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Little Demon In The City Of Light: A True Story Of Murder And Mesmerism In Belle Epoque Paris (2014)

by Steven Levingston(Favorite Author)

3.39 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0385536038 (ISBN13: 9780385536035)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Doubleday

review 1: True-crime books tend to be lurid, which can be a reason to love/hate them. But put that true crime through the lens of history, and the inevitable separation of cultures caused by a 100 years of time passed, and the true-crime book becomes the otherworldly Gothic tale. I enjoyed this book, not just because Mr Levingston has gone to great pains to fill in every detail of the story of the crime, but because he has fleshed it out with wonderful glimpses into the society of the day. The element of hypnotism had a significant impact on the proceeding and outcome of the trial, and Mr. Levingston gives enough background into why it was so significant without derailing his story. All in all, this is a satisfying read for mystery fans and history fans, and especially good for love... morers of both.
review 2: This is billed as an historic crime thriller like The Devil in the White City. The old French case is interesting- a murder using hypnosis as a defense. Like many such stories, it suffered a bit by being padded to fill an entire book. Still, some of the events were fascinating, including the lengths that the detectives went to catch the criminals - spanning England, the USA, South America, and back to France. A tale from the era of the Guillotine. less

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