Little Demon in the City of Light: A True Story of Murder and Mesmerism in Belle Epoque Paris

Library Journal03/01/2014
Journalist Levingston's (The Kennedy Baby; Historic Ships of San Francisco) latest title is a fascinating and easy-to-read true crime story about a sensational murder connected with hypnotism in late 19th-century Paris.He weaves historical details of the grisly murder of a court official by a con man and his mistress, the discovery of the body, the worldwide search for the suspects, and the subsequent trial with background information about the rise of hypnotism in the scientific world. In the style of books such as Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City, Levingston's writing is entertaining yet informative, and clearly produced from years of research into Gabrielle Bompard, the woman called "The Little Demon" by the French press, and her lover/hypnotist, Michel Eyraud.