First, I enjoyed this book and I’m a true crime buff. For that piece it was a great book. There were other parts where I felt that the book wander to much to be fantastic. The author is clearly an Elliot Ness fan and we hear a lot of his accolades - which is fine. However, the. We jump into this gruesome serial killer from Cleveland before jumping back to the Ness fan club. It was a bit disconcerting and, for me, it interfered in the storyline. Still glad I dove into the story and I’d recommend for true crime fans. Thanks to NetGalley the early read.

I knew a little bit about Eliot Ness going into this book, but this was a deep dive into his story and his search for a diabolical serial killer. This is nonfiction crime at its best, and it is narrarated fantastically. The way this is told feels almost like a detective thriller/mystery that is packed with information and history. I would love to see this as a documentary series because I love true crime stories, and this one is so interesting. I highly recommend this engaging historical true crime to anyone who loves history and serial killer nonfiction. Read it, you won't regret it!

This was a very interesting book with a dual story. It tells the history of crime fighter Eliot Ness and the true crime story of the mad butcher of Kingsbury Run in Cleveland. 12 victims were killed and dismembered with their blood drained and left all over the city. The killer surgically dismembered them. Ness was part of that unsolved investigation, although he believes he knew who the killer was. I’ve always been curious if this killer actually stopped or just left the area and continued killing without the murders being linked. The Black Dahlia was killed in a similar fashion. This book was very interesting and I learned a lot about Ness.

There was a "mad butcher" running amuck in the 1930's in Cleveland. He seemed to be rivaling the exploits of the famous Jack the Ripper in London. In all twelve people were horribly killed in a four year period. The people of Cleveland were frozen in fear and demanded that something be done. The mayor had great hopes for the newly hired Eliot Ness of Chicago fame, the final person attributed to the imprisonment of Al Capone. Eliot and his men were up against a mastermind, who seemed to be able to outwit and taunt the men and especially Eliot. In the end, the battle between Eliot and this psyco killer was never really resolved, although the suspect was eventually confined to a mental facility.

Eliot Ness was a young unassuming man who was leading the fight against corruption. Eventually, he and his team were labeled the Untouchables, later this would become a very popular TV series that ran for years.

This book covers well the life of Eliot, his marriages, his feats of bravery, his descent from being a very successful man to one with problems with drinking and the high life. Handsome and famous, he was attractive to women and succumbed to their charms. Married three times, Eliot had no children and died at a fairly young age.

This was a well done true crime book that managed, although somewhat graphic to capture the life of a man who became famous but died poor and in a scene of obscurity.

Thank you to Daniel Stashower and NetGalley for a chance to read and listen to this fascinating story.

It's impossible not to compare Stashower's AMERICAN DEMON to Erik Larson's DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY in details both small (titles mentioning the demonic, the cover treatments) and large (the way both books focus not just on the crimes but the city in which they occurred and major events at the time). However, while Larson's DEVIL focuses on the murderer in that case, and uses Mudge's depravity to frame the wonders offered by the world's fair, Stashower's DEMON focuses on the man hunting for the murderer, the famed Eliot Ness, to such an extent that the crimes seem almost incidental at times. DEMON is an interesting read but one that comes across more as an end-run around the usual Ness biographies than a historical true crime account. I enjoyed the book overall and it would be a good fit for readers who enjoy both true crime and history.

Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of the book for review through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Somehow I've never heard of the infamous Mad Butcher of Cleveland and his gruesome kills throughout the 1930s. American Demon detailed the entire investigation led by Eliot Ness, a lawman that arrived fresh to the scene after taking down Al Capone's bootlegging enterprise in Chicago. Beyond the investigation, we also learned more about the victims, the public outcry, and the social quirks of the detectives. This made the [unfortunately] true account feel more like a novel, which I always appreciate.

The narration by Will Damron was also very well done, and he had the perfect voice to relay the information from this book.

American Demon is the historical true crime story about “the mad butcher of Kingsberry run in Cleveland.“ this is also a story about the great Eliot Ness‘s biggest failure and for him it would be the beginning of the end. His story was so interesting I stayed up late into the night listening to it I love the narrator Will Dameron and thought the author did a bang up job with the story. Like most popular true crime stories I’ve heard about this one before but listening to this audiobook made it as if it was a story I had never heard of. I totally loved it and can’t recommend it enough if you are a true crime fan then you will definitely love this book. I certainly did. I received this book from net galley I am the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review but all opinions are definitely my own.

