I’ve been looking forward to diving into this month’s CLE Read ever since it was recommended by @bonnjill after my first book review:

John Stark Bellamy II’sWomen Behaving Badly

As I’ve mentioned before, I thrill in piecing together the puzzle of almost anything crime-related. So Jill’s recommendation was right in my wheelhouse.

However, in contrast to the other mystery books that fill my bedside table, Bellamy’s Women Behaving Badly published in 2005 are all real-life crimes – an anthology of ferocious female killers in Cleveland.

Now, I’ve been known to behave badly more than once in my life.  However, I’m happy to know it’s not as badly as some of these ladies.

In total, there are 16 essays ranging in years from 1868 to 1965 and motives from money to sibling rivalries and jilted lovers.

There is the Sarah Victor Scandal of 1868 – the collection’s oldest crime – where Sarah took in her step-brother William after he returned home from war and then was suspected of killing him for his life insurance.

Or the gothic tale of Eula Dortch, a nurse aide who was married with 7 children, killed her husband, hid his body in her house and continued to cash his checks. After all of this, she was granted a second shot at life … but did she use it wisely?

If you’re familiar with Bellamy’s other collections, you’ll see that some of these women have been featured before. However, he includes two new riveting tales in Women Behaving Badly: Bad Cinderella and the Sins of the Father.

Bad Cinderella tells of 16-year-old Catherine Manz, who in 1910 was seen walking out of her family’s home in Massillon wearing her sister Elizabeth’s best outfit – a red dress and enormous feathered hat.  Hours later, Elizabeth was discovered dead in the house, poisoned by strychnine. A far – and vengeful – cry from the Disney version.

In each essay, Bellamy tells more than just the story of the crime. He weaves together a portrait of each woman (sympathetic, even, when warranted) along with an examination of the region’s sociocultural trends at the time each crime was committed.

Bellamy was inspired to write this book when he realized while researching The Maniac in the Bushes all of his favorite Cleveland killers were female. He writes in the forward:

“Stack up virtually any murder committed by a female during those fifteen decades against a homicide authored by any mere male and you will soon discover that – and as the stories I tell indelibly illustrate – there is simply no comparison in cunning, quality, and sheer entertainment value between the shallow, predictable murders of men and the complex,  richly nuaned slayings perpetrated by women.”

Author John Stark Bellamy II. Photo © Jonathan Wayne

While some would be revolted by so much death and destruction, Bellamy’s fascination is in his blood as he’s the third generation of his family to write about Cleveland’s grisliest inhabitants.

Growing up, he was surrounded by stories about Cleveland crime and disaster, written by both his grandfather who was editor of the Plain Dealer and his father who wrote for both the Cleveland News and PD.

The former history specialist for the Cuyahoga County Public Library, Bellamy has now authored six books and two anthologies about the worst that Cleveland has seen on its shores.

Whether it’s natural, honed or both, he has a definite talent for it. While his descriptions are vivid, I enjoyed Bellamy’s straightforward layout of the facts. At the end of each essay he does provide his own speculation of guilt or innocence; however, he leaves it open enough for readers to form their own opinions.

The collection also gives an interesting peek into a Northeast Ohio foreign to most of us, one lost in the history books. As Kimberly commented: “Kind of creepy when I realized some of these things took place in my neighborhood.”

You can purchase Women Behaving Badly: True Tales of Cleveland’s Most Ferocious Female Killers from Cleveland publisher Gray & Company for only $24.95. Or support your favorite Cleveland independent bookstore. I borrowed mine from the Avon Lake Public Library.

This is the latest in my CLE Reads series. Check out my previous installments:

• Harvey Pekar’s Cleveland (September 2012)
• Les Roberts’ Whiskey Island (October 2012)
• Rust Belt Chic (November 2012)
• Damn Right I’m From Cleveland (December 2012)

I’ll be back next month with the awesome horror comic The Lake Erie Monster.  And if you have any recommendations of your own, please leave a comment below.

