In the Wake of the Butcher : Cleveland's Torso Murders (Ohio)
"Floating down the river, chunk by chunk by chunk/ Arms and legs  and torsos, hunk by hunk by hunk!" goes the jingle that  terrorized Cleveland from 1934 to 1938, when 12 known victims  were found dismembered. The book's protagonist is Chief  Investigator Peter Merylo, who was assigned to this case in  1936, stayed on it until he retired in 1943, and continued to  maintain an interest in it until his death in 1958. Unlike  today, policemen then were allowed to keep case files they  worked on during their career. Hence, the files were in the  possession of Merylo's daughter, who made them available to  Badal (English, Cuyahoga Community Coll.). Elliot Ness, the man  who put Capone and his men behind bars, was separately assigned  to the case but could not crack it, which tarnished his  reputation and started a downward tailspin from which he never  recovered. The culprit was never apprehended, but Badal provides  the readers with possible suspects without ever concluding who  the real killer was. This is a well-researched book on a subject  that remains a haunting mystery in Cleveland to this day.  Readers should beware, however, as it contains very graphic  photographs. For all true-crime collections. Michael Sawyer,  Northwestern Regional Lib., Elkin, NCCopyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.