Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

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

16 reviews

wheelygoodreads's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

1.75

I almost put this book down multiple times, as it's very slow to get going, and even then only half of the story, the serial killer portion, was really keeping me engaged. 

Many parts seemed to drag on, no helped by the formatting—this book really could have used shorter chapters, rather than longer sections. Getting through this felt like work.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Murder, Racism, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Gore, and Torture

headachesince03's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative inspiring mysterious tense slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abortion, Alcohol, Misogyny, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Bullying, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Colonisation, Racism, Terminal illness, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Child death, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, and Murder

askxtine's review against another edition

dark informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

Very enjoyable non-fiction book! I liked how it bounced from the architects to Holmes. Those under watchful eyes and those operating in private. I also learned a lot about the Fair, America, etc. Lots of moments of surprise. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Medical content, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Gun violence

Minor: Racism

reddeddy's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Torture, Violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, Child abuse, Gore, Child death, Death, Drug use, Body horror, Confinement, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Infidelity

Moderate: Abandonment, Abortion, Animal death, Blood, Terminal illness, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Chronic illness, Classism, Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, and Gun violence

librarymouse's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

3.75

The literary descriptions and firsthand accounts of the fair, and the effort and love put into it's design and creation made me wish I could have attended. The detailed descriptions of Holmes' murders and his disarmingly charming personality made me glad that I was born over a full century after 1893. I like greatly enjoyed The Devil in the White City, the second half was a far easier read than the first. I'm not sure if I've retained as much of the information about the fair's designers and the events that took place while it was open as I wanted to. While interesting, the section about the initial design process and the political lobbying that took place in order to get the fair to occur in Chicago read similarly to a textbook, in stark contrast with the narrative way the rest of the history was told. Overall, an informative and interesting read. I would use enjoyable to describe the writing, but not the content.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Gore, Blood, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Suicide attempt, Abortion, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Suicide, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Terminal illness, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, and Misogyny

Moderate: Racial slurs

Minor: Xenophobia

lyssierose09's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Medical content, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Gaslighting, Gore, Kidnapping, Abortion, and Torture

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Misogyny, and Pregnancy