Dec. CLE Read: Damn Right I’m From Cleveland by Mike Polk Jr.

UPDATE: This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to the winners!

Between the usual stress of the holidays and what happened last week, I don’t think I’m alone in thinking we could all use a little laughter right now.

So I figured I’d pick a book for my December CLE Read that lightens the mood. And there was Mike Polk Jr.’s Damn Right I’m From Cleveland to the rescue.

If you’re a Clevelander who spends any amount of time online (which I assume you do since you’re on a blog right now), you’re likely familiar with Polk’s Hastily Made Cleveland Tourism Video.

I first saw it courtesy of Scott’s Animosity Pierre comedy team who seriously still quote it to this day when they visit.

However, between other viral videos like One Semester of Spanish – Love Song or his ode to the Factory of Sadness and his sketch comedy work with the award-winning Last Call Cleveland, Polk isn’t a one-hit wonder.

Repeatedly named one of Cleveland’s best comedians, Polk’s comedic chops caught the attention of local publisher Gray and Co. who invited him to put it all down in writing.

And so we have just over 100 pages of hilarity, equal parts broad and subversive, poking fun at everything Cleveland – including himself.

It may be a quick read, but each 2-page spread got a laugh out of me that lasted long after I put the book down. My personal favorites:

• Cleveland Thrifting Like a Pro (which I had to keep Scott from reading so that he wouldn’t immediately go on a shopping spree)
• Potential Cleveland Bumper Stickers (“Cleveland: We’re Just Crashing in Canada’s Basement Til We Can Get Our Shit Together”)
• 3 Plans to Resurrect Downtown Cleveland (I think the urban paintball arena would have more than its fair share of fans)
• And this…

A Better Cleveland Flag from Mike Polk’s Damn Right I’m From Cleveland. Godd-Dawg!

A Browns fan by birth not choice, Polk also mines a lifetime of tortured sports memories for laughs. I even learned a few things – like the fact that the ultimate Cleveland sports fantasy Major League isn’t even about a championship game, just a pennant.

Some Cleveland supporters may cringe at what Polk writes or give him flack for making fun of the city.

They should get over it.

Good comedy is rarely ever nice and with Polk it comes from a place of love. Polk notes in his introduction that this city with “a rich history and a promising future” is like a younger sibling he can tease “because we’re family and that’s what we do. But if some asshole from Indianapolis mouths off about it, I do not hesitate to set him straight.”

Damn right.

You can purchase Damn Right I’m From Cleveland from Cleveland publisher Gray & Company for only $14.95 or find it in local bookstores: www.grayco.com/stores/index.shtml.

I’m also giving away two copies to add a bit of humor to your holidays.

There are 5 Easy Ways to Enter the Giveaway!
Leave a separate comment on this post for each entry.

1) For one entry, leave a comment on this post recommending a Cleveland book you’ve read or want to read.

2) Follow @ClevelandBooks and @ADHicken on Twitter and leave one comment here letting me know you did both.

3) If you’re a fan of Clue Into Cleveland on Facebook, leave a comment on this blog post letting me know. If you’re not yet a fan, you can become one here.

4) Twitter users can also get an extra entry each day for tweeting: “I want to win @clevelandbooks’ Damn Right I’m From Cleveland. Enter @ADHicken’s giveaway for your chance to win: http://wp.me/p2Ukr0-1If”  (Each day you do this, you must leave a new comment.)

5) Subscribe to receive Clue Into Cleveland blog posts by email or via the RSS feed and leave a comment letting me know you did. This can include signing up to receive email notifications in the top-right “Subscribe” section of this page.

You have until Monday, Dec. 24 at 11:59PM to enter. On Christmas Day, I will select 2 winners using Random.org and will announce their names on my blog.  Remember to leave a separate comment for each entry.

***

This is the latest in my CLE Reads series. Check out my previous installments:

• Harvey Pekar’s Cleveland (September 2012)
• Les Roberts’ Whiskey Island (October 2012)
• Rust Belt Chic (November 2012)

I’ll be back next month with Women Behaving Badly: Cleveland’s Most Ferocious Female Killers.

