Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Devil in the White City

This was my first read by Mr. Larson. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is amazing how much effort the 1893 World’s Fair took to bring to life against a multitude of obstacles. The viewpoint pivots between that of architect Daniel Burnham and one of America’s earliest serial killers H. H. Holmes (one of many aliases). I will not spoil anything by listing the numerous figures you will recognize in the tome or the invention that “out-Eiffeled Eiffel’s Tower” from the Paris World Fair.

Larson’s tone and style remind me of Kate Moore’s prose. The story is simply laid out for the reader in a narrative style instead of a typical drier nonfiction style. I find this type of book more my speed for nonfiction.

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clamduncan's review against another edition

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dark informative tense medium-paced

4.75

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robinwritesallthethings's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

5.0

What It’s About: This is a dual narrative detailing the execution of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair and the dealings of famous serial killer H. H. Holmes during the same time period. At first blush, the two topics don’t seem to go together, but it becomes clear throughout the story that Holmes likely wouldn’t have been able to accomplish everything he did in the city without the excitement and opportunities provided by the grand event.

Plot: Holmes is quite a well-known figure, but there is a lot of misinformation floating around about his exploits. This book is a very realistic accounting of his activities, leaving room for doubt where it’s necessary, but also speculating about moments no one possibly could have witnessed. While I thought I wouldn’t be as interested in the part about building the fair, I actually found it very compelling. Knowing all the facts, it’s shocking that there was ever a fair at all. It’s also apparent that Holmes’ portion by itself doesn’t actually take up much space. He was a consummate liar, so not a lot can be said about him that is verifiable. Adding the fair gives the history more weight and heft, and at the same time provides a necessary context for how Holmes escaped detection for so long. The advantage of combining both is also that they are complete, so there is resolution at the end of everything on all sides.

Research and Organization: The organization here is essentially chronological, and flips back and forth between the fair and Holmes when necessary to frame what he was doing while Chicago was focused elsewhere. Many primary sources are used and quoted, and when they are not available, copious research was used to recreate circumstances that were not observed.

Trigger Warnings: Because of the time that the book covers, you’ll encounter period-typical racism and sexism. There is a lot of poverty and general death, as well as the obvious murder because of one of the book’s subjects.

Final Thoughts: This was a more somber and less sensational true crime novel than others I’ve read, but ultimately, I feel like it worked. It was very informative, and sheds light on a crime spree that it’s likely just wouldn’t be possible today because of the way everything is connected.

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viaanne's review against another edition

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dark informative mysterious tense slow-paced

4.0

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emercedesrich's review

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dark informative medium-paced

3.0

There is a wealth of Chicago history here that's very compelling. However, I am not entirely sure why so much of the book is dedicated to HH Holmes. In his afterword, Larson explains that he believes putting this great evil next to great innovation reveals something about men's ambition, but I never found that connection organic or compelling here. The result is a book that feels out-of-date in its approach to the topic. I also think it's fair to say that men should probably not guess at women's final thoughts about the men who kill them, regardless of how much information and primary sources you have leading up to that final event.

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