The Midnight Assassin

Starred review from December 14, 2015
Fans of Erik Larson’s Devil in the White City will relish this gripping and atmospheric account of a horrific series of murders in late 19th-century Texas that are largely obscure today, despite their fantastical elements and similarities to the Jack the Ripper butcheries. Texas Monthly editor Hollandsworth provides the definitive account of the killings that began on New Year’s Eve 1884, when someone attacked African-American cook Mollie Smith, stabbing her repeatedly and nearly splitting her head in two. With a novelist’s eye for detail, the author brings the reader inside the reign of terror that gripped Austin, Tex., as the killer “crisscrossed the entire city, striking on moonlit nights, using axes, knives, and long steel rods to rip apart women from every race and class.” Hollandsworth successfully conveys the horror of the crimes, the baffling lack of an obvious motive, the so-called Midnight Assassin’s almost supernatural ability to strike twice in less than an hour, and the ineffective official responses to the murders. This true crime page-turner is a balanced and insightful examination of one of the most stirring serial killing sprees in American history, and certainly one of the least well-known. Agent: David Hale Smith, Inkwell Management.

Starred review from June 1, 2016

Is it possible that Jack the Ripper spoke with a Texas twang? Hollandsworth, an executive editor of Texas Monthly magazine, revisits a largely forgotten period in American history when the city of Austin, TX, was rocked by a series of brutal murders, most involving young black servant girls. In the mid-1880s, as Austin was in the middle of an incredible growth spurt and proclaiming itself as one of the best cities to live in the United States, horribly mutilated women's bodies were being found. Vigilantes began roaming the streets and virtually every African American male was suspect. The city seemed on the verge of a bloody race riot and newspapers nationwide were filled with blaring headlines about "ghouls," "fiends," and "blood-thirsty monsters." And then the killings stopped. A few years later, the Ripper murders took place in London and some considered the possibility that the Austin killer had moved to a new location. Narrator Clint Jordan does an outstanding job of keeping this suspenseful real-life thriller going to the last chapter. VERDICT While this is a definite purchase for all Texas libraries, institutions in other locales will find Hollandsworth's crime saga a popular addition to their collections. Highly recommended. ["The lively social history of a town on the brink combines with a riveting true crime story that will make this a favorite in regional history collections as well as true crime collections": LJ 2/1/16 review of the Holt hc.]--Joseph L. Carlson, Vandenberg Air Force Base Lib., Lompoc, CA

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 4, 2016
Reader Jordon's calm, clear narration sets the perfect tone for Hollandsworth's true crime historical thriller. From 1884 to 1885, a series of grisly murders galvanized the city of Austin, Tex. Over that time, seven women from all walks of life were killed by an unknown assailant who would come to be known as "the Midnight Assassin." The series of deaths stymied the local police as well as detectives brought in from outside the state to work on the case. Jordan keeps his reading serious with just the right amount of dramatic emphasis to keep the listener involved. His use of character voices is fitting in the context of the story and never distracts from the descriptive narrative. Almost as interesting as this historical whodunit is Hollandsworth's introduction and afterword, where the author tells how he became aware of the murders and his obsession with uncovering the identity of the killer. Hearing him recount his digging through old newspapers and police reports, looking at crumbling photographs, and interviewing the aging relatives of those who were alive at the time of the killings is as fascinating as the story itself. Together, Jordon and Hollandsworth do an excellent job of relaying this engrossing story of America's own Jack the Ripper. A Holt hardcover.