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angus_mckeogh's review against another edition
2.0
Just fair. I was thinking it'd be intriguing, mysterious, and detailed. It ended up being none of those. The mystery was over early on. The intrigue lasted about a chapter. And the detail was mainly quotes from tabloid newspaper which ended up being unreliable and incorrect for the most part.
redrobot's review against another edition
4.0
Loved it. Great story that is part true-crime, part journalism history in late 19th century New York city.
g2pro's review against another edition
3.0
Another murder mystery in the vein of Erik Larson's books.
duparker's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars. I had high hopes for this book. I saw it as one that I longed to read and was happy to crack it open. I was drawn in by the title, and just as you can be misled by above the fold headlines on a newspaper I was misled here.
I thought this was going to be more about the murder, than the newspaper world that feasted on it. I like Collins as a writer and find him normally to do a good job in telling the story. Here I didn't find that to be the case. I am sure there is some photographic evidence that could have been provided to add to the story, and I think that a nice addition would have been to clearly introduce, in separate chapters, Hearst and Pulitzer, to give the background that was missing from the story.
This book was in the right direction, but missed its mark.
I thought this was going to be more about the murder, than the newspaper world that feasted on it. I like Collins as a writer and find him normally to do a good job in telling the story. Here I didn't find that to be the case. I am sure there is some photographic evidence that could have been provided to add to the story, and I think that a nice addition would have been to clearly introduce, in separate chapters, Hearst and Pulitzer, to give the background that was missing from the story.
This book was in the right direction, but missed its mark.
ali_enza's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed reading this book. It had some beautiful insight into the media (past and current) and into crime investigation. It really wasn't as described on the back of the book because it didn't follow three characters on their way to solving this murder of the century. The book clearly depicted everyone who helped on the case, from getting clues, offering rewards, actual arrests, jury and judgement. Because it followed the actions of so many people, over the course of months, it did occasionally get confusing. I wasn't always sure who I was following, because the perspective would change mid chapter (and not always as clearly as I would've liked).
I enjoyed that the book took us clearly from the finding of the body all the way to the end results of the trial. It really did make me appreciate how police methodology has changed drastically over time and how much science has progressed as a tool. I also really enjoyed the look into the media wars of the time. It is impressive what the media can do (and still does) to make a case important and noticed. It's crazy what they can do about jury selection, since everyone following the media will automatically have a bias is their news has a bias.
The book was great look into a brief period of history characterized by change.
I enjoyed that the book took us clearly from the finding of the body all the way to the end results of the trial. It really did make me appreciate how police methodology has changed drastically over time and how much science has progressed as a tool. I also really enjoyed the look into the media wars of the time. It is impressive what the media can do (and still does) to make a case important and noticed. It's crazy what they can do about jury selection, since everyone following the media will automatically have a bias is their news has a bias.
The book was great look into a brief period of history characterized by change.
ekb523's review against another edition
2.0
Interesting story, but it just didn't catch me the way I thought it would.
stevenyenzer's review against another edition
3.0
Entertaining and enlightening portrait of New York City in the Gilded Age.
jkn303's review against another edition
3.0
Well written, interesting story. Some parts seemed extraneous and didn't really add to the story making it a bit long.