American Demon

By Daniel Stashower,

Book cover of American Demon: Eliot Ness and the Hunt for America's Jack the Ripper

Book description

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.

On September 5th, 1934, a young beachcomber made a gruesome discovery on the shores of Cleveland's Lake Erie: the lower half of a female torso,…

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Why read it?

1 author picked American Demon as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

My dad was a Cleveland Police detective. Yeah, I know that doesn’t tell you anything about “American Demon,” but hear me out…

Dad grew up in Cleveland when the Torso Murders were taking place, a string of grisly killings. He was too young to be involved in the investigation, but he talked about it and like everyone else in town, wondered who the deranged killer was who dismembered so many bodies.

In this incredible book, Daniel Stashower wonders, too. He examines the case from a new angle, the involvement of Eliot Ness, the city’s Safety Director at the time. 

Stashower…

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