The Mad Sculptor: The Maniac, the Model, and the Murder That Shook the Nation

Schechter (American literature, City University New York) shares another rigorously researched true crime story in the latest in his series that delves into American serial killers (e.g., Fatal; Fiend; Bestial; et al.). Dusty court records and archived newspaper articles serve as the cornerstone for a disturbing retelling of three gruesome murders that occurred in Manhattan's ritzy Beekman Place over Easter weekend in 1937 and the subsequent cross-country manhunt, arrest, and trial of Robert Irwin, a twisted artistic genius whose homicidal rampage was predicted years before by forensic scientist and psychiatrist Fredric Wertham. Front-page coverage of the deaths of "art beauty" Veronica Gedeon, her mother, and a boarder in their home by a "sex fiend killer" gripped the nation as Irwin evaded arrest until his surrender to journalists from the same newspaper made famous in the play The Front Page.