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10th out of 47 books
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Fiend: The Shocking True Story Of America's Youngest Serial Killer
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 questions sparked by h
...morePaperback, 320 pages
Published
October 1st 2000
by Pocket
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William
marked it as to-read
Looks like a good book. I read one (teaser) chapter that one of these book websites allows.
I live in South Boston and have pretty much pin pointed all the places mentioned in accounts of Jessy Pomoroy's crime spree. I was afraid the book was going to be the same old story, but it appears to be well written. I'm going to read the book so I can get more precise information.
I know Jessy lived on the 300 block of West Broadway here in Southie.
His mothers d...more
I live in South Boston and have pretty much pin pointed all the places mentioned in accounts of Jessy Pomoroy's crime spree. I was afraid the book was going to be the same old story, but it appears to be well written. I'm going to read the book so I can get more precise information.
I know Jessy lived on the 300 block of West Broadway here in Southie.
His mothers d...more
Although I enjoyed this book, it often had the feel of reading fiction. I don't know if Schechter's other books follow the same line of fictional seeming narrative, but I often felt that there was too much of the author's personal interest in what was supposed to have been a detailed catalogue of Jesse Pomeroy. I feel that the middle of book dragged a bit as the author had to search for material to pad the detail that he could glean about Pomeroy's life in prison. All in all, it was interesting,...more
This book was a complete page turner until its mid-section. Although the newspaper article of the time were necessary for one to fully understand the era, the constant reports of how the people of the era felt got to be a little too redundant. In fact, I stopped reading the book for a while because of this. But once I started again about a week later, the book was devoured.
Schechter is a brilliant writer and always has the ability to tell the story straight while letting the reader reach ...more
Schechter is a brilliant writer and always has the ability to tell the story straight while letting the reader reach ...more
This was a strange book. I assumed it would be because of the subject, but I found myself feeling totally engrossed in Jesse's story. He was so patheic as well as hateable, I spent half my time feeling sorry for him and half my time wanting him to die. It was very conflicting.
I wish that the author had spent more time on the psychology of serial killers instead of the back and forth legal things that happend in Jesse's case. But all in all a very interesting book (even for non-fictio...more
I wish that the author had spent more time on the psychology of serial killers instead of the back and forth legal things that happend in Jesse's case. But all in all a very interesting book (even for non-fictio...more
I loved the way that this book was written. I have read a few books like this one and only one other one intrigued me the way that this one did. Yes the subject matter held a bit of importance in the overall intrigue, but the way that the story is given must also be taken into account. Schechter was able to make the story seen fictional in its retelling which is much better than a dry textbook type of mystery.
this was way too shocking & disturbing... this is the true story of "america's youngest serial killer" - it's unimaginable, really. a horrific account of a seriously deranged young man in boston who preyed on innocent, young kids in the late 1800's...it's quite disturbing. i guess a point worth recognizing is that long before columbine or any of the other recent incidents in america where "kids" killed other kids - there were psycho, deranged adolescents doing horrible act...more
An interesting story about America's youngest serial killer, he also takes second place for the longest time spent in solitary confinement. A good read, although it could have done with only one or two instead of five chapters regarding the public debate on whether the boy should be executed for brutally beating and murdering 5 year olds.
The story was interesting but the book was not. I wanted to keep reading to find out more about the boy but the way it was written made it hard to read. I found the writing style was very boring but the content was extremely intriguing.
Klongo
added it
I got this because I know some of the settings. I don't think I'll be reading more "true crime" any time soon. I want to go wash out my mind with a nice light comedy.
Schechter is an amusing, snarky true crime writer who manages to find little-known cases and/or criminals from ages past and bring them chillingly to life.
Read the first 90 pages but didn't have the heart to continue. Schechter is a skilled storyteller though. This read much better than most true crime I've seen.
This book was okay. It spent a great deal of analysis on the trial and the reaction moreso than the crime. If that interests you, than you will like this book. If not, than I would avoid it. It is great from a psycho-analysis point of view.
And we thought that teens these days were so horrible. This kid was a serial killer who was finally arrested at age FOURTEEN!!! And you thought YOUR kid was f***ed up. This is sure to bring hope to many parents who thought their kid was a mess. Seriously though, I think it would be a good read because this takes place in the late 1800's--around the time of Jack the Ripper-and so the author pieced together newspaper articles and records of a boy's home to draft this. Wow. It's going to be good to...more
Tatiana C
added it
I enjoyes this book hae read twice.
Tianna
added it
It's an amazing book !
This book is a interesting read if you are interested in serial killers. It's set in Boston at the turn of the 20th century, it follows true accounts from several different community members police, store owners etc. leading up to the discovery of the crimes committed by one of America's youngest serial killers. Not for the faint of heart. It also reflects the state of the juvenile detention system in America during that time.
Highly disturbing. I don't think that I knew what I was getting myself into but, it was an outstanding story from a psychological point of view. I can't believe how young he was!
Nan Stumpf
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Jen
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Kelly
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Jen
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Joe Richards
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Harold Schechter is a professor of American Literature and culture at Queens College, the City University of New York. Among his nonfiction works are the historical true-crime classics Fatal, Fiend,Deviant, Deranged, and Depraved. He also authors a critically acclaimed mystery series featuring Edgar Allan Poe, which includes The Hum Bug and Nevermore and The Mask of Red Death
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