet empathetic manner.

For anyone having an interest in this moment in history, Mr. Stashower has given us an excellent read.

“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.”

Can a book leave you both completely satiated AND wholly unsatisfied?

I’m not, generally speaking, much of a true crime enthusiast. I love history, and I love a good whodunit, but I tend to get anxious when confronted to things that happened once, could happen again, and could happen to me.

That said, I liked this deep dive into this near mythical figure.

The good. The bad. The dirty-lying-alcoholic cheat.

7.5/10

Much thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, for this engrossing ARC.

Very interesting look at the 1930's in Cleveland, where Elliot Ness ended up after the "Untouchables" fame. More of a study of Ness and the era than the actual murderer though.

American Demon: Eliot Ness and the Hunt for America's Jack the Ripper by Daniel Stashower is a highly recommended account of the life of Eliot Ness.

In Cleveland during the Great Depression over a period of four years, starting on September 5th, 1934, the dismembered remains of twelve bodies were discovered. The killer became known as the Cleveland’s Torso Killer, or the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run. This case was handled by Eliot Ness, the new director of public safety. Ness came to Cleveland after he and the Untouchables ended Al Capone’s bootlegging empire. For better or worse, this case redefined Ness's career and tried to clean up the corruption in the police force.

As it cover his time in Cleveland and his involvement in the investigation into the case, American Demon acts as a biography of Ness's life . Although he didn't catch the killer, he did achieve cleaning up corruption in Cleveland. Stashower portrays Ness realistically showing his strength and flaws. He also credits those who helped solved the case, which was beyond the skills Ness had.

This is an interesting, well written account about Eliot Ness, covering his life in Cleveland. As a historical true crime novel, it covers the investigation into the serial killer as well as many other occurrences during this time. Part of the interest is in how an investigation was covered in the past and the bizarre details of the case. Notes, a Bibliography, and Index are included.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Minotaur Books via NetGalley.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Google Books, Edelweiss, and Amazon.

I’m not usually a nonfiction reader, but as a fan of true crime, my interest was grabbed by this one. I’d heard of the torso murders and have seen videos on them, but I didn’t know a lot of the details. For the most part I enjoyed it, but it focused more on Eliot Ness than the actual case as the title suggested, so I felt a little jipped. Most of the first half was about Ness and his previous cases and didn’t focus much on the torso murders at all.

I’m unfortunately not finishing this book after slogging through 1/3 of it.
I was drawn to the book because Brian De Palma’s 1987 film the Untouchables is one of my favorites so I was aware of Ness’ notoriety and I’m a pretty big True Crime buff, so the mad butcher aspect seemed like this book would be a win-win for me.
However, the book reads more like a biography on Ness than anything else.
At 1/3 of the way through the book, Ness hasn’t even gotten involved in the mad butcher case yet. There’s only been mention of 4 bodies found in the Cleveland area that (I assume) will go on to be associated with the butcher.
Based on the synopsis, I expected more content about the true crime, unsolved mystery, and less about Eliot Ness and his background in Chicago and then Cleveland before the mad butcher.

The book isn’t bad. The author does a great job presenting information about Eliot Ness and his background. For me, the book didn’t seem to match the title or the synopsis, the key aspects that drew me to the book, and for that I didn’t finish it.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the copy of this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Have you ever heard of the tv series called the untouchables? Well this book is about their elder, Elliot Ness who helped to take down Al Capone but also went on to help to clean up the streets of Cleveland. This was a really interesting read. Anyone who loves true crime would enjoy it and the writ I got style was one that kept me intrigued.

A compelling read. Stashower focuses on a bit of American history that few of us are familiar with - both the story of Elliot Ness that goes beyond the well-known but only partially accurate movie and tv stories of "The Untouchables" as well as the story of the "Torso Killer" of Cleveland. This book kept me engaged from start to finsih even if it ends on the somewhat unsatisfying ambiguity of never fully solving the case (real life does that sometimes....).

If you liked Erik Larson and, particularly, his Devil In the White City, this book is for you.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for gifting me a digital ARC of this nonfiction, true crime book by Daniel Stashower - 4.5 stars!

It was the 1930s and Cleveland was suddenly in the clutches of the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run, AKA The Torso Murders. Over a dozen bodies were discovered over the years, each dismembered with surgical precision. The city called upon its new Safety Director, Eliot Ness, fresh out of Chicago after working the Al Capone case and prohibition raids in Chicago (later known as the Untouchables).

