1 comments about Arthur Shawcross: The Genese River Killer.

1. I found this book and tape to be incredibly insightful into the mind of Shawcross, it helps you to understand what goes through the mind of a killer, and deals with each murder in a quite good detail. I am buying this again, because my first copy is so worn out! Highly recommended to anyone interested in the Serial Killer genre.

No comments about Misbegotten Son, A Serial Killer and His Victims: The True Story of Arthur J. Shawcross.

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2 comments about THE MISBEGOTTEN SON. A SERIAL KILLER AND HIS VICTIMS. THE TRUE STORY OF ARTHUR J. SHAWCROSS.

1. The first book of Jack Olsen's that I have read. 520 pages. This book is intriguing and holds your interest throughout. It is so well written that you just keep turning the pages and completely lose track of time. Arthur Shawcross isn't the most famous serial killer of all times, but once you've read this book, I promise you'll never forget him. Olsen actually takes you into the lives of the killer, the victims, their families and even the two pathetic women that marry him after he is convicted of murder. I've just ordered another book from this author and according to the reviews, it probably won't be the last. I highly recommend.



2. I read a lot of these true crime type of books and this is one of the best.

1 comments about Arthur Shawcross: The Genesee River Killer : The Grisly True Crime Account of the Rochester Prostitute Murders!.

1. If you want to know anything about the Genesee River Killings then this is the book you are after, it goes into the detail you want and leaves out nothing. A great read and a good reference point for those studying the serial killer genre. Highly recommended.

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5 comments about The Misbegotten Son: The True Story of Arthur J. Shawcross.

1. "Misbegotten Son" is the true story of Arthur Shawcross, a serial killer in New York state.
   
   Jack Olsen researched Shawcross from childhood to his incarceration for his serial murders. He included excerpts of the psychological/psychiatric interviews and the confessions.
   
   He was diagnosed as "mentally ill" at a young age. He tortured animals and exhibited other behavior believed to be indicators for potential serial killers. He was also diagnosed as "borderline retarded" and never seemed to have a conscience, sought attention frequently, had a violent temper, and was troubled in general.
   
   His first two murders were ghastly with children as his victims. He largely got off easily. Jack Olsen describes the circumstances that led to Shawcross not being charged for both murders. The D.A. rightfully lost his job over it.
   
   Mr. Olsen follows Shawcross's trail after parole where he eventually settled in Rochester,N.Y. That trail is an easy one to follow strewn with female corpses of his 11 victims. Shawcross brags that he cannibalized some of the bodies. He is a psycho-sexual sociopath that always had an excuse for something that triggered his murderous rage. The author readily disbunks the many mythical excuses upon investigation.
   
   Jack Olsen covered all of the angles from the killer, his family, wives and girlfriends, the victims and their survivors. Not least of the characters are some law enforcement personnel from Watertown and Rochester who worked hard pursuing justice in their cases.
   
   "Misbegotten Son" is a very good true crime book that will probably leave the reader scratching his or her head and asking the unanswered question-Why?



2. I was very happy with everything! I read this book and it's a great read!



3. THE MISBEGOTTEN SON opens with an account of the too-short life and frightening death of eleven year old Jack Blake, whose mother conceived him as the result of an extramarital affair. Just days before he disappeared, Mary Blake confessed the truth to him, that he was a "misbegotten son."
   
   Jack died at the hand of another "misbegotten son," one infinitely more vile, Arthur J. Shawcross. Shawcross came from one of the oldest North Country families in New York State (and was related to Nuremberg Trials prosecutor, Sir Hartley Shawcross). The boy was marked out as peculiar almost from the beginning, and was called "Oddie" by schoolmates, who mocked him and ostracized him. As a result, Arthur Shawcross developed a rich but bizarre fantasy life. A continuing fantasy revolved around his Vietnam experiences. He claimed to be a Rambo-type soldier, who singlehandedly engaged in lurid acts of torture against enemy combatants (usually women); Army records show he was a supply clerk.
   