Disclosure: I was invited to review a copy of Damn Right I’m From Cleveland and give away 2 copies. The opinions expressed here about the book are 100% my own.

October’s CLE Read

A bit of a blog fail: We’re still in catch-up mode from Hurricane Sandy and one of the things that got pushed back was my October CLE Read originally scheduled for mid-week. Better late than never, though.

For my second CLE Read, I picked Les Roberts’ Whiskey Island, a book that brought together two passions of mine – mysteries and (of course!) Cleveland.

Starting with Murder She Wrote and Encyclopedia Brown, I was raised on a steady diet of mysteries since I was 5. My mom is an avid murder mystery fan and everyday after school I would watch crime procedurals with her. Years later, we still swap the latest mystery novels we’re reading.

So last year when I read my first Milan Jacovich mystery The Cleveland Creep, I couldn’t wait to share a Cleveland-written and -based murder mystery with her.

Whiskey Island, recently published through Gray and Co., is the next installment in Roberts’ Milan Jacovich series.

Jacovich is a blue-collar guy in a blue-collar city. After growing up in the St. Clair-Superior neighborhood, he attended Kent, served in Vietnam and became a Cleveland cop.

Now he’s a tough P.I. with a love of Strohl’s solving some of the more ghastly crimes committed in Roberts’ (semi-)fictional Cleveland.

While he often sees the grittiest sides of Cleveland, make no mistake – Jacovich loves his city. In Whiskey Island, Jacovich describes the best part about Cleveland:

My town is full of nice people. They are open, warm, sometimes funny – huge sports fans, great music lovers of both classical and rock, and dedicated supporters of art, theater and dance. They’re generous; even when times are tough, charities do well here. And Clevelanders love to eat; great new restaurants open here all the time.”

And in part that’s a reflection of the author’s own passion for Cleveland. Roberts came here after a 24-year career in Hollywood where he wrote for the Hollywood Squares, The Andy Griffith Show, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

He was asked to create a lottery game show for Ohio, which ultimately became Cash Explosion Double Play and moved back in 1990 where he’s lived since – spreading his love for Cleveland in his mystery novels and other writings.

Les Roberts on the cover of his memoir

In Whiskey Island, Jacovich is tasked with finding out who is trying to kill Cleveland councilman Bert Loftus.

Loftus’ proclivity for food, call girls and bribes has put him at the center of an FBI investigation that’s set to bring down many city officials and invested individuals.

Sounds familiar doesn’t it?

Although Roberts got his inspiration from recent scandals, the turns of Whiskey Island should keep you guessing on who’s going to ‘get it’ and who’s guilty.

I enjoy Roberts’ mystery novels because there is a classic PI sensibility to them – reminiscent of the crime novels that first hooked me.

And as usual, it was a treat to read the spot-on Cleveland cameos from downtown to the suburbs. Even if you’re not a huge fan of the city I don’t think the worldbuilding bogs the story down.

In Whiskey Island specifically, Roberts’ descriptions show why Jacovich would fight for Cleveland in the face of so much ugliness.

The addition of a partner for Jacovich also sets this apart from previous installments. With his age catching up with him, Milan brings on young vet Kevin “K.O.” O’Bannion.

Splitting the narrative between the two gives a more well-rounded perspective and made it more enjoyable to piece the puzzle together.

You can purchase Whiskey Island and other Les Roberts books online from Cleveland publisher Gray & Company. It can also be found at many of Northeast Ohio’s local bookstores: www.grayco.com/stores/index.shtml.

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This is the latest in my CLE Read series. Check out the first installment:

• Harvey Pekar’s Cleveland (September 2012)

If you’ve read Whiskey Island or have a suggestion for a Cleveland book I should clue into, leave a comment or send me an email at clueintocleveland (at) gmail (dot) com.

I’ll be back later this month with Rust Belt Chic The Cleveland Anthology.