The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

This was another book club selection. We were supposed to read it in the month of October. However, I found it very difficult to get into it and to be interested. I think the main problem is that I was expecting this to be more about the devil/murderer (see the bigger font on the cover) and less about the white city (Chicago’s world fair), but it was completely the opposite.

It is not that the writing was bad or the information was boring. In fact, the descriptions were generally well done and I could “see” the white city come to fruition in my mind’s eye. I just didn’t necessarily care. I kept wanting to read more about the murderer or even why the boat captain refused to send Burnham’s message to Millett. The information about Holmes, the serial killer, was frustratingly minuscule compared to the mounds of data given about the fair. I felt like I only got tiny glimpses and no real story.

Therefore, it took me until now to finally wade through it and finish the book. I’m not sorry I read it. I’m just disappointed that it was not 2 separate books (or, rather, a book and a pamphlet).

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