lakecake's review against another edition
4.0
The trial of Roland Molineux in 1899/1900 was really a precursor to the sensationalistic crime obsession that would only continue to grow throughout the 20th and into the 21st century. In his way, Molineux was the Paris Hilton of his generation, famous for his upbringing of privilege and the fact that he didn't do too much with it (although to be fair, at least he maybe killed someone...Paris not so much). The look into the criminal proceedings at the turn of the last century is encouraging and scary at the same time: encouraging for what has changed, and scary for what hasn't.
Schechter has clearly done his homework. His tone is familiar without being distracting; he never injects himself into the story, and he wisely saves his opinion of his subject's guilt or innocence until the notes portion.
Schechter has clearly done his homework. His tone is familiar without being distracting; he never injects himself into the story, and he wisely saves his opinion of his subject's guilt or innocence until the notes portion.
elceew's review against another edition
3.0
I don't even think I'll be able to finish this book. I love true crime novels but this one just won't end. Normally, that would be a good thing in an interesting book but I find myself bored with the writing and the excessive details. More than once I have thought to myself, "I should just go google the end of the trial so I don't have to read this book anymore..." I haven't completely given up yet but up until this point (about 60% through), it's not looking good.
klnbennett's review against another edition
3.0
Comprehensive and well-researched. This story was perfectly readable, but I found it lost quite a bit of intrigue early on. Pretty much as soon as the murders were committed the suspense seemed to dissipate completely.
rachelgertrude's review against another edition
4.0
Not only a very interesting story, but told in a quite engaging way. Despite the fact that this is a pretty long book, it was a page-turner for me! I will definitely seek out this author again because the pacing, storytelling and writing were so appealing.
jakobmarleymommy's review against another edition
4.0
***WARNING*** This review contains MANY SPOILERS!
I hesitate to call a book about murder by poison enjoyable, but this book really was. It read like a novel, and had so many twists that I really wasn't quite sure where we were going to end up.
There weren't a lot of likable personalities in this book, which one would expect, being a book about murder. The General was very likable, if a bit naive in his unfailing trust of his son. For me, the most unlikeable personality was Roland's wife, Blanche. She was clearly manipulative, insincere, untruthful, melodramatic, and looking out only for herself. While the same could easily be said of Roland, he also had documented mental illness, while not excusing his actions, at least provide an explanation.
Was Roland guilty? I believe that based on the evidence provided by the author, that yes, he was very clearly guilty. I concur with the author's opinion that it was really the General who was found not guilty at Roland's second trial. The jury just didn't have the heart to convict a man who had been so admirably and unquestionably supported by his Civil War hero father.
One of the things I enjoy reading about in crimes of this era is the battle between the NYC newspapers, and this book did not disappoint. If we think our modern media is obtrusive and biased, we should really take a look back at the war between Pulitzer and Hearst. They went to absolutely insane lengths to sell their papers, truth be damned.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in true crime, the gilded age, and the battle of the titan NYC newspapers.
I hesitate to call a book about murder by poison enjoyable, but this book really was. It read like a novel, and had so many twists that I really wasn't quite sure where we were going to end up.
There weren't a lot of likable personalities in this book, which one would expect, being a book about murder. The General was very likable, if a bit naive in his unfailing trust of his son. For me, the most unlikeable personality was Roland's wife, Blanche. She was clearly manipulative, insincere, untruthful, melodramatic, and looking out only for herself. While the same could easily be said of Roland, he also had documented mental illness, while not excusing his actions, at least provide an explanation.
Was Roland guilty? I believe that based on the evidence provided by the author, that yes, he was very clearly guilty. I concur with the author's opinion that it was really the General who was found not guilty at Roland's second trial. The jury just didn't have the heart to convict a man who had been so admirably and unquestionably supported by his Civil War hero father.
One of the things I enjoy reading about in crimes of this era is the battle between the NYC newspapers, and this book did not disappoint. If we think our modern media is obtrusive and biased, we should really take a look back at the war between Pulitzer and Hearst. They went to absolutely insane lengths to sell their papers, truth be damned.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in true crime, the gilded age, and the battle of the titan NYC newspapers.
bev_reads_mysteries's review against another edition
3.0
Better pacing would have helped this book immensely. But overall--very interesting and a good look at one of the early crime sensations of the 20th Century. Well-researched.
franfernandezarce's review against another edition
4.0
i'm very glad i did not succumb to my usual bad habits and google this case before finishing the book.
this book was quite entertaining. or as entertaining as a murder story could be. perhaps engaging would be a more suitable term--specially if you do not know what happens at the end with the main suspect.
disclosure, it did feel a bit heavy-handed with all the details. i keep thinking it could have been shorter yet i can't pinpoint where exactly i would have edited out some information. even more so, the mere sight of 89 chapters might scare some people. it certainly felt daunting for me at the beginning. however, the chapters are quite brief and there is such a large cast of people involved in this story that something was constantly happening.
there is a reason why harold schechter is considered a significant voice in the true-crime world. i will be picking up another of his books in the future.
this book was quite entertaining. or as entertaining as a murder story could be. perhaps engaging would be a more suitable term--specially if you do not know what happens at the end with the main suspect.
disclosure, it did feel a bit heavy-handed with all the details. i keep thinking it could have been shorter yet i can't pinpoint where exactly i would have edited out some information. even more so, the mere sight of 89 chapters might scare some people. it certainly felt daunting for me at the beginning. however, the chapters are quite brief and there is such a large cast of people involved in this story that something was constantly happening.
there is a reason why harold schechter is considered a significant voice in the true-crime world. i will be picking up another of his books in the future.