Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson

126 reviews

kodi_rae's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.0

I often find nonfiction books harder to read. Even with ones with topics that really interest me, I find my mind wandering. So I was pleasantly surprised at how much this book sucked me in, however I would have personally liked more pictures interspersed as well to get a better sense of people and place. It does seem like the author might have taken some liberties with pieces of the story, so keep that in mind when reading. And the lack of any sort of modern-day critique of Christopher Columbus, Wild Bill Cody’s show, and the myriad use of Native Americans and other people of color left much to be desired. Despite these grievances, I still found it to be interesting and wanting to learn more. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Murder, Animal death, Child death, Medical content, and Violence

Minor: Abortion, Blood, Cultural appropriation, Dementia, Classism, Colonisation, Excrement, Gun violence, Mental illness, and Racism

star_burstt's review against another edition

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, Body horror, and Death

j_the_human's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious slow-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Kidnapping, Child abuse, and Child death

a_meanderer's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Grief, Trafficking, Violence, Torture, Medical content, Murder, Blood, and Child death

megtall's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious sad medium-paced

4.0

I’m not usually one for historical nonfiction, but this has been in my TBR pile for way too long. It was really interesting and Holmes was pretty terrifying. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

misssleepy's review against another edition

dark informative reflective slow-paced

3.75

This book has been on my TBR for a loooooong time. This is the first Erik Larson book that I have read. I would like to eventually also read The Splendid and the Vile.

Overall, I found the audio of this book very relaxing, even though the subject matter was often times pretty dark.

Most of the book focuses on the white city. The devil is more of a thread woven through the story of the world’s fair in Chicago. Sometimes the books would get very detailed and it would get just a bit boring. The last 25% of the book quickened in paste and really got to the meat of this story.

Larson did an incredible job of researching the story and creating this  cohesive narrative. I certainly appreciated this about the book. However it can at the same time be true that some of the details might not have been necessary to flush out the story. 

Overall I would recommend this to anybody interested in US history and the macabre. It’s a good reminder that true crime has always been a part of history and so has the public fascination that goes with it. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Murder

pupsandpancakes's review against another edition

adventurous sad tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Murder, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Violence

sandysawmill's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

5.0

I’ve started this book several times and it finally clicked. Such an interesting dive into a piece of chicago and architectural history, as well as one of the first serial killers in the US. My favorite parts were about early unions and capitalists and the parallels to today; the description of new inventions that came out at the fair such as the Ferris wheel and shredded wheat; and the history of urban architecture and city planning like how the first skyscrapers were created and how much architecture can shape people’s lives and dreams. Architecture as “frozen music.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Torture, Murder, Blood, and Mental illness

siu_rose's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

5.0

I thought this was extremely well written and vivid.  The author wove together strands of different stories quite well.  The scale encompasses details and the big picture.  I definitely plan to read more of his books. 

The creepy factor of the serial killer meant that I read this slowly because sometimes I just didn’t want to read it. But it was a good read overall.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, and Child death

amriherd's review against another edition

informative medium-paced

3.75

Not my favorite Larson, but for my add brain it was great. Murder chapter, fair chapter, murder chapter, fair chapter.  Never left you in one place long enough to get bored. Enjoyed the fair aspects the most, but didn't love the way the Holmes chapters were organized and presented. Great narrator on the audio though.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Murder, Child death, and Violence