Customer Reviews

Nemesis: The Final Case of Eliot Ness A Novel

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Engagingly brisk thriller as Eliot Ness takes on a Depression-era madman on the loose in Cleveland where Ness now works as Safety Director. The book works as a whole, I wish there was a little more historical detail per the afterword as much of this is true. What period detail we do get is largely cliché back-stories of the people who find the victims, and that's largely filler. Otherwise, a good fast-paced tale.

After the mayor of Cleveland hires the services of Eliot Ness to clean up the city, Ness finds himself getting involved in the investigation of a brutal serial killer.
Bernhardt's excellent writing style and his research into this story makes for a very readable and eye opening thriller. I had no idea, and was surprised, with what happened to Ness after helping to put Al Capone away.
A credible biographical thriller from one of my favorite authors.

In 1935, Prohibition may have been over, but there was still some cleanup work to do, and still a lot of illegal booze that made its way into illegal houses of gambling. Riding high on his success at putting mobster Al Capone behind bars, Eliot Ness was assigned a new position --- that of alcohol tax agent in the "Moonshine Mountains" of Ohio. He and his wife moved to Cleveland, where newly-elected Mayor Harold Burton soon recognized the benefits of appointing Ness his Director of Safety to aid in keeping his campaign promises as a Reform Party candidate. Ness enthusiastically jumped in to take care of the traffic woes and police corruption that were nearly paralyzing Cleveland. With his baby face and his Boy Scout manner, he presented the perfect image to the public. Besides, everybody knew his name and his reputation as a true American hero.

But while Ness was attempting to solve the mayor's problems, a vicious serial killer had started on a spree. Dubbed "The Torso Killer" for his gruesome dismemberments, he left a bloody trail of bodies in his wake. He seemed to be taunting the authorities, and especially Ness, as he dumped torsos and heads of victims in areas that would ensure they would be found quickly. It looked as though Ness had met his match.

Battling this serial killer, the corruption in the police department, the hangover from Prohibition, the miseries of the Depression, a city's desperate need for modernization and a lonely wife threatening to leave him, Ness had his hands over full. His boyish optimism could carry him only so far. To make matters worse, the Torso Murderer, also known as the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run, had hit too close to home when he sent postcards to Ness. They contained jeering remarks, a sort of written form of thumbing his nose. But when Ness realized that the latest postcard did not come through the mail but was hand delivered, he snapped. The man murdering people already down on their luck had just sent Ness a personal message.

As Director of Safety, Ness thought his job was to reduce traffic accidents, stop illegal sales of booze and put a halt to gambling. He didn't want any involvement in the sensational murder case --- that is, until it touched a raw nerve. And once assigned to him, he launched himself into it as doggedly as he pursued Capone. But the Torso Murderer turned out to be Ness's true nemesis. Officially, the case was never solved. But unofficially?

Just how much of William Bernhardt's novel is made up? We may never know, for it has an excellent basis in fact and much of the speculation has its roots in truth. He presents a persuasive case for the probable identity of the killer. So what kept Ness from bringing him in? The torso murder case had to have frustrated him to the end of his days.

William Bernhardt has a winning combination in NEMESIS. He has pitted America's first real-life serial killer against one of America's favorite heroes. Claiming at least a dozen victims, the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run terrorized the citizens of Cleveland at a time when many were already beleaguered by the Depression. Full of great period detail, right down to the nuances of the time and the place, NEMESIS is a compelling page-turner.

--- Reviewed by Kate Ayers

I read this right after reading Monster of Florence, another amazing book. This, however, is easily the best true crime novel I've ever read. The characters are very well developed, there is not one single extraneous or superfluous paragraph, it reads quickly, it's exciting, gripping and doesn't seem dated even though it describes an era (recently post-prohibition era cleveland) from many years ago, Bernhardt provides just enough necessary detail without turning it into a history lesson to make it easy to understand or relate, even if you've never been to cleveland or don't know much about the 30s. Comparing it to Monster of Florence or Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, two of my favorites, this is actually better in my opinion, and I loved those two novels.

