Savage Shadows [Hardcover]

Eileen Ross (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 1992

"Makes palpable the rape victim's anguish and fear."--Publishers Weekly

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

Part true-life drama, part police procedural, this memoir of a blind woman fighting to bring her rapist to justice succeeds as neither one nor the other. Ross, a legally blind (but partially sighted) young woman who worked as a medical transcriber and lived on Manhattan's Upper East Side, was assaulted one hot summer night by a man who broke into her first-floor apartment, bludgeoned her two dogs, struck her on the head, ordered her to cook breakfast for him, and finally raped her twice. Coolheaded and enraged even in the midst of her terror, Ross was determined to trap the man and managed to get his fingerprints on a glass. After his departure, her ordeal was compounded, she says, by the inept and callous treatment of the NYPD Sex Crimes Squad and the coldness of the hospital personnel who collected evidence of the rape. Outraged and determined not to act like a victim, Ross had a friend call the news media. She then gave an interview to New York's ABC local-news affiliate on the sidewalk outside the hospital: wrapped in a sheet from the examining table, she told of the brutal rape and urged that the criminal be brought to justice. The Brooklyn Sex Crimes Squad saw the telecast, recognized the M.O. of a suspect they'd been tracking in their borough, and contacted Ross. With the help of the fingerprints she had secured, they were able to identify the man as a repeat offender and to arrest him. Ross comes across as a brave woman, but her characterizations have little depth or complexity, and the pursuit, arrest, trial, and conviction of the rapist proceed with so few hitches that there's little suspense. Still, victims of sexual assault may find inspiration in Ross's example. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: New Horizon Press (January 15, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0882821059
• ISBN-13: 978-0882821054
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,800,067 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars She Will Survive!, February 1, 2011

By 

BeatleBangs1964 (United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Savage Shadows (Hardcover)

This is the inspiring true story of how a woman who was legally blind brought a rapist to justice.

On July 14, 1986, Eileen Ross, her lab mix and two beagles were in for the night in their Manhattan apartment. A man who would later be called "Spiderman" because he was extremely agile and climbed buildings to enter people's windows climbed in Eileen Ross' window and sexually attacked her. He also brutally killed her lab mix and beat her two beautiful beagles, Bethie and Bonnie. Fortunately the hounds survived.

After the ordeal, the man had Eileen fix him breakfast. She cleverly obtained his fingerprints by making sure he took a glass she handed him. He also used her telephone.

To make matters even weirder, the man apologized to striking her on the head after he realized she could not really see him. He did not know that Eileen had low partial vision in one eye, "like looking through a keyhole" as she said. She wrangled with local police after the attacker left; she hounded her landlord to fixing the latch on her window and ran into all kinds of challenges. Fortunately, the Brooklyn Police force took up her cause and, with her help in identifying the rapist was able to catch him. The Brooklyn Police deserve kudos and cheers for their work to catch the man, who had employed the same method of rape in Brooklyn.

Sadly, Eileen's long time friend David, who rushed to her side as soon as he got her telephone call for help after the rapist fled died shortly after the trial. He sounded like a truly good person. He also saved her life.

Fortunately for all, the rapist was imprisoned. Eileen became a tireless advocate for people who had survived rape. Eileen and a friend with whom she worked moved out of the area and the beautiful beagles survived the harrowing ordeal as well.

3.0 out of 5 stars FEEL CONFUSED, February 5, 2008

By 

CR "LOVE TO READ" (PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Savage Shadows (Hardcover)

FOR SOME REASON I'M HAVING TROUBLE DECIDING WHETHER I LIKED THIS BOOK OR NOT. I WOULD PROBABLY GIVE IT A 3 1/2 STARS, BUT .....THIS BOOK LEFT ME WITH TOO MANY QUESTIONS WITH NO ANSWERS.