H. H. Holmes: The True History of the White City Devil

I must throw in my two cents here. Unlike many of the readers I find the relentless facts thrown out to be quite interesting. The way the author documents what is known about Holmes is excellent. I also agree with those who find his arrangement of these facts to be rather dry but at the same time I find them fascinating. One thing that does throw me, though, is that the author asserts from the start that Holmes did not kill nearly as many people as he is credited with, and later casts doubt on the fact that he could be considered a serial killer at all, and that furthermore when he threatens a man who had complained about debris from his building (Holmes had a pistol and a knife!) and was only saved by a policeman that this is "uncharacteristic" of Holmes. By this point in the book no less than five people had been killed by Holmes, and in its broadest definition serial killer denotes someone who kills either for pleasure or financial gain -- clearly Holmes was at least a sociopath, and the fact that he had no compunction about killing children leads one to believe he was no doubt a serial killer for all practical purposes. It seems the author strains mightily to demythologize Holmes to the point of trying to ignore the fact that he was pretty much a monster of sorts. Worth the read for anyone interested in Mudgett aka H.H. Holmes.

A boring collection of essentially footnotes. There is no flow or continuity or literary arc. Just a recitation of one-line newspaper accounts that may or may not be true. A good editor might have been able to rescue this mess but in its present form it is nigh well unreadable. A waste of time.

This is a great read. I had read enough about Holmes to know that Devil in the White City was greatly embellished (it's a great story, nonetheless), and then when Adam mentioned this book while my wife and I were taking one of his tours (the history of Graceland Cemetary - check it and his other tours out on his website Mysterious Chicago), I ordered it right away.It was fascinating to learn the real history of such a notorious figure, and how the legend of HH Holmes grew over the decades. This book also shows a fascinating glimpse of how journalism and police work was in the late 19th century. I highly recommend this book.

Extremely dry. Though this book is full of information regarding the life of the notorious H. H. Holmes, it is very boring and after struggling through half of it I lost interest entirety. It is straight forward and fact based, which is good for content but it was so dully presented as to be unreadable. It would be more suitable for reference material than entertainment.

Probably the best book out there on H. H. Holmes. Adam Selzer cut through all the malarkey and gets the true story out in a sensible way. I truly enjoyed reading it and am reading it a second time so I did not miss something.

Well written but a long and tedious read. If you really analyze, only about 75% is really related to the actual killings. The rest is filler, in my opinion.If you have insomnia and need to nod off....this is the book. Lots of detail and characters. Be prepared. You will end up knowing a lot more than you probably wanted to.

Selzer does a good job of laying out a timeline and the facts. So if you're looking for that, you'll find it here. Where the book came up short for me was in the narrative. It became tedious pretty quickly, especially if you've read on Holmes' story in the past. This book would be a good primer for anyone looking for an expository on the details and timeline, as opposed to all that but in a more narrative form such as Devil in the White City.

The story of HH Holmes will always gain the attention of those fascinated with the criminal history of Chicago, those who’ve read Devil in the White City, and those interested in the history of serial type murderers. Personally, as a Midwesterner with a coin from the World's Fair given to me by my father - I have always wondered how close his parents came to crossing the path of HH Holmes. With all of the legend that surrounds the Murder Castle, some well researched information about Holmes was very useful.this is a well reasearched book. On occasion, the writing got in the way of itself, but in general, it is a decent book about an important part of Chicago's history and Midwest history as well. I think sometimes the interpretation of that research got in the way as well, but not to such an extent that the book is not relevant to the subject. It is a pretty comprehensive look at what remains of HH Holmes, and my hat is off to the author for wading through a ton of Cook County Criminal Court records.

Not as entertaining as I thought it would be but I now know more about the so called house of death. just about a common thief and murderer.

Anyone who read and trusted the account in The Devil in the White City should read this. Everything you thought you knew about Holmes and the 'murder castle' is wrong. Brilliantly researched and compellingly written.

The product is perfect as a gift for my friend.

This book is certain to become the standard work about Holmes. Brilliantly (and even arduously) researched, and very well written. Highly recommended.

While there are so many stories about HH Holmes this one I liked because it does not make to many assumption. Other books have HH Holmes doing every unsolved homicide in the known world.