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ajnewsom's review against another edition
4.0
The story of America's first serial killer will be familiar to those who have read Erik Larson's "The Devil in the White City". Although best known for his "Murder Castle" in Chicago during the 1893 World's Fair, author Harold Schechter delves deeper into the background and additional murders performed by Herman Webster Mudgett (aka H.H. Holmes) not only in Chicago but throughout the US during the 1880s up until his capture in 1894.
The author takes the reader from Holmes's early days growing up in New Hampshire, through his time building his elaborate "castle" in Chicago, to his schemes and the murders he deemed necessary to complete the money making ventures he put together. All of this culminates with his capture, sensational trials, and conviction of killing he co-conspirator.
At the end of his life, Holmes's admitted to killing 27 people, although many believe the number to be much greater.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the psyche of a true serial killer.
The author takes the reader from Holmes's early days growing up in New Hampshire, through his time building his elaborate "castle" in Chicago, to his schemes and the murders he deemed necessary to complete the money making ventures he put together. All of this culminates with his capture, sensational trials, and conviction of killing he co-conspirator.
At the end of his life, Holmes's admitted to killing 27 people, although many believe the number to be much greater.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the psyche of a true serial killer.
si0bhan's review
3.0
We all have those family members who like to lumber you with things once they find out about your interest.
Well this book came from my aunt when she found out about my interest in forensic psychology. Supposedly I need to become an expert in the criminal world – mainly I need to be able to recite the heinous acts of countless individuals across history.
Okay, maybe she did not put it like that but it sort of felt that way when she handed me numerous books on the topic.
Still, despite the fact that such a thing can be viewed as being exceptionally weird, the books she gave me were all interesting reads. This one included. It is educational (even if it is not the kind of topic you would want to teach at school) and an interesting read.
Whilst not my usual I rather enjoyed reading the details of this book.
Well this book came from my aunt when she found out about my interest in forensic psychology. Supposedly I need to become an expert in the criminal world – mainly I need to be able to recite the heinous acts of countless individuals across history.
Okay, maybe she did not put it like that but it sort of felt that way when she handed me numerous books on the topic.
Still, despite the fact that such a thing can be viewed as being exceptionally weird, the books she gave me were all interesting reads. This one included. It is educational (even if it is not the kind of topic you would want to teach at school) and an interesting read.
Whilst not my usual I rather enjoyed reading the details of this book.
threerings's review against another edition
4.0
So after reading "The Devil in the White City" I wanted to know more about H.H. Holmes, the first American serial killer who no one remembers. I didn't know what to expect from a book called "Depraved", but it's actually very good. If you just want to know about Holmes, I recommend this book, over "The Devil in the White City." It has more detail, less invented scenes, less imposed pseudo-Freudian motivation, and great stuff particularly about the time after Holmes was arrested.
I don't really have any complaints, other than I want more detail about what happened inside Holmes' "Castle" but that's the fault of the historical record, not the author. I find Holmes so fascinating as such a fantastic example of a sociopath, in fact possibly the example people had in mind while defining a psychopath (later sociopath, later someone with Antisocial Personality Disorder.) In particular I find the glimpses at Holmes' thought process fascinating, through his own writings and his behavior when representing himself in court.
Of course, actually more interesting and useful than trying to understand Holmes is understanding how he got away with everything he did for so long. It's understanding the reactions of the people around him that is truly useful. To some extent, he wouldn't have been able to get away with as much today, since there is a lot more scrutiny paid to things like what someone's legal name is and how many women they are married to. Also what happens to people who mysteriously go missing. But I think the smaller one-on-one interactions in which people were inclined to trust Holmes because he was charming and confident are unchanged. Holmes was both a conman and a serial killer, which is particularly fascinating.
I don't really have any complaints, other than I want more detail about what happened inside Holmes' "Castle" but that's the fault of the historical record, not the author. I find Holmes so fascinating as such a fantastic example of a sociopath, in fact possibly the example people had in mind while defining a psychopath (later sociopath, later someone with Antisocial Personality Disorder.) In particular I find the glimpses at Holmes' thought process fascinating, through his own writings and his behavior when representing himself in court.
Of course, actually more interesting and useful than trying to understand Holmes is understanding how he got away with everything he did for so long. It's understanding the reactions of the people around him that is truly useful. To some extent, he wouldn't have been able to get away with as much today, since there is a lot more scrutiny paid to things like what someone's legal name is and how many women they are married to. Also what happens to people who mysteriously go missing. But I think the smaller one-on-one interactions in which people were inclined to trust Holmes because he was charming and confident are unchanged. Holmes was both a conman and a serial killer, which is particularly fascinating.
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