What I’m Reading

I just finished Devil in the White City.
My book club chose it for November and though it’s not the usual kind of book I read, I found myself hard-pressed to put it down. If you want a good example of suspense and carefully crafted storytelling, then read this book! Writer Erik Larson juxtaposes stories of the architects behind the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair and a deranged doctor who uses the World’s Fair to lure and kill his victims. Chapters alternate between these two parallel worlds just a few blocks apart, but I think readers will be most intrigued by the more macabre sections (but I’d recommend ending on a funny note before bed; otherwise you won’t sleep!).

I think a lot of novelists could learn something from the way Larson unfolds his story, parcelling out details one at a time so that the reader has time to process and come to their own startling conclusions (if he revealed the scope of these murders up-front, it would be too disturbing to read). It reads like a sensationalist murder tale, but it’s actually based on Larson’s meticulous research into the period (and the parts about missing children eerily echo the current news stories about Madeleine McCann). So, what should I read next?