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

3.87 AVERAGE

stargirl221's review against another edition

4.0
I think this would've worked better as two separate books

kambrialedesma's review against another edition

2.0
DNF after about 70%- the parts about the serial killer were good, but the rest was way too slow. You could not pay me to finish this book.
I mean, you could…. But it’d have to be at least 50 bucks.

hipposcree's review against another edition

4.25
medium-paced

shaymore's review against another edition

1.0
This book ugh. I don't know if it is because I was listening you it or what. I couldn't finish. I dreaded reading it. Didn't finish and don't care to
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cecinator20's review against another edition

4.0
dark informative mysterious slow-paced
Tried to read this a number of years ago and couldn’t get into it (I think I got it confused with The Last Days of Night) but I’m so glad I gave it another shot! At times it feels like Larson wrote a Chicago architecture book and a true crime book and just interspersed them. The linkages between the two threads are not as strong as I was hoping, and it was going to be a strike against the book until I read the Acknowledgements and about how Larson did his research and how he wanted to stay true to what was most likely to be true (specifically on the Holmes/murder castle side), and ultimately I respect that and realize he couldn’t force something that wasn’t there.

If you’re really into US history and architecture, you might find the true crime half too gruesome or scandalous. If you’re there for H. H. Holmes, you might get bored by all the details of funding and building a fair. But if there’s a chance you might vibe at the intersection, it’s a well-researched, well-written romp through a small era of Chicago history!

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desert_side_notched's review against another edition

5.0
challenging dark informative

mgraciosa's review against another edition

3.5
dark informative sad medium-paced
Woof. The story itself is both disturbing and illuminating. 
I thought there would be a stronger intersection between Burnham and Holmes besides the fair itself. I also felt that some context of the fair might have been missing- like the displacement of people who lived in Jackson Park before the fair and the kidnapping and subjugation of people to be exhibits at the fair.

tessatabea's review against another edition

4.5
adventurous dark fast-paced

mirna34's review against another edition

4.0
dark informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

littlestbookstore's review against another edition

This book has gotten so much hype over the years that I think it was inevitable that I ended up disappointed.