Angel Killer: A True Story of Cannibalism Crime Fighting and Insanity in New York City by Deborah Blum

Angel Killer: A True Story of Cannibalism Crime Fighting and Insanity in New York City Reviews

• 
  F.R.

  Having made great play in my last review (of a book about London serial killer, Jack the Stripper) that it’s killers who give the morbid and ghoulish general public something new and interesting who live longest in the memory, my theory is here blown thirty-five feet out of the water. We have in ‘Angel Killer’ another virtually forgotten killer, but if the general public somehow believes that the tale of a sixty-something man who kidnaps and eats small children is just too common place for them to commit to memory, then I may have turn my back on humanity in fear and horror.
  
  It was mid-1920s New York when the crimes of Albert Fish were discovered. Suddenly what had happened to missing children across the city was revealed, as this seemingly unassuming older man confessed in the most lurid detail. Not that this narrative is lurid or sensationalist, far from it, instead it’s ‘just the facts’ style makes the whole even more creepy. Indeed there’s almost an academic quality to it. Towards the end it debates how the courts determine whether a criminal is mentally unsound rather than just evil, which is an interested and thought-provoking subject which feels a little rushed in such a short book (although to be fair, there are probably volumes and volumes on it if I wanted to hunt them out).
  
  So as true crime goes this is well written, well researched and provocative book. Undoubtedly I could have read more of the ongoing debate about what makes a man mentally fit or unfit to stand trial, but given the nature of the man and his crimes, this short book contains all I need to read about Albert Fish.
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  BAM the enigma

  Audiobook narrator's voice is grating
  Shocking in its depravity. Interesting to note that Harold Schecter has written a nonfiction account of this man which I have not read. Also interesting that this criminal had such an impact on the insanity defense. Did not know that 1% of all violent crime invoke an insanity plea and only 1/4 of that 1% prevail
• 
  Mark

  
  I think I may be hooked. This is part of a new series of nonfiction works that sit between magazine and book length. In this one, award winning science writer Deborah Blum expands on her forensic expertise gained in writing "The Poisoner's Handbook" to tell the story of a truly horrific criminal, serial killer Albert Fish, who sexually assaulted and murdered children and then began eating their flesh.
  
  The novella length treatment covers two or three of his worst cases, the way in which he was caught, and then his subsequent trial, at which his defense attorney tried strenuously to use an insanity defense. Despite obvious mental illness, Fish was convicted.
  
  Angel Killer provides a look in the epilogue at how the insanity defense matured in the decades after this case, and yet how it rarely succeeds today (failing, for instance, in the Jeffrey Dahmer murders) because of people's unwillingness to declare a suspect insane when they also believe he is evil.
  
  An excellent quick read, and one that will take me back to the Atavist site for more.
• 
  George

  INTERESTING.
  
  “In 1924, no standard term existed to describe those who killed with no apparent motive except perhaps the pleasure of the act.”—page 11
  
  Ever since reading two of her full-length non-fiction books—THE POISONER'S HANDBOOK: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York, and BAD KARMA: A True Story of Obsession and Murder—I have been a fan of Deborah Blum's writing. In this short, Kindle Single-size, exposition, ANGEL KILLER: A True Story of Cannibalism Crime Fighting and Insanity in New York City, she once again shines an interesting light on the earliest days of forensic science—this time in trying to define legal insanity.
  
  Recommendation: Quick, brief, and somewhat shallow—but well worth its $1.99 price tag.
  
  “However you define the medical and legal borders of sanity, this certainly is beyond that border.”—page 60
  
  iBook edition, 118 pages
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  Bill

  I loved it! Deborah Blum has an amazing talent writing as she does. Her research must be an astounding amount. Her narrative writing style (& talent) is comparable to some of the masters. She has gift of being able to make her writings come to life. I highly recommend this one to anyone who enjoys histories and/or crime stories. I couldn't put it down reading it in two sittings.
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  Katie

  Read for a mini-bookclub with some friends in the spirit of Halloween. This book was both really interesting and really uncomfortable for me to read. Despite how icky I felt reading it, I wish it would have been longer and the examination of the moral implications of the death penalty expanded.
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  Alissa

  I listened to this in the car during a 3 hour trip I made recently and it was over within two hours. But this book left me shook. I knew something about Albert Fish, but this look into his life was so fascinating and horrifying.
  
  He was a sad strange man and while I was left agreeing that he was sincerely insane I'm also not entirely angry that he was sentenced to the electric chair.
  
  The author brings up some interesting points about the American criminal justice system and while I can't say she's wrong, she didn't present any potential solutions for how we could move toward distancing ourselves from the evil of the acts that these people commit and the most likely mental illness that is the root of their problem.
  
  That said, I do believe that there are some people who are actually just evil people. I can't look at the serial killers of our history and not believe that.
  