This story focuses both on the still unsolved murders (although the prime suspect is named) and the life of Ness. It's a gruesome tale and the terror in the city's residents feels palpable. If you only know of Ness' exploits as far as Al Capone, this is the next chapter in his life. I especially enjoyed the author's take and personal family connections, as well as hearing about Cleveland in this time period. My husband grew up in Cleveland and we lived nearby for years, so it definitely felt local, even all these decades later.

American Demon looks at the life of Eliot Ness and the torso murders in Cleveland during the 1930's. I never knew much about Ness, except that he was part of the Untouchables, but learned quite a bit about him reading this book.

Ness moved from Chicago, after Capone went to jail, to Cleveland. He soon became the head of Safety. He was over the police and fire departments. Not long after, parts of bodies started being found in the 1930's. There were a lot of differing opinions on who and where the murder was and from.

Stashower takes us into the investigation and Ness' life. He thought he knew who the killer was, but due to politics (which most likely still happens today), never named the person publicly and swore those close to him to secrecy. It's been almost 90 years now, so if anyone really knows I would think it wouldn't matter naming the suspect. In the Cleveland area, there seems to be a lot of discussion with conflicting points of views.
It may be a case that ends up like Jack the Ripper, with no one ever knowing for sure who the killer was.

Publishes September 6, 2022

Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin Press and Minotaur Books for the Kindle Version of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

📚 Happy Reading 📚

#netgalley
#stmartinspress
#minotaurbooks

I received a complimentary ARC on August 10, 2022, of this true-crime tale from Netgalley, author Daniel Stashower, and publisher St. Martin's Press - Minotaur Books. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read American Demon of my own volition. and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. I am always eager to read a new Stashower. His extensive research is evident on every page.

I pretty well grew up with stories featuring Eliot Ness during his Chicago years, so I was pleased to have a peek into his life after Al Capone. He was a driven man who was more or less obsessed with cleaning up the streets. A positive for the citizens of Cleveland, not so much for Eliot Ness. American Demon gives you a new perspective on the trials and tribulations of the policing wing of our communities.

Fans of true crime and historical mysteries (because this reads so well) will want to pick this one up. It's a fascinating look at the case of the Torso Killer, who terrorized Cleveland in the 1930s and more or less destroyed Elliot Ness, the city's public safety director. Ness was not the man many of us believe him to be- he's a man with all the issues of a human, albeit a larger than life one. He was ill equipped to catch the killer, who murdered at least 12 people. And this is very much his story. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A very good read.

"American Demon" was a fascinating book. My knowledge of Eliot Ness was limited to his role, as leader of the Untouchables, in taking down Al Capone. And even that knowledge was colored by Hollywood portrayals that took significant liberties with the truth. I never knew that he was the safety director in Cleveland after his time in Chicago. I had also never heard of the Cleveland Torso Killer, a serial killer who terrorized Cleveland, especially the area of Kingsbury Run, in the 1930s, and whose identity is still a mystery. The author provides a lot of details about Eliot Ness's life, providing a much more rounded picture than is found in Hollywood portrayals, and humanizing Ness, displaying his failures and foibles, as well as his successes. The author also provides significant details about the murders that plagued Cleveland in the 1930s, the investigations, the various theories among investigators about the killer and his likely motives, and the most likely suspects. He also discusses Eliot Ness's efforts to clean up crime in Cleveland more generally, with a particular focus on cleaning up corruption in the police force, and how Eliot Ness' actions as safety director both helped and hindered the investigation and may have been responsible for the killer escaping justice.

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!

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.

Was a bit disapointed with this one as I was expecting something else based on the synopsis. Nonetheless, zi enjoyed it. thank you netgalley & the publisher for the ARC!

First I'd like to thank Netgalley and St Martin's Press / Minotaur books for the ARC. I'm one of those many, many people who gets sucked into True Crime shows and podcasts. I don't always do books on True Crime unless they're historic crimes. And this was definitely one of those. This was a fascinating book about a case I've never heard of, even though it had the very famous name of Eliot Ness attached to it. The book gave great perspective on Ness and really delved into the true lawman behind the Untouchables myth while also following the investigation of a series of brutal murders. I found this to be an interesting read and was truly fascinated in the investigative techniques used (both to fight the mob and find a murderer) during the 1930s. Hats off to the investigators who worked this case using nothing but luck and classic gumshoe detective work. I definitely recommend this book to anyone, who like me, loves the mixture of True Crime and history.