   Starting his 'career' as a petty criminal, he rapidly graduated to more and more dramatic crimes, which culminated in the murders of two children, Jack Blake and Karen Hill, both of whom were sexually assaulted post-mortem. A lack of evidence resulted in his incarceration for only fifteen years. He was paroled despite very strong recommendations to the contrary.
   
   As soon as Shawcross was released, he began trolling for victims again, in Rochester, New York, this time focusing on prostitutes. He killed at least fifteen women between 1988 and 1990, once again engaging in necrophilia, and then cannibalism. The rash of murders led to an odd alliance between prostitutes, pimps, and the police, as the community sought to protect its working girls. Shawcross killed with frightening efficiency---one time, a cop warned a girl to "be careful" as she walked down the street. He was the last person to see her alive. Shawcross killed her scant minutes later, virtually under the officer's nose.
   
   When caught, Shawcross was found to be an exceptionally banal man of quite ordinary mien. He lacked the predatory air of Ted Bundy and the freakishness of Jeffrey Dahmer, despite his crimes. He was not truly sociopathic, as he often expressed remorse for his acts, though he admitted he would readily kill again given the opportunity. Tests showed he suffered from 47,XYY, a genetic disorder that often results in increased aggression. He also suffered from Pyloria, a metabolic disorder which affected the level of "aggression" chemicals in his bloodstream. Still, biochemistry and genetics do not tell the whole tale---we still don't really know what made Arthur Shawcross tick.
   
   Jack Olsen does a great job of telling the story of Arthur Shawcross in a balanced and fair way. He never veers, as some True Crime authors do, into glamorizing Shawcross' gratutious violence or providing florid or titillating descriptions of Shawcross' sex crimes. This is a honest portrait of a very dangerous man.
   
   In the end, despite his crimes, I found that I didn't hate Shawcross. I neither liked him, nor sympathized with him, but I saw him as a person not as a monster. And that's an indication of how well written THE MISBEGOTTEN SON really is.



4. Arthur Shawcross 6/6/45 to 11/10/2008
   
   Shawcross was arrested and locked up for the murders of 2 children. He should have been in prison for the rest of his life. The criminal justice system let the people of the Genesee River area down when they released him early to kill and kill again and again. TWELVE women died because Justice was truly blind to them.
   
   Shawcross looks retarded to me but he was able to marry several times and always had women in his life even when he was a poor provider and poor sexual partner. As a child he was abusive to animals and a bully. He was known to be ODD. He had no friends and did not have the love of his mother. His father was a weakling.
   
   He was in the army and stationed at FT. SILL in Oklahoma (my home state) and I have always wondered if the Army and Lawton PD ever investigated murders that might have been committed by him in the area once he came to national attention.
   
   I'am willing to bet that he did kill in Oklahoma. I am sure he used and abused prostitutes in the area. His then wife says he acted very strange when they lived there.
   
   The Genesee killings were vicious and cruel. It took 12 murders to long for the police to catch him. He died in prison. I'am sorry he lived so long.
   
   Jack Olsen was a great author. He was one of the best true crime writers around. You should try and read ALL his books. I plan too. Most of the people he writes about have no heart and soul -- so he takes you into their thoughts and minds.
   
   bette/okc



5. We lost one of the finest true crime journalists when Olsen died. He was a genuine master, and this, in my opinion, is one of his better books. One could never fault Olsen for going light on research. He always more than did his homework, and it showed more than ever in this volume. Arthur Shawcross is so evil that when you read that the law enforcement community released him from prison you begin ranting at the walls in sheer panic. Why he wasn't surveilled more closely after his prison release is confusing. Surely a detective could have gone down in the annals of law enforcement if he had caught Shawcross before he murdered so many more individuals. In any case, I have to hand it to Olsen on this one: a superior expose on a hidden monster.