Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America

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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misssleepy's review against another edition

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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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pupsandpancakes's review against another edition

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adventurous sad tense fast-paced

4.0

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sandysawmill's review against another edition

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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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siu_rose's review against another edition

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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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amriherd's review against another edition

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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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mmp1002's review

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dark informative tense slow-paced

3.5

Larson does an excellent job in making the reader feel as the architects and engineers do. Perhaps too good of a job, as the first two-thirds dragged.

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