Torsos

This is what you would get if you cross Silence of the Lambs w/ a bodice ripper romance. Exciting, engrossing, and definitely a page-turner. Anyone who is a fan of the criminal procedurals now in vogue on TV (CSI, Cold Case and its ilk) will no doubt enjoy this novel tremendously and I'm not even one. That the story is based on a real life crime makes it doubly interesting. It is not without its fault, however. Without giving too much away, the progression to the conclusion is a bit abrupt. One of the major characters change of preference, shall we say, is rather quick and without angst; given this takes place in the 1930s, it's contrived. Not being a psychiatrist, I can't say with authority if the final actions of the characters are psychologically sound; yet I find the resolutions have too much of a deus ex machina feel to them. A character would do things that if he is on screen in a slasher movie, the audience would groan and yell, "Don't do that, stupid." And those unwise actions precipitated the whole climax of the novel. Despite all the flaws, this is one helluva of a memorable read.

Torsos is a great novel. Set in Cleveland, in the `thirties, it fictionalizes the notorious Torso Slayer killings through the figure of Hank "Lucky" Lambert, a cop who knows more than he should of the gay underworld of the city. John Peyton Cooke's meticulous research shows, but the novel isn't at all sluggish - it moves at a breakneck pace to tour tramp dwellings, drug stores, chicken farms and bath houses in search of the elusive Torso Slayer. In the midst of mayhem there's a love story, as Lucky meets and romances the hustler Danny Cottone. I am not a big reader of crime fiction, but this book reminded me, in good ways, of James Ellroy's fiction. Its panoramic portrait of the city, and its weaving of fact and fiction was complicated, visual, and paranoid, rather like Ellroy's vision of LA. John Peyton Cooke's anal-retentive Eliot Ness is a memorable character, but most memorable to me is his deft, rather audaciously complicated plotting, his sentimental, yet sometimes brutal depiction of male homoeroticism, and his incredibly evocative, though rather spare prose. A wonderful read.

Noone should miss the novel, especially those interested in Elliot Ness' search of a mass murderer.We meet Hank and many other characters. Outstanding flavor of America's 20's