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Publisher's Summary

An account of the crimes of Arthur Shawcross describes how the paroled child killer shot, stabbed, suffocated, and strangled 16 Rochester, New York, prostitutes and examines how the legal system failed his victims.
©2014 Jack Olsen (P)2015 Evan Olsen, Su Olsen
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Most Helpful
5 out of 5 stars
By 6catz on 01-09-16

Reads like a novel, very well written.

Any additional comments?

Jack Olsen was/is at the very high end of the true crime genre, and with this book dug very deep into the big Why of a horrible horrible series of events. The author examines the old cracks in the system that should have protected the citizens of NY state, and it's both heartbreaking and infuriating to think about.

This book made me queasy in spots - fortunately those sections turned out to be the killer's sick fantasies. (As if the truth of his actions wasn't disturbing enough). Kevin Pierce is terrific at reading true crime in particular, no overacting, excellent narration and the dialogue just sounds conversational, believable. Afterwards I felt compelled to see the killer interviewed on YouTube, and saw just how amazingly accurate Olsen's description of him was. All in all a real eye opener.

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18 of 19 people found this review helpful

5 out of 5 stars
By Angela on 12-12-15

Not the Typical True Crime Book

Any additional comments?

As this narrative begins, you aren't sure whose story this is. It starts with Jack, the first victim of Arthur Shawcross. Throughout the book, the author gives us the stories of the victims and their families, as well as the perspectives of the detectives, Shawcross's lovers, wives, and mother. The result is as fully a realized picture of the madman as can be had.

Even with all of the detail, it is clear that the author--and nobody else for that matter--understood what made this serial killer tick. Child rape and murder, murder and mutilation of prostitutes, cannibalism, and necrophilia--this man did it all, and at the end no one is sure why. Even the murderer himself seems baffled by his crimes.

Compared to the Green River Running Red and BTK, two books I've recently read about serial murderers, this book left me feeling more remote from the killer and his crimes. The reader was never given entrance into Shawcross's head in the same way as we were allowed to examine Gary Ridgeway and Dennis Rader. At the end of Misbegotten Son, a psychiatrist gives two theories about how a man like Arthur Shawcross could have developed, and I think that his ideas are an interesting perspective, but not a conclusion.

Narrating this book must have been incredibly demanding. The diverse formats (interview, letter, testimony, written account, etc.) combined with an overcrowded cast of perspectives to make this engaging for the reader--but a nightmare for the man tasked with giving them all voice! Kevin Pierce, as always, did a magnificent job. He was able to portray both sides of Arthur Shawcross: the altruistic, childlike outdoors-man and the sadistic, victim-blaming, rage filled murderer. Especially in the portions of the text where Shawcross is describing his crimes in written or audio-recorded accounts, Pierce uses his talents to illustrate the murderer as a petulant lunatic with a sub-normal IQ without creating a caricature.

Non-fiction of any kind does not lend itself to an overly dramatized style of narration. That's why Kevin Pierce is one of my favorites; his is always a subtle yet engaging narration that illuminates rather than dramatizes the characters.

This book has everything: the gory details, the heart-rending effects of a murderous rampage on the victims' and the murderer's families, and the history and analysis of what makes a killer. Even with all that, though, the book generates as many questions as answers.

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36 of 39 people found this review helpful

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Customer Reviews

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2 out of 5 stars
By Debbie on 05-25-16

Well narrated, but not an edge of your seat read.

I suppose all true serial killer stories are fascinating to a degree, but some have more bite than others.

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1 of 1 people found this review helpful

5 out of 5 stars
By miss flavell on 03-07-16

A Lot of Book

Mr Olsen has excelled himself in this book, the narrator complimented with perfection as he negotiated many different genders and dialects, I am genuinely miffed that I have come to the end,as for Art Shawcross, he is where he needs to be.

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1 of 1 people found this review helpful

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5 out of 5 stars
By Mat on 08-13-17

Brilliant.

Another fascinating work by Mr Olsen, and wonderfully narrated by Kevin Pierce. Some parts difficult to listen to but only because of the sheer vulgarity of the crimes that Shawcross committed. Not for the faint of heart. But that being said, highly recommended for true crime fans!

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5 out of 5 stars
By Max on 04-27-17

Great True Crime book

What made the experience of listening to The Misbegotten Son the most enjoyable?

Combination of a terrifically written book and great narrator.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Arthur Shawcross and the confounding psychological case study he represented.

What does Kevin Pierce bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

I thought he did a great job finding the voice of the myriad characters.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Hearing about the mother of Shawcross' first (known) victim and the special bond that existed between that mother and the boy.

Any additional comments?

There's a lot of crappy or generic writing in the true crime genre.

This is definitely not the case with this book. Olsen is an excellent writer and brings gravitas, offering an incredibly layered and exhaustive account of all the people involved in the story, from the killer & his family, the investigators involved in tracking and apprehending him, as well as the victims and their families.

There was so much pathos in Olsen's writing that I found it more affecting than your average true crime book.

The book sometimes flits around through different times in the killer's life and writing in the voice of different characters, which some readers might find off-putting. I did not as I found it contributed to the rich mosaic of the world inhabited by these characters.

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