  Either way, it was a really interesting book and well worth it.
• 
  Natalie

  A chilling and horrific story of mass murderer and "stranger killer" Albert Fish, briefly covering some of his horrifying acts, as well as the trial that decided his fate upon his arrest.
  
  Whilst interesting, this was an unsettling read and not for the faint of heart.
• 
  Caitlin

  Couldve been longer!
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  Rae

  Very short, but well done.
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  Jess

  Very short but a good succinct overview, a very good way to get caught up on Fish.
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  Kira Hyde

  I'd consider myself to have a pretty strong constitution when it comes to murder. However, Albert Fish is something else. An interesting look at what is "insane" but a bit grisly for me.
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  Mfred

  The true story of the arrest of the child killing cannibal Albert Fish. Really compelling, interesting stuff. Blum manages to build suspense without delving too grossly into the horrific details of the crimes
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  Allison

  The debate about insanity in criminal defenses has been raging for years, but did you know that it was raging almost 100 years ago? I didn’t – I thought that this type of defense was a relatively newer concept and was surprised to learn that I was wrong. Angel Killer: A True Story of Cannibalism, Crime Fighting, and Insanity in New York City by Deborah Blum (a Kindle single) is about Albert Fish, a man who kidnapped, murdered, and ate children during the 1920’s. He was an unassuming, grandfatherly-like man who easily gained the trust of the people he encountered and it was only after his arrest that those closest to him disclosed some of his strange habits that should have indicated some type of disturbance.
  
  The book is short – only 39 pages – and summarizes some of Fish’s kidnappings and murders and his subsequent trial. For the most part, the book only offers an overhead look at the man and his crimes, but there are some heartbreaking and gruesome details that are not for the faint of heart. What really struck me, though, were the book’s implications, so while it only skims the surface, it will leave you with much to think about. For example, the debate over what determines not guilty by reason of insanity.
  
  For the full review, visit
  The Book Wheel.
• 
  Katy

  
  
  Originally posted here
  
  Issue number 18 of the Atavist magazine. Very short, this is an intriguing look at a cannibalistic child killer, Albert Fish in 1920s New York. No details of his crimes are dressed up and the facts are presented clinically which chilled me to the bone. The crimes described are so dark and I can't come to terms with the fact that those crimes actually happened. What a horrible way to die. Fish was a sick, disturbed individual.
  
  Blum examines how the killer was caught and his subsequent trial. It was interesting to read how the insanity defence unfolded and what the legal attitudes of the time were towards madness. Learning about the role early forensic science played in the case was also illuminating.
  
  Because this was kindle single was so short and fascinating, I found myself wanting more elaboration and more details of the case but it was still a great way to pass half an hour. Recommended for a reader who wants a quick article-style read.
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  Ryan

  This is the true story of Albert Fish, an early 20th century psychopath, who along with praticing sadomasochism on children also cannibalized their bodies. This story also details the subsequent trial and the fight to prove that Fish is insane and should be studied by psychologists instead of put to death. Many of these accounts come from Fish himself and were interesting for there depravity and how our society seeks punishment for perceived evil.
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  Cheryl

  Damn! Move over Hannibal Lecter and Elizabeth Bathory you got yourself competition. Never heard of Albert Fish until reading Angel Killer. What a creepy, repugnant and sadistic individual... if you ask me his punishment was justified after reading it and nothing could change my mind. Great read.
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  Amy

  Quick read - somewhere between a longform essay and a novella. Easy and quick to read. Liked the length and felt that it explored quite a bit about this case and the history of the insanity defense. Very disturbing content but if you can stomach the content, it's a fascinating look into a very disturbing case!
• 
  Science For The People

  Featured on Skeptically Speaking show #193 on December 21, 2012, on our special Book Review episode. This book was reviewed by Scicurious and the review can be heard starting at timestamp 00:35:15.
  http://skepticallyspeaking.ca/episode...
• 
  Mark

  Compelling narrative. Despite the very creepy details, the author -- a highly accomplished reporter and Pulitzer winner -- manages to avoid repelling readers by weaving compassion throughout the story. Great read.
• 
  Jamie Rose

  A good concise book, written from a psychology point of view about the crimes, trial and execution of Albert Fish and how criminal psychology and profiling has developed since the 1920's
  
  Quite short but has some good sources for further reading.
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  Dinah

  Chilling, but brief.
  
  I would have preferred to have this alarming and grisly story set in a larger context, but I'll take the Blum I can get. (Now if she and Rick Geary would just start collaborating on some things...)
• 
  Heather

  This was a really interesting work albeit a bit too short for my taste. I will say that Blum presents the facts of the case in a way that reads more like a story than a work of non-fiction which is a rare but welcome ability.
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  Nicole

  I really enjoy her writing. It flows like fiction.
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  Dan Hart

  Honestly, seemed to go into less detail than Wikipedia.
  
  Good writing, though. Fast paced; a bit short.
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  Jen

  Gorgeously written as always but horrendously short! I can only imagine the literary impact of a longer book.