Looking back at The Misbegotten Son

Over the course of the summer, we’ll be doing a look back at the 1994 Edgar Award nominees for Best Fact Crime. …Our next 1994 Edgar nominee is The Misbegotten Son by Jack Olsen.

[read Susan Howard’s full review here, or join us with a paid sub and get these straight to your inbox!]

The crime
Serial killer Arthur Shawcross’s first known murders occurred in his home town of Watertown in New York’s North Country region. In 1972, he abducted, sexually assaulted, and murdered a young boy and girl. Granted a plea deal and ultimately an early parole in 1988 due to prison overcrowding, Shawcross re-settled in Rochester, where his second murder spree under a new M.O. began, this time targeting sex workers. Within a span of two years, he would claim 12 victims, dumping their remains along the Genesee River Gorge.

The story
The Misbegotten Son adheres to Jack Olsen’s signature style of investigative crime writing – studies of some of America’s most sadistic and violent criminals. I’ve always founded his books thorough, if somewhat muddled. This one fits that bill while also being very graphic – this reader had to set it aside more than once. The strengths of The Misbegotten Son lie in the first person accounts from dozens in Shawcross’ orbit: his wives, girlfriends, co-workers, investigators, and victims’ family members. The most compelling and fascinating of these voices are the Rochester sex worker, known in the book as "Jo Ann Van Nostrand," who was instrumental in his capture; and the mother of Shawcross’s first known victim, Mary Blake. Both these women deserve their own books.