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Chicago, 1893. The world's fair dazzles millions. The city gleams. And just a short ride away, a charming young doctor runs a hotel with a very dark reputation.
That man was H.H. Holmes. In The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson tells two stories in one. The first follows architect Daniel Burnham and the race to build the World's Columbian Exposition. The second follows Holmes, who used the crowds, the chaos and the flood of new arrivals to hide in plain sight.
Larson writes nonfiction like a thriller. The pacing is quick. The setting feels alive. You watch the fair rise, plank by plank, while something sinister takes shape in its shadow. Many of Holmes' own claims have been questioned over the years, so the book's pull comes from the gap between the glittering spectacle and the menace beside it.
Why did so many people vanish without anyone noticing? How did one man stay ahead of suspicion for so long? The answers unfold slowly, and you will want to keep turning pages. Ready to start tonight? Check out the book on Goodreads and find a copy wherever you buy your books.
