Quick review: "In the Garden of Beasts"

Erik Larson's "In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin" has been on the best-seller lists for good reason. It's a surprising tale of yin and yang set in Germany just as the Nazis were sweeping to power. 

I've been a fan of Larson's since reading "The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America," a terrific tale that blended a mass-murder mystery with the behind-the-scenes story of one of mankind's most impressive construction projects. It remains one of my favorite books, and I loved how Larson weaved two separate story lines into a common theme. 

Larson took that same approach with "Thunderstruck," which married a the pursuit of a high-profile murder suspect with Marconi's race to push a wireless radio signal across the Atlantic. "Thunderstruck" was interesting, but not as riveting as "Devil in White City." 

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