Customer Reviews

The Maniac in the Bushes: More True Tales of Cleveland Crime and Disaster

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What a new perspective this gives on my adopted city! I live near where the Collinwood School inferno happened (and pass its replacement nearly every day) and live in a neighbourhood where many of the older residents remember being told to 'watch out, or the Phantom of Kingsbury Run will chop you up' when they were kids. Fascinating subject, and I can't get enough!!! (Got me drinking Eliot Ness Lager, too, but I digress). Fast-paced and well-written, even if you've never been to Cleveland, you should check out this darker side of American history, North-Coast Style.

"Maniac in the Bushes" is brought to life with the inclusion of street addresses and references to existing landmarks. As native Clevelanders, my Dad and I have enjoyed discussing the cases on which the author focused, many of which my Dad remembers. If you live in Cleveland, you gotta read this!

Being born and raised in CLeveland Ohio I found this book very interesting. This author never seems to dissapoint me. For any one born in Cleveland or who loves true crime stories this is a must read, Also read "They Died Crawling" by John Bellamy also.

I am interested in famous unsolved crimes from all over the world and so I bought this book.It did not disappoint.All stories are full of facts and well written.Once you have finished one you can't wait to read the next.

Mr. Bellamy's Cleveland "death and disaster" books, as we jokingly refer to them at home, are a must read for native and long time Cleveland residents. Each book contains a group of short crime and disaster stories from Cleveland, with none being more recent than perhaps the 50s.
This book isn't for the faint of heart - more for the true crime junkie. Mr. Bellamy carefully combed old news accounts (and other sources, I believe) to recreate the details of each event.
Addresses, exact dates, modern landmarks, and final resting places help ground these yellowed stories in today's Cleveland. For instance, a story about a murder in Stillman Woods leads to a final note that although the woods are long gone, Stillman Rd, named for those woods, exists today. Sometimes the homes which figure in the tales are still in existence and can be driven by, like the Kaber home in Lakewood. I have also found headstones for some of the principals on Find A Grave, like the fabulous Meach brothers.
He also uses tons of period photos. I especially liked that. And he gets across the human element of the stories very well. I can't drive by Scovill Ave without thinking of poor Sonny Honeg who died mysteriously in his also now long gone Jewish community.

The only book in the series that I liked less than the others was the last book, Death Ride at Euclid Beach. Mr. Bellamy had already used up most of the biggest stories! But it's still worth a read, too.

They Died Crawling was much better than this one. Maybe because I already knew a lot about the Torso murders that I was kind of bored with it. These are the first two I read and I am going to continue reading the other books he wrote about Cleveland's crimes and disasters. It is completely unfathomable to believe that nothing has ever came about regarding the Beverly Potts case. It is very disheartening.

I just moved to the Cleveland area and read the book as a way to get to know the city. Very fun reading but not very detailed.

This book is in excellent condition, I received it within a week. I will always buy my books through Amazon.