Loved hearing about Cleveland in the 30s
Eliot Ness' life was so interesting and he's such a weirdy
Enjoyed the layout of the book, with the chapters starting with mutilated bodies being found.
Good stuff

Elliot Ness + Jack the Ripper style serial killer = fascinating read!

If you enjoy true crime, I highly recommend this dark tale from American history.

Firstly, how was I born and raised in NE Ohio and unaware that:
1. Elliot Ness served as the Director of Safety in Cleveland
2. The Kingsbury Run Murders aka The Torso Murders existed

After the conviction of Al Capone on tax evasion, Elliot Ness found himself in need of new employment. In 1935, he took over as the Safety Director of Cleveland, Ohio and soon began to rid the police force of corruption. But bigger things were brewing for the “Untouchable”, and he soon found himself immersed in the hunt for one of the most gruesome serial killers in American history: The Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run.

This was not only an in depth look at the investigation of the murders, that to this day are still unsolved, though not without a likely suspect. It’s also a detailed account of Ness’ career after Chicago and the take down of Al Capone. It shares the good, bad and ugly of Ness’ work and personal life. It also shares a close look at other leaders of Cleveland and the politics of the time. I was engrossed in the story and couldn’t stop listening.

Stashower did an amazing job of both presenting the facts of the crimes, police work and politics as well as the humanity behind it all. I highly, highly recommend it if this type of history is your jam!

Advanced copy review.
I really tried to love this book, but struggled to finish it. I find the The Mad Butcher case very interesting, but I felt “American Demon” focused more on Elliot Ness. I was not familiar with the Mad Butcher so I did not know it had never been solved, and that information was disappointing. I spent a lot of time hoping for a conclusion that never came. I found the bits about Al Capone sprinkled throughout the book were unnecessary.

I will not not recommend the book. I know I have friends that may enjoy it even though I did not.

American Demon was a hard book for me to rate. It wasn't bad and if you want to learn more about Elliott Ness and the Untouchables then this will be a great book for you! I expected the book to really focus on the murder of Kingsbury Run and while that was a good part of the book, I didn't walk away feeling like it was the main focus. This was a good book, it just wasn't the book I was expecting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for advanced access to the audiobook of American Demon: Eliot Ness and the Search for America's Jack the Ripper by Daniel Stashower in exchange for an honest review.

CW: violence, blood, murder, true crime, severed limbs, beheadings, organized crime, see full list on StoryGraph

American Demon details the case of the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run, a serial murderer whose crime spree effected the Cleveland area in the 1930s, as well as Eliot Ness' prolific career in crime fighting. Switching between biographical chapters about Ness and narrative nonfiction chapters about the widespread investigation to find the killer, this book provides social and political insight into this unsolved crime.

This was okay, but verged on boring at times. At first, the two narratives of Ness and the Butcher investigation were wholly unrelated, and I found myself wondering how and when they would connect. Obviously, I was far more interested in the investigation than I was in learning about a lauded white man and his long standing career in criminal justice. Unfortunately, because this case was never solved (which I did not know before starting this book), I was left feeling like I had to hold in a sneeze. There was no punch line. There was no resolve. And because of that, this became more of a biography of a man who was ultimately unsuccessful, at least as far as his role in this investigation was concerned.

I'm thankful that I got to learn about a new-to-me serial killing case and that I got some insight and understanding of the social climate of the 1930s, which is a decade that I am generally less well versed in, but this book just wasn't what I thought it would be or what I wanted it to be.

This was solid. Lots of interesting details.

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Review copy provided by publisher.

Americans are fascinated by true crime, we obsess over TV shows, books and podcasts that deal in murder like the GoodHumor man used to pedal ice cream. And while we are familiar with the Mansons, Dahmers and Bundy’s, few of us have ever heard of the “Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run”, the man the press of 1934 called America’s Jack the Ripper. The killer left at least a dozen bodies in his wake across Cleveland and was pursued by no less than Ellot Ness, fresh from his fame in taking down Al Capone. Capone would face down a monster who dismembered his victims, drain them of blood and even beheaded some of them alive. Long before fingerprints, DNA, violent offender databases and cell phones, this was crime solving at its most most visceral

The story: I went into this book knowing nothing about the case in Cleveland - I did find that while there was a lot of detail, it was also very heavily about Eliot Ness ' life, moreso than the crime mentioned in the description. It was also very long.

The narration:. I didn't mind the narrator, I found his voice to be engaging throughout

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced audiobook copy.

I really like this narrator. Very interesting story. The writing made it feel like an fictional story.