The author of DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY takes on another suspenseful double history in THUNDERSTRUCK, which intertwines the stories of the notorious murderer Hawley Harvey Crippen and the obsessively single-minded, Nobel prize-winning inventor of the wireless telegraph, Guglielmo Marconi. As in his other best-sellers, Larson proves adept at bringing both technological and sociological histories to vivid life with a generous amount of extrapolative detail and a keen sense of pacing.
A vivid portrait of the Edwardian era recounts two parallel stories--the case of Dr. Hawley Crippen, who murdered his wife and fled the country with his mistress to build a new life in America, and Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor of wireless communication--as the new technology is used to capture a killer. 300,000 first printing.
A vivid portrait of the Edwardian era recounts two parallel stories--the case of Dr. Hawley Crippen, who murdered his wife and fled the country with his mistress to build a new life in America, and Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor of wireless communication--as the new technology is used to capture a killer. 300,000 first printing.
Review 1:
"[This] curious matchup is perfect for Larson, whose THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY also combined true crime and a history lesson to bloodcurdling, best-selling effect."
August 21, 2006
Review 2:
"Larson has a knack for creating genuine suspense in his writing, and his latest is thoroughly enthralling." (starred review)
July 1, 2006