Bestial by Harold Schechter

 Despite my interest in True Crime this was a series of crimes that I had never heard of before.  This does surprise me as there is such a litany of atrocities committed that you would have thought it would be a far more publicised case - especially when you compare it to the rumours of what H H Holmes did in Chicago which have far less proof.

The research was undoubtedly thorough and is well documented in the book so should you wish to fact check the author it is easy to do.  I always appreciate a full Bibliography and Mr Shechter is always meticulous in logging even the smallest source.  Unfortunately there is just something about his writing style that overrides the information being given and takes centre stage instead of the story that does put me off when reading.  There are also a lot of personal conclusions drawn and voiced rather than just a retelling of the actual histrocial events and it is for this reason alone I have given it 3 Stars.

What is undoubtedly interesting is the background of Nelson and the steady escalation of his assaults which eventually morph in to rape and finally murder.  I was surprised how Nelson seemed to have an innate sense that he needed to keep moving from state to state and even crossing Country borders to keep consistantly ahead of the police.  He also had no real type, he had a method he employed but each crime seemed to have been one of opportunity and the age ranges of his victims would baffle law enforcement today.  Perceived wisdom being that a murderer always has a type and Nelson certainly didn't.

If you can get past the author's voice this is a very interesting read for anyone interested in True Crime.

This review has been a long time coming.  I actually read this book between the 8th and 13th August so my memory is a bit foggy about all the plot lines.  Fortunately, I have a notebook where I jot some initial thoughts on the book and an overall ranking so between the book blurb and that I did have a reasonable handle on what I thought at the time of reading.