fascinating factual book

I've read about Holmes and his murder castle in the past and have watched quite a few documentaries about him too, the latest being The American Ripper in London, they all smacked of sensationalism with incredible hype that I wondered how on earth people believed any of it. This book was like a breath of fresh air, kept to the facts, which in themselves are bad enough, but also dismissed the absurd that was recreated in the tabloids at the time and which are still being repeated today. The author gave a good account of just about everyone that was involved so much so that I could picture them and even have an understanding of what they were about. There's no denying that Holmes was a scoundrel and more than likely a serial killer and this book lays out the facts to support all this but it also describes clearly the hysteria that became attached to Holmes and his resulting execution... (I'm surprised he wasn't burned at the stake to be honest). This book gave me the two subjects that interest me the most, history and crime, the descriptions of the time and places really made me feel I was there and the in-depth knowledge of how the tabloids and the court system operated at the time provided me with a better understanding of how Holmes became so infamous. The reader provided a voice that was easy to listen to.

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3 people found this helpful

Great book loved it

Good in depth book made me feel like i was there covered all the angles

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2 people found this helpful

Interesting and light.

Easy listen. Good level of detail. If you enjoyed 'The Devil in the White City' by Erik Larson then you may well enjoy this. Would recommend.

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Fascinating account of the infamous killer

Comprehensive examination of the life and career of America's first serial killer, using contemporary letters, documents, court records and newspaper articles. The book traces the infamous Holmes through several marriages, medical experiments and early attempts at insurance fraud, to the many individuals he may and may not have murdered.

Adam Selzer leaves no corpse unturned in this fascinating account of evil doctor HH Holmes. The details are at times gory, and include particulars of the deaths of several children, which some listeners may find upsetting. The author also has a tendency to repeat himself a little, though as the text runs to a smidgen under five hundred pages, it was useful to be reminded of earlier events and misdemeanours as the story came to its conclusion.

Selzer paints a thought-provoking portrait of Holmes, showing the many and varied versions of himself played out by the killer over the span of a relatively short life. While he was plainly a crafty individual, Holmes does not fit the usual criteria of serial killer and may have simply knocked off people who got in the way of his plans, rather than killing from a psychological or sadistic motivation. Nevertheless, some of his victims – such as the slaughter of several members of the Pitezel family – demonstrate a distinct lack of feeling for his fellow human beings.

A fascinating and well-researched book that will no-doubt sell in shed-loads when the forthcoming Martin Scorsese/Leo DiCaprio movie (The Devil in the White City) is released.

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4 people found this helpful

very boring book

this book basically takes the mystery of this famous house and spends the entire time explaining how it was completely wrong. He was far more boring than originally thought.

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