Butcher's Dozen

I recently checked out NEMESIS: THE FINAL CASE OF ELIOT NESS and decided to do a whole comparison and contrast between the three novels about the Cleveland Torso Killer. NEMESIS is the most recent addition. Max Allan Collins’ BUTHCER’S DOZEN was the first and Brian Michael Bendis’ TORSO is the graphic novel exploration. Outside of Jack the Ripper, I don’t think there have been so many fictional depictions of a serial murderer. I can only think of two novels about Herman Mudgett and his murder castle and only pieces of Ed Gein’s story appear in various stories. Perhaps it is the unsolved nature of this case that lends itself to literary speculation.

Still I thought it best to start at the beginning with BUTCHER’S DOZEN. This was the second novel in what was then Max Allan Collins’ trilogy about Ness’ time in Cleveland. Collins published a fourth book in 1993, five years after the third book came out.

After Ness left Chicago, he worked in various federal law enforcement positions until he became Public Safety Director in Cleveland in 1935. Collins’ books focus on this period. While in Cleveland, Ness worked tirelessly to clean up corruption and to institute safety measures, such as traffic lights, in the city. In the midst of these efforts, a killer stalked the dregs of humanity who centered around Kingsbury Run – a Hooverville on the lakefront. At least 13 victims were found in various states of preservation and dismemberment. Only two have been definitively identified. The killer was never caught, although speculation lies heavily on one individual. Ness was not the primary detective on the case – after all he was the Director of Public Safety – but he was involved and informed on developments. His most famous action in the case was to roust the inhabitants from the shantytown and then to burn it down.

Collins’ take on these events reads in his normal style – a little bit gritty and fast-paced. He fictionalizes many of the key figures and includes more purely fictional details and characters. Ness isn’t afraid to get dirty or to personally involve himself in the case, but others act as his team on the street. Collins’ killer is related to a key figure in the book, but is clearly not the historical suspect. His killer is more of a sexual sadist than the other books and his Ness is more on the front lines of the investigation.

The book moves fast and covers a lot of ground. It is very entertaining, but not as historically accurate as it could be. But Collins does get credit as being the first author to note the disturbing postcards that the suspected killer sent to Ness over the years, including after his commitment. This fact is referenced again in Collins’ ANGEL IN BLACK, his novel about the Black Dahlia killing, along with some speculation about the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run’s suspected involvement in that case.