My grandfather, George Matowitz, served as Chief of Police during Eliot Ness's tenure in Cleveland. In his excellent book ,In the Wake of the Butcher, local historian James Badal described my grandfather as follows; " Matowitz was a tough, highly competent professional who moved up the ranks and earned his appointment( as Chief of Police)through simple diligence and hard work; he remained in office until 1951, becoming one of the most respected chiefs in departmental history"
Ignoring the historical record, Mr. Bernhardt has seen fit to transform my grandfather in to a one dimensional caricature, and thereby does a grave injustice to the memory of an outstanding police officer.
This book merits no further discussion. Readers who are interested in the true story are encouraged to read James Badal's book referenced above. Badal is an exceptional writer who devoted years of effort and research to his account which is likely to remain the very best source on these crimes for many years to come.

I've never read a Bernhardt book that I didn't like and this one is no exception. It was interesting to read a fictional story based on facts about a real person. And Bill's theory about who the real life killer was seems plausible. Bill separates some of the facts from the fiction in a personal note at the end. As always, I eagerly anticipate his next book!

This is a well researched and written book, detailing Ness' arrival in Cleveland in 1935 as the newly named Safety Director. He makes headlines and wins public acclaim by cleaning up the mob-run gambling parlors that had sprung up after the end of Prohibition. Concurrently, another storyline develops, with Det. Merylo on the trail of some kind of crazed killer who is leaving dismembered victims all around Kingsbury Run, a shantytown close to downtown where homeless and transients have converged for shelter in the Depression. The Torso Killer begins to taunt Ness, and the press urges him to take on the case, since it is the biggest public safety concern on anyone's mind. Ness, bullied into taking the killer on, fears his genuine work on public safety will be forgotten if he cannot put an end to the nation's first serial killer's work. (A note: although we get inside the killer's head and some murders are depicted, the writer refrains from gruesome, drawn-out scenes.)

This book is based on facts in the case, and even though facts are conflated and conversations and scenes invented, Bernhardt argues pretty convincingly for a solution to the case. His fictional Ness catches his man, only to be thwarted from ever revealing it by the crooked political system of the time. The climactic showdown is pure fantasy, but makes sense in the story. The final fictional resolution of the case may be way closer to the truth than the public record allows. Ness's fears proved well founded - his `failure' to nail the Torso Killer is what people remember about his time in Cleveland. At least he did have some fame restored by "The Untouchables." This book is especially appealing to a native Clevelander who cannot help but be familiar with the notorious case.

One of my favorite writers of 1930s historical fiction is Max Allen Collins, perhaps best know for capturing the criminal element and the sense of the era in his tale, Road to Perdition.

William Bernhardt has done much of the same in this novel with is based upon a major true-to-life case involving crime fighter Eliot Ness. Ness, of course, was infamously known for establishing his "Untouchables" and subsequently imprisoning Al Capone. Historically, following the incarceration of Capone, Ness lost his influence and position in Chicago and ultimately took the role of safety director in Cleveland, a city as corrupt as any in the nation at the time.

Like Collins, Bernhardt captures both the despair and the affluence of the depression period as he describes the living conditions and the people in Cleveland as well as the situations Ness faces. He adds to his tale by incorporating his interpretation of Ness' home life and the urges that drove him to excel. Due to having spent a great deal of time in Cleveland, I also found his description and locales to be accurate and on the money.

The premise of this book is extremely interesting, and the book quite readable and accurate. Of course, the analysis of Ness may be open to interpretation, but it, too, may be on the money. It was a book I read quickly, and I think that anyone who enjoys fiction based upon fact would be remiss to pass it by.

Bill Burnhardt has written a very interesting book on the last case of Elliot Ness. Burnhardt has added his own ending to the case that was officially never solved. I could not put the book down, I think this is Burnhardt's best work; loved it!

Great book except for one part near the end that kind of put a damper on the story that was a little farfetched. Would like to read other stories by the author. Love your selection of books, the prices and the prompt delivery.