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.

American Demons: Eliot Ness and the Hunt for America’s Jack the Ripper by Daniel Stashower brings the reader into 1930s Cleveland and the hunt for the torso killer. This book does a great job of tying together Eliot Ness and his history and the torso killer that was haunting Cleveland during Ness’ time as the Safety Director there. I had heard of Ness before, but didn’t know much about him, this book does a great job of giving a biography of him and going into detail of his life after the Capone bust. This book also does a great job of describing the Butcher of Kingsbury Run and the victims. Having grown up in Ohio, I am amazed that I had never heard about this serial killer before, but I enjoyed getting to learn more about this time in Cleveland’s history and see just how destructive this killer was.

Overall I enjoyed this true crime book and am glad I took the chance to read it. Some of the parts were a little gory for me, but that’s to be expected when the killer highlighted in sections of this book is literally butchering his victims. I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to true crime fans who may also want to learn more about Eliot Ness’ life, post Capone.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC audiobook!

Gritty and honest, this foray into the life and work of Elliot Ness goes far beyond The Untouchables. Daniel Stashower goes behind the scenes of a TV/Movie hero to discuss the hardships, risks and politics of Chicago and Cleveland crime wars. I enjoyed filling out my version of Elliot Ness with such a well rounded history.

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.

I enjoyed listening to this book. I didn’t know anything about Elliot Ness or the Cleveland toros killer prior to reading this so it was all very interesting. There were some parts where I felt like there were more details given than necessary, but in the end it all came together as a detailed telling of Ness’s life and the unsolved murders.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audiobook ARC.

American Demon was a very compelling read, and the author grabs your attention right off with his personal family connection to the protagonist. I really enjoyed learning more about not only the fascinating case of the 'torso killer' but also the fascinating figure of Eliot Ness. Excellent narration also contributed to the overall enjoyment of the book.

In 'American Demon,' Daniel Stashower compiles a captivating and informative account of both the unsolved, horrific "torso murders" of Kingsbury Run in Cleveland as well as the slow, steady decline of the career of prohibition golden boy Eliot Ness.

While this comes off more as an account of Ness' career than a serial killer true crime, Stashower expertly weaves the two narratives together, to such a point where all the pre-Cleveland context of Ness' career feel necessary to the story of the Kingsbury Run Butcher. Newspaper articles, exerpts, and direct quotes are worked into the text in a fluid manner; and Stashower's focus on Ness provides a fresh lens through which to view the infamous unsolved murders.

Will Damron's narration of the audiobook is bright and engaging, feeling more like the listener is being told an exciting story instead of lectured on the grim subject matter.

Thank you to Netgalley, Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to an advanced copy of the 'American Demon: Eliot Ness and the Hunt for America's Jack the Ripper' in exchange for an honest review.

<i>American Demon</i> follows two parallel storylines: the search for a gruesome serial killer in Cleveland and the life of Elliot Ness, who gained fame as part of the team who took down Al Capone. Ness was hired as Cleveland’s director of public safety shortly before a serial killer began dismembering victims and leaving their body parts to be found in 1930s Cleveland.

Personally, the storyline about the Mad Butcher of Cleveland interested me more than the parts about Ness that did not revolve around the serial killer. However, this was altogether a captivating book about a case that has never officially been solved. Will Damron did a fantastic job narrating the audiobook. I had not heard of the Mad Butcher of Cleveland prior to this book, and it was fascinating listening to how they used some new technology of the time to try to solve the case. I would recommend this book to true crime fans and those who want to learn more about Elliot Ness.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

As an Ohioan and true crime enthusiast, I’ve definitely looked into the case of the Butcher of Kingsbury Run and seeing this book on NetGalley made me very excited. I love seeing all the takes on this story.

This one is heavily focused on Eliot Ness and I’m happy to report it that shares both sides of that man. He wasn’t a great person and this book shows us his good and bad sides and I appreciate that since much of what I’ve seen focuses on how great he was even though this case went poorly for him.

I do wish it had spent more time on the “American Jack the Ripper” case or as it’s usually mentioned in this book the “torso murders” and less on the crack down of dirty cops. I understand it was important and during that time but I’m much more curious about the murder case than that - especially since it’s on the cover. It appears I’ll never learn that many times having murder on the cover doesn’t mean that the book is focused on a murder at all.

So overall while a good chunk of this book IS about the torso killer, we see a good chunk of the political world that Ness was operating in and navigating. It also reminds us of the way things were in America at the time and while some things that are no big deal today happen in the timeline, these things were a huge deal back then (like divorce and homosexuality). Ness also got away with many things that wouldn’t fly these days - or maybe he would because he definitely had friends in high places.

The narrator for the audio did a great job with it as well. I have no complaints there.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I feel like there was a bait and switch. I expected to read a true crime book about the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run. Instead, I read a biography of Eliot Ness. This book is 80% Eliot Ness biography, 20% about the torso murderer.

