Depraved: The Shocking True Story of America's First Serial Killer

I've read at least three books now from Harold Schechter, one about Ed Gein -- "Deviant" -- and one about Albert Fish -- "Deranged" -- and they were both very strong efforts, so I knew that I couldn't go wrong buying and reading "Depraved" -- a killer book about H. H. Holmes. Ahem.I also read the book "Devil in the White City" (DWC) a few years ago by Erik Larson, and of course, I can easily recommend it. However, if you're a reader of true crime, and in particular, into the serial-killer subgenre, there is one issue with DWC that simply can't be overlooked: it really seems to be more about the World's Fair in Chicago than about Mr. Holmes, AKA Herman Mudgett, AKA a-whole-lot-of-other-aliases-that-I-simply-can't-remember-right-now. Sure, DWC is a very good book, maybe even a great one. But after reading that I needed to find another book about Mr. Holmes that more thoroughly covers his life and his crimes.And "Depraved" sure fills the bill in that regard. And then some.I will write immediately that Mr. Schechter is quite the master storyteller. Was he around when Mr. Holmes was committing atrocities in seemingly every major US city? Of course not. But Mr. Schechter has a way of pulling in the reader in a way that the reader believes that maybe Mr. Schechter was, maybe even must have been. The attention to detail is pretty incredible and it must be the case that Mr. Schechter burns countless hours on research. But I'm not sure if the word "burns" is really fair because, after reading any of his books, I always feel that his effort was definitely worth it. I don't know if it always is for him but it surely is for us. Well, I don't like speaking for others so I'll simply write, "Me."While reading I constantly had a mental picture of what was going on streaming through my head as if I were watching a modern-day movie, maybe in black-and-white, but definitely in high definition. I literally could almost hear the horses clip-clopping down the roads, or the sounds of people having the times of their lives at the World's Fair. And yes, Mr. Schechter does cover that fair here and there but not too much; just enough to make us understand how Mr. Holmes' crimes fit into the context of the era and the setting.All was not just fun and games though like a carnival while reading. I will admit I did get nauseous at times, reading about the sociopathic and psychopathic crimes of Mr. Holmes. In particular, without giving much away, I really felt for the children he killed who were even more defenseless than the wife of one man killed by Mr. Holmes. Her story is as tragic as they come as well. I won't write much but there is a connection between that wife and those children, which makes her story even more tragic.When I read true crime, I'm always bouncing back and forth between my Kindle device -- for me usually an iPad -- and my browser -- usually Safari -- doing additional searches on people, places and things that I encounter. You might remember those things being called "nouns" back in Grammar School, if there is such a thing nowadays. I doubt it based upon the writing "skills" of most modern-day true-crime authors, outside of Mr. Schechter, of course. And there was no exception here. In particular I searched on the children that were murdered and stumbled upon some information about where they were buried, and even pictures of their headstones. That made the story come even more alive for me, which is of course more than ironic. But I would encourage you to do the same while reading since feeling empathy for the victims at least makes you feel like perhaps something good came out of something so horrible.Professor Schechter does it again with "Depraved." And I'm already contemplating what my next read in the true-crime genre will be, and don't be surprised if my next book review covers another one of his really strong efforts. I can't wait.

Love this author and his books so much! I always learn a few new words and can finish these books in a couple days because they are so good. I'm giving 4 stars ONLY for the fact the print is small and there is way too much blank space around the border of the text for my personal liking.

Brilliant read!!!Harold Schechter is my favorite author these days and this book is why.He talks about the serial killer H. H. Holmes and details what this monster did. Even though I knew who the killer was - I'd watched a documentary with Harold Schechter explaining what Holmes had manufactured, so I knew, I thought, everything about him - I was STILL constantly surprised by the revelations of this book! That is all because of the details that Schechter tediously supplied. Yet the read was not filled with meaningless clutter; every detailed added something to the overall tale.Holmes was, of course, a serial killer with an appetite for pretty women and money. He built a haphazard castle to carry out his deeds with as little outside knowledge as possible. The building served its horrific purpose. But the book covers more than just the gore. It covers Holmes's upbringing and defines what makes a psychopath.I cannot clearly define how Schechter makes the reader understand the gravity of serial murder, but he always does. You are magnetically pulled back to bygone eras as you delve into the lives and minds of the long deceased and often forgotten VICTIMS of serial murderers. Though you know who the killer is and what he will do, Schechter walks you through the moments of sobriety on the evening of the murder where, more often than you'd think, the killer and his victim share their last dinner together. You understand the loss of the parents that search for their lost child - no matter their child's age. And then you see the callousness of the killer who may greet the loved ones of those he just murdered.It is a study of humanity, the study of serial murder. It is a look into the unthinkable. And if you can stare the unthinkable in the face like the many police profilers of our day, then you may be able to prevent its proliferation in the future.A must read for any true crime enthusiast!!!

Like others who've commented here, I was interested in learning more about H.H. Holmes after reading Devil in the White City and this book was listed as a reference book so I was excited that it was available for Kindle. Although I read it cover-to-cover, this book has some challenges. The writing is lukewarm for me. There's a lot of "...and that was the last time anyone saw her alive!" type of thing. A bit overdone. It's definitely long winded in parts and especially in those parts, there are a LOT of editing issues. I found a lot of errors in the book, which may be from the translation from paper to digital. It seems like someone just used OCR to translate the text, so it was inaccurate quite a bit. One thing that comes to mind is that there are a LOT of instances where the word should be "him" but is "time" instead. And lots of sentences that repeat -- where it feels like there was some re-writing and the author forgot to delete the first draft.Over all, it's a good overview of H.H. Holmes, his crimes, and his victims. It's a lot of great info, but just a little rough getting to it.

Anyone who is interested in real life crime stories or serial killers will have heard of the infamous HH Holmes and his amazing building in America, the Castle. At the same period in time that London was anxious about the horrible crimes of Jack the Ripper, HH Holmes was also wreaking havoc in the USA. I had heard of "The Castle" and how he killed guests in it and that is fascinating but there is so much more to his story. I found the book so well researched and its a very complicated story. So hard to believe its real! The writer takes you through all the crimes and the subsequent enquiries and finally the court case. I learned so much. Will be reading this writer again as it was very well done.

Having read Schecter's books on Albert Fish and Ed Gein I was expecting a well researched and told tale and was not disappointed. The full extent of his crimes makes for gripping and unsettling reading, particularly when we get to the children. I don't think I've ever shouted at a book before but I did with this one!Holmes is largely forgotten but seems to be going through a bit of a renaissance lately with 2017's mad 'American Ripper' and disappointing 3 part documentary 'The Murder Castle' (actually so brief , abbreviated and cheaply made I imagined Holmes spinning in his grave if he hadn't already been dug up). Let's hope the Scorcese movie is better. This book would make for an excellent 2 or 3 season HBO (or Amazon) show.

Harold Schechter is fast becoming one of my favourite crime authors. The level of research and factual history in this book are truly astounding. But his forte here is to make the story 'happen' as a film would. We live the tale, we see it happen as it happens almost. It is a REAL page turner and I, for one, will seek more from this author.

The story of H.H. Holmes is interesting, but this book is not very well written. I would not recommend it, but did finish it.

A good read!