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Fiend The Shocking True Story Of Americas Youngest Serial Killer Author:Harold Schechter A MONSTER PREYED UPON THE CHILDREN OF NINETEENTH-CENTURY BOSTON. HIS CRIMES WERE APPALLING -- AND YET HE WAS LITTLE MORE THAN A CHILD HIMSELF. — When fourteen-year-old Jesse Pomeroy was arrested in 1874, a nightmarish reign of terror over an unsuspecting city came to an end. "The Boston Boy Fiend" was imprisoned at last. But the complex qu... more »estions sparked by his ghastly crime spree -- the hows and whys of vicious juvenile crime -- were as relevant in the so-called Age of Innocence as they are today. Jesse Pomeroy was outwardly repellent in appearance, with a gruesome "dead" eye; inside, he was deformed beyond imagining. A sexual sadist of disturbing precocity, he satisfied his atrocious appetites by abducting and torturing his child victims. But soon, the teenager's bloodlust gave way to another obsession: murder. Harold Schechter, whose true-crime masterpieces are "well-documented nightmares for anyone who dares to look" (Peoria Journal Star), brings his acclaimed mix of page-turning storytelling, brilliant insight, and fascinating historical documentation to Fiend -- an unforgettable account from the annals of American crime.« less
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I like Harold Schechter because he is literate, even scholarly, a very rare quality in true crime writers. He also has a gift of story telling and description that draws you right into the story.
I wish he would have told a little more of Jessee's childhood. However, it is a well done book, that sticks in your mind, after you finish it.
Schecter's books are all well written and researched giving you a look into the mind of someone whose mind is not ordinary in any way. For some reason that fascinates me and I've read all his books.
Currently 4/5 Stars.
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This is an incredibly well-written perspective on the case of Boston's 19th century sadist and killer, Jesse Pomeroy.
I was very impressed with how well Schechter drew parallels between the public reaction to the Pomeroy case and cases in recent history. The more things change, the more they stay the same, indeed.
A bit dry and overdone in the section about Pomeroy's trial, yet I still recommend reading this book. Overall it is a fascinating perspective not only on this case but on 19th century justice and history in general.
Even though the story line is grim overall the quality of the book and writing is good. I am a counselor and I picked this up in a little bookshop up north when I was in undergrad school because I wanted to go for forensic psychology. It really kept me hooked. There is never a dull moment.
A very good but disturbing book about a very young serial killer in 1874.
Writing has a fiction feel to it and has a little history here in there to put perspective to the time period.