The book is interesting, though it dragged at times. But definitely not what I was expecting since it was depicted as true crime. Because my appetite for the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run was whet but not satisfied, I will now have to go down many internet rabbit holes. I have more questions after reading this than I did before.

I listened to the audio version- the narrator does a good job.

Basically, if you are interested in Eliot Ness or biographies in general, you will enjoy this. If you are looking for a true crime book, you may want to keep looking.

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for gifting me an audio ARC of this nonfiction, true crime book by Daniel Stashower and perfectly narrated by Will Damron - 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 was a really great non-fiction story about Eliot Ness and his hunt for a notorious, brutal murderer. It is filled with great descriptions and does a great job at explaining what was happening in Ness' life before and during the hunt for the serial killer.

The reason I gave this book 3 stars is because I listened on audiobook, and it lost my attention at times. It was more informative than a gripping story format. This by no means it was a bad book, but I wish they novel was a bit more gripping.

- GoodReads review

First off I enjoyed learning about the Mad Butcher of the 30’s in Cleveland and how Ness was brought in to take him down after his work on Al Capone. Second, I enjoy this narrator. With that being said I was so bored listening to this book. The author was just too wordy and seemed to jump around a lot in the backstory and would lose me for a while. It was hard to concentrate and fully follow the path the author was trying to create. I could see true crime buffs loving this but it was hard to follow at times.

I loved learning more about the Mad Butcher, and how Elliot Ness was brought in to catch him. I also liked the backstory of Ness hunting Al Capone and trying to fight corruption in the police force. A great historical read.

I had never heard of the Mad Butcher before listening to this audiobook. What an absolutely gruesome killer. This book relays the butcher's crimes, and the investigation into trying to find and stop him. Elliot Ness is brought in to help solve the case, fresh off working with the Untouchables to bring down Al Capone. This book is equally as much about Elliot Ness as it is about the Butcher. We get to learn about his history, an overview of the Al Capone case, and his later years as he tries and fails to run for office. We also learn about how Elliot Ness sought to root out corruption from the Cleveland Police. This was really well done and I found myself listening to the audiobook as often as I could.

Thank you netgalley and Macmillan audio for giving me an advanced review copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I don't normally enjoy historical novels but this book was intriguing and action field this is about a man Elliot Ness who not only took down Al Capone and was a special agent but also a story of him trying to capture a serial killer it can be dry at times but very much worth the read to those who are interested in historical novels

ARC review - Expected Release September 6, 2022;

When I get the non-fiction itch I always seem to gradated towards true crime. This is a solid story in that genre.

You’ll undoubtably see comparisons to Devil in the White City, with the similar title and even the the covers have almost matching tones, and while I think these are both great stories this is it’s own story.

Instead of focusing on the killer, in this story the murderer is an unknown entity, this story focuses on Elliot Ness, of The Untouchables fame, and how he came to be associated with this case and what it meant for his life and career.

The case is the Cleveland’s Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run, in the mid 1930s. A person who held the city in terror for years. Leaving body parts all over the town and while some details are debatable it’s clear that even if some where copycat murders a number of the bodies belonged to the same killer.

It’s well written and interesting, while the author is undoubtably a fan of Ness, he does include criticisms of the man as well even if he tended to focus more on the positives.

The case is interesting in that it remains unsolved, which is why i think the focus went primarily to the investigators . Which in my mind makes it harder to tell the story in a favorable light.

Will Damron does a phenomenal job of delivering the audio narration of this story.

Big thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with a chance to get in on this book early. I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

True crime fans will love American Demon, the story of a brazen serial killer in 1930s Cleveland, Ohio. In addition to detailing the police work used to try to catch the killer the book describes the later life of Elliot Ness of Untouchables fame. I'm always happy to find a new topic in the true crime genre.

3.5 - rounded up to 4

This was definitely an interesting book. It was a combination of true crime, and Eliot Ness biography. Overall I felt the balance between the two subjects was pretty well done. It was a bit heavy on the Ness focus at first, but that was understandable due to the fact that it needed to establish who Ness was in the grand scheme of the time. The only real complaint I have is that it would have been nice to have a bit more in-depth details pertaining to the official police investigation. There were years of searching done by detectives in addition to the secret force Ness headed up. It's understandable that all the details would bog down the book, but it feels like a bit more time should have been spent on that large aspect of the search for the murder.

The narrator did an excellent job telling the story, and made it hard to turn off the audiobook at times. Ultimately I would definitely recommend this title to those who enjoy true crime, and more specifically historic unsolved crimes.

Thanks to Netgalley I tried to listen to the audiobook. Unfortunately, I just couldn't finish it. Very wordy and the narrators voice did nothing to keep me interested.. I was excited to learn about the murders of the Mad Butcher and will have to look elsewhere for the answers.