H.H. Holmes, hailed as America's first serial killer, haunted the streets of 1890’s Chicago and killed somewhere between 27 and 200 people, mostly single young women. Many of the murders occurred during the city's finest moment, the World's Fair of 1893. Erik Larson strikes a fine balance between describing the planning and execution of the vast fair and Holmes' relentless, ghastly activities. The passages about Holmes, both compelling and horrifying, are juxtaposed with the world’s fair's brilliant architect and overseer, Daniel Burnham. Burnham managed the thousands of workers and engineers and overcame devastating setbacks to pull the sprawling fair together on an astonishingly tight two-year schedule.