The CHIEF February 2019

Book Review

Book Review Devil in the White City By: Caitlyn Cotter

I know what I was expecting when I began reading The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson: just another crime story, full of fact after fact, with an author hoping and praying that the crime itself will be enough to make you continue reading despite the drab writing and overall dreary plot of the story. However, the main subject of the story, H.H. Holmes, is a pretty intriguing person, making the reader question the limits of humanity, morality, and evil itself. Furthermore, Holmes was not even the most exciting part of the book! Larson was able to get into the minds of people who lived over a hundred years ago as if he knew them personally. The book describes in detail not only Holmes’ story but also how hopes, dreams, and blood helped shape the city of Chicago and the United States as a whole. While reading the book, you learn so much and feel suddenly swept back into the Gilded Age and as if you understand the Era perfectly. Not only is the book filled completely with facts that you will not believe, but Larson also wrote in a way that makes you feel like you are turning the pages of a fiction novel: full of cliffhangers, emotion, and surprises. Even if you consider yourself an expert on Herman Mudgett himself (a.k.a. H.H. Holmes) and the Columbian Exposition of 1893, you will still love reading this book. Larson wrote in a way that people of all interest would enjoy and even if you aren’t a fan of crime fiction or of historical fiction, there is still a good chance that you will enjoy this book!