Just got back from Albany, New York in time to catch the 4th of July fireworks in my home town. Besides learning of my welt inducing allergic reaction to mosquito bites and the occasional airline delay, I must say that the entire trip was a fantastic overflow of comedic warmth, good food, and vodka.

My lady-friend of nearly five years has family residing in upstate New York (Ithaca and Albany). This was the third year in a row that they’ve invited me into their home where I was given better treatment than most boyfriends deserve. While the rain put our outdoor activities on hold, it offered the chance to simply relax and catch up on some historical reading.

It should come as no surprise that I enjoy murder stories with the backdrop of a hotel, and while I did read up on H. H. Holmes and watch a couple of documentaries on his twisted endeavors before writing my novel, I hadn’t yet taken the time to read The Devil in the White City. While I typically enjoy fiction, this historical piece is quite telling of the setting and scenario in which Holmes committed his crimes in his ‘castle’ of a hotel during the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893. The historical context did slow down the reading during the scenes of architectural complications, yet it shed light on numerous pieces of noteworthy cultural relevance. The depth was unlike any visual documentary I’ve stumbled upon and is well worth the read.