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

dark informative medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.25

This was hard for me to get into in the first 1/3 of the book, which is basically the background of the architects and the lead up to starting the building for the fair. There are three stories tangled together. The chapters bounce between the two main stories - the fair itself, and the story of H H Holmes, and the story of Prendergast just feels...out of place. It's tacked onto the end of some of the other chapters; the whole tale could take one chapter if filled with the writers flowery language and over-descriptive explanations. It feels like it was an afterthought... "Hey! it's kinda kooky...let's just squeeze it in here." 

I skimmed a LOT of pages about the architects, their gout, bad teeth, and overall poor health. Once we get to actually building the fair and such, it starts to pick up a bit. Once the fair is in full swing, things are interesting - the exhibits, the events, etc. And of course Holmes' story is interesting and could have easily been a separate book (which may have been a better idea than trying to meld the two). 
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