American Demon: Eliot Ness and the Hunt for America’s Jack the Ripper

Edgar-, Agatha-, and Anthony Award–winning Stashower (Teller of Tales) digs into the history of Cleveland to uncover the details of Eliot Ness’s work for the city. In 1935, Ness, the well-known Prohibition agent and leader of Chicago’s “The Untouchables,” began work as Cleveland’s safety director, having been hired away from government work by Mayor Harold Burton. His assignment: eliminate graft, implement police reform, and improve traffic safety. While in Cleveland, Ness found himself peripherally working on the chilling case of the local serial killer known as “the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run.” Will Damron performs a meticulous, exact narration of Stashower’s work. He unpacks the background and history of the places and players with the calm and collected authority of an insider, yet exudes the excitement, confusion, and fear of outsiders when delivering numerous gruesome passages about the 13 dismembered murder victims. The disdain that Ness held for the occupants of the depressed shanty neighborhood is evident when Damron chillingly repeats his words, “Burn it down!”