Very Detailed

Meticulously researched book, sets all the known facts out in great detail. Very much an unbiased account of the crime, arrest, trial and aftermath, author sets out no opinions of his own.
Narration takes some getting used to as the narrator puts the wrong emphasis on certain syllables and words in a strange way. However, perhaps it’s just an accent that I am not used to.

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3 people found this helpful

Amazingly researched and compellingly told

This has so much research done that the author could easily have gotten lost and written a piece of dry drivel facts. This is not one of those books. From the word go it is paced well and the narrator does a fantastic job of getting the tone for each chapter right. There was so much I didn't know, This book fills in lots of blank spaces and expands on facts that are commonly known. It's the perfect telling of a very disturbing piece of history.

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Indepth coverage if a well known story

I knew a bit about this case, as i enjoy true crime but this went into the background of the case in a lot of detail a lot of which was knew to me.

I have seen other reviewers comment on the narrator. He does have his own style but i didn't mind that and i certainly didn't find it too fast

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1 person found this helpful

Woefully 'unthrilling'

For the first time ever, I am unable to finish a book. The VO was alright, but definitely felt overly dramatic and mispronounced a few terms here and there, but the content of the book is the real problem. It was bad enough hearing unnecessary details about a football game prior to the murder, but that was only a taste of the off-topic information overload to come. Around chapter 7/8 onwards, you start to hear almost nothing about the case the book is apparently about! I don't need to know the extensive credentials and background of each and every lawyer, psychologist, and politician unless that information has some bearing on THIS case! If this was a fiction, a fairytale, perhaps I'd appreciate the detailed physical description of random characters, but given that it ISN'T, I don't need a detailed description of completely random, inconsequential characters from other cases! It got so frustrating, I couldn't even continue with the book as background noise while at work. Absolutely wouldn't recommend!

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Amazing story with roadrunner narrator

This is an amazing true crime book and an absolute must for everyone who is also interested in the history of law and it's developments in the 20th century. Very detailed and interesting on so many levels.

Mind you, I had to listen to it on 0,8 slowdown because the narrator, well, he is trying to break speed records left and right. The book is unlistenable at normal speed. This guy was really in a hurry to get it over with.

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2 people found this helpful

Excellent. Engaging

really great listen. well read. absolutely recommend. it's thorough and cover the crime in detail, and the psychology of the perpetrators. and in some ways a sad unrequited love story. one unanswered question is what happened the victim's family afterward. but really engaging and does the period in time justice too.

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Too much scholarship for an audiobook

The story is fascinating and I appreciate there is a need to set the background of the advocates, the prevailing political situation and the sparring psychological opinion BUT this took about 3 hours in the middle of the book. It needed editing down as in a book one can look back to remind oneself but in audio this is difficult. I almost gave up as for audio it disrupted the story.

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Interesting book

Interesting true crime book and well narrated. It was a sensational crime at the time. It would have been interesting to know if it had any effect on the US criminal process

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Detailed Research reveals Chicago in 1920s

I found this very compelling. The author has provided so much detailed information not just about the murder but about the history of Chicago in the 1920s, the development of psychiatry in relation to the mentally ill and the influence of Clarence Darrow, the great American lawyer. The link between the law and the corruption that reigned in Chicago during this period is covered in detail and there are examples of many other contemporary murder cases and their outcomes that are relevant to the Leopold and Loeb case.

The narrator does a sterling job - I found the ideal speed for me was 1:1. The clarity of the voice and its simple narration without too many inflections took a little getting used to, but it seems to ideally match the writing style. The writing itself seems factual, non-judgemental and objective. The author resists the urge to submit to sensationalism. Now and then he slips into a novelistic form, as though the writer knows what the subject is thinking or feeling - but I personally found this forgivable as the writer's restraint overall was impressive.

Terrific listen - I learned a lot!

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Good story but too much irrelevant information

Should have stuck to the story line and not added the unnecessary padding. Narration was clear and pace was comfortable listening.

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