About serial killer Earle Leonard Nelson who started killing people in 1926. He's not a very interesting killer, pretty much of the retarded-bipolar-head-injury school of violence, but Schecter's a good researcher and writer.

On Friday, May 25, 2007 I wrote about this book:

Finished reading this book last night. As always Mister Schechter makes this period alive for you. He kept me interested from page 1 till the last.

I have read a lot of books by this author now. Only one was very disappointing, (Fatal) but all the others, like Deranged, Deviant Depraved were great.
Now I need to get my hands on Fiend.
( )

After reading Harold Schechter's account of the Ed Gein murders ("Deviant"), I had to pick up another of his books. I love his writing style - it's very engaging and thorough. Not only does he detail the crimes themselves by meticulously combing through primary sources, but he sets the stage for the crimes by discussing what else was going on in the world at the time. It provides a very well-rounded reading experience, and I found myself learning more things than just who Earle Leonard Nelson strangled.

The author definitely keeps the reader on the edge of his/her seat - will Earle get away with this crime too, or will he finally be caught? How will he finally be brought to justice if he manages to elude capture, or even detection, in so many states? I found it hard to put the book down when reading it!

The book also contains a photo gallery, including a couple of pictures of Earle Nelson (and, really, he DOES look like some ordinary guy off the streets and not a serial killer) and some of his victims. The "gore" factor is handled (mostly) tastefully.

I bought the Kindle version, which has numerous typographical errors in it (some examples: "Ferrai" for "Ferral," "wiffingly" for "willingly," "hi" for "in," "expo3'e" for "expose" - and then there were some bizarre ones that I had no idea what they were supposed to mean). They look to be caused by a sloppy conversion into a digital format without proofreading the text after it had been scanned. So potential purchasers of the Kindle version - beware! ( )

I almost didn't read this book due to the name. I was afraid it was going to be some sicko, bestiality murder. But it turned out to be an interesting true crime book and had nothing to do with bestiality. Earle Leonard Nelson began a killing spree in 1926 across the U.S. and Canada. He killed women and then raped their dead bodies. He was insane and he killed at least 22 women. It was amazing how they caught him considering the times, but they did and he was executed in 1928. It kept me reading until the end. Schechter handled the unsavory details clinicly which made it easier to read. ( )