"Murder he wrote! and well!"

"I couldn't put this one down. Very well written. A must read for true crime readers. If you liked the Alienist, you'll love this one!" C. Demchuk, California Review from Barnes and Noble website.

"Biography reads like an Adventure Novel"

"The title "Criminal Genius" just scratches the surface of the brilliant yet twisted character that was Edward Rulloff. Mr. Butz brings us a biography that reads like a mystery or action/adventure novel. There are times you want to cheer Rulloff for his brilliance and tenacity, but in the end the reprehensible acts for which he was convicted, and for which he was accused, make you feel otherwise.
Rulloff's charisma leaps off the page, as he coerces henchmen to do his bidding, and convinces accusers of his innocence. The author compares Rulloff to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's character, Professor Moriarty, which might raise a few eyebrows, but the similarities are striking.
I recommend this book highly; as a biography, slice of history, an examination of the history of Linguistics, criminal study or just a quick and exciting read. It is quick because it is a book I find hard to put down. The author has taken me to 19th Century New York, and despite all the horrific deeds, it is a place to which I like to return." Amazon.com

What does it mean when a man's brain has been preserved for antiquity?  Who on this earth gains such popularity as to have a piece of their body saved forever?  These were the questions that Shall The Murderer Go Unpunished! seeks to reveal about why the very large brain of Edward H. Rulloff lays in a jar on display at Cornell University.  Most of the other brains that make up the Wilder Brain collection housed there are those of great thinkers from the nineteenth century, except for Rulloff’s.  The true account of his life that the author relates in the book is fascinating, so much so that it almost feels as if was a work of fiction.

Shall The Murderer Go Unpunished! follows the timeline of Rulloff’s extraordinary life.  He first gained prominence in Ithaca, New York during the 1840’s as a brilliant young physician and school teacher, who also had an interest in the formation of human language.  This promising future however, came to an abrupt end in 1845 when he was accused of the disappearance and murder of his young wife and infant daughter.  This began a series of incidents that lead to one of the most exciting criminal investigations and legal battles of nineteenth century America.  The events that occurred after the disappearance of his wife and daughter involved a spectacular cross-state manhunt, a jail break, mob violence, and brilliant legal wrangling by none other than Rulloff himself.  Incredibly, all during this tumultuous time, he managed to continue his work on formulating a theory on the formation of human language, and nearly established himself as a respected scholar.
 

Eventually, Rulloff shifted his operations from the Finger Lakes Region to New York City, where he headed a crime syndicate that spread its tentacles into many illegal pursuits.  All the while, he led a double life as an intellectual, who was making a name for himself in the circle of elite linguists of 1860s New York.  In the end, after years of supporting his research by leading a life of crime, his sinister exploits were finally brought to light, shocking many of his fellow scholars, who knew nothing of his dark side.  Shall The Murderer Go Unpunished! is the tale of a frustrated scholar who turned to crime to support his pursuit of knowledge, often in reckless abandon, and with an apparent lack of morality, and will keep the reader wondering why Rulloff’s story was not written sooner.