Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
The Case of the Murderous Dr. Cream
The Case of the Murderous Dr. Cream: The Hunt for a Victorian Era Serial Killer | Dean Jobb
A tour de force of storytelling. One of the best books Ive read this year. Dean Jobb breathes new life into Cream's victimswho they were, where and how they livedall the while blending in thorny issues of policing, of the fictional detectives being created, of the other serial killers on the loose. This book is both chilling and thrilling. Louise Penny, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Chief Inspector Gamache series When a doctor does go wrong he is the first of criminals, Sherlock Holmes observed during one of his most baffling investigations. He has nerve and he has knowledge. In the span of fifteen years, Dr. Thomas Neill Cream murdered as many as ten people in the United States, Britain, and Canada, a death toll with almost no precedent. Poison was his weapon of choice. Largely forgotten today, this villain was as brazen as the notorious Jack the Ripper. Structured around the doctors London murder trial in 1892, when he was finally brought to justice, The Case of the Murderous Dr. Cream exposes the blind trust given to medical practitioners, as well as the flawed detection methods, bungled investigations, corrupt officials, and stifling morality of Victorian society that allowed Dr. Cream to prey on vulnerable and desperate women, many of whom had turned to him for medical help. Dean Jobb transports readers to the late nineteenth century as Scotland Yard traces Dr. Creams life through Canada and Chicago and finally to London, where new investigative tools called forensics were just coming into use, even as most police departments still scoffed at using science to solve crimes. But then, most investigators could hardly imagine that serial killers existedthe term was unknown. As the Chicago Tribune wrote, Dr. Creams crimes marked the emergence of a new breed of killer: one who operated without motive or remorse, who murdered simply for the sake of murder. For fans of Erik Larsons The Devil in the White City, all things Sherlock Holmes, or the podcast My Favorite Murder, The Case of the Murderous Dr. Cream is an unforgettable true crime storyy a master of the genre.
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
Pick icon
100%
review
Monica5
post image
Mehso-so

I didn't know rather to pan this or so-so it. I ended up with a so-so, solely based on the beginning and last part. The middle really drug for me.

But, I got one book done for the #Mskoolreadathon

EKonrad Agreed! 👍🏼 2y
Monica5 @EKonrad I thought it would be a lot better than it was 2y
EKonrad Me too! So disappointing! 2y
13 likes3 comments
blurb
Monica5
post image

I feel like I am not making any progress with this book. Yesterday, I was so busy. Planning today, after church, to do nothing but read☺️📚☺️

17 likes1 stack add
blurb
Monica5
post image

The iron door of the Illinois State Penitentiary in Joliet groaned open and spat a haggard-looking man into the world he had left almost a decade earlier.

#FirstLineFriday
@ShyBookOwl

blurb
Monica5
post image

Got another Libby book in that I have had on hold for a while. Starting this afternoon. I love True Crime books. Hopefully, I won't be disappointed.

emz711 how is it? 2y
Monica5 @emz711 I am not very far, just to chapter 5, but so far it's interesting, though some parts, I think could have been left out. 2y
16 likes2 comments
blurb
Monica5
post image

1. My parents and grandparents. They all read.

2. The above book is on my borrow list from Libby (less than 2 week wait). Author I have to read no matter what is Jeffrey Deaver, Megan Miranda, and Allen Jacobson, plus many more.

3. Nope. Just read whatever I want.

Want to play @Andrew65 @Clwojick @StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego @bluetomtraubert @RamsFan1963

Andrew65 Thanks for the tag 😍 2y
11 likes1 comment
blurb
NikkiRobson73
post image

Does anyone else get excited when you see your hometown in a book? I do ! This one took me by surprise though! This is a true crime story set in the late 1800s that I never heard of before and never thought my town would be connected...if anyone loves Victorian true crime this book is for you.

60 likes1 stack add
review
RamsFan1963
post image
Pickpick

This will probably be my last book for 2021. I've never heard of Dr. Cream, but his story is as horrifying and tragic as the more famous tale of Jack the Ripper. Poison was Dr. Cream's weapon of choice, and he preceded to kill at least nine women in the United States, Canada and Great Britain. 4 🕵️‍♂️🕵️‍♂️🕵️‍♂️🕵️‍♂️ 1/2

Andrew65 Fantastic 👏👏👏 2y
BayouGirl85 There was a woman I think I Italy who sold things to woman to kill their husbands under the guise of something goods medicinal wise 2y
See All 6 Comments
RamsFan1963 @BayouGirl85 Had Cream not been a doctor, he would have been caught sooner. Of course, since he was a doctor he was trusted, came from a "good" family with all the right credentials and licenses. Victorian attitudes blinded them to the evil he was committing. 2y
TheSpineView Awesome! 2y
DieAReader 🎉🎉🎉 2y
54 likes1 stack add6 comments
quote
RamsFan1963
post image

The iron door of the Illinois State Penitentiary in Joliet groaned open and spat a haggard-looking man into the world he had left almost a decade earlier.

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

LoverOfLearning Woah! Just added this to Libby. I work in Joliet and live 30 minutes. There's so so so many stories about the prisons here yet I'm always suprised and fascinated when I hear a story from there. 2y
44 likes1 stack add1 comment
blurb
RamsFan1963
post image

It's interesting with the book you just finished(The Art of English Murder) and the one you just started mention the same thing. Detective Fever was a thing for the Victorians who were fascinated by murder and solving the crimes.

review
Brewychock48
post image
Pickpick

I really liked this book. It was well written and an easy read.
This so called Dr. was scary and got away with murder because of so many mistakes made by Scotland Yard.
He reminded me of Jack the Ripper. I wonder if he looked up to Jack the Ripper, as Dr. Cream's victims were similar to The Ripper's victims.
I highly recommend this book

review
KateD1
post image
Pickpick

It‘s not really a hunt, more like an anthology of his life and crimes. But still, I had never heard about Dr Cream before and loved the writing style.
#truecrime #serialkiller #victoriankiller

review
FelinesAndFelonies
post image
Pickpick

Another truth is stranger than fiction book that also takes place in Illinois. 🤔 Dr. Thomas Neill Cream is a medical doctor with an impressive knowledge of poisons. He also seems to have an enthusiastic appetite for prostitutes. From Canada to the US to England, everywhere Dr. Cream goes, dead bodies follow. I really enjoyed the story and the author's attention to detail. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

80 likes5 stack adds
review
Hooked_on_books
post image
Pickpick

In the late 1800s, Dr Thomas Cream murdered people, mainly women and mainly by poisoning, successively in Canada, the US, and England. This book tells the story of his crimes and his fate. It‘s told in a nonlinear fashion, which is a little odd, but it didn‘t diminish my enjoyment of the tale and it was easy to follow.

MatchlessMarie I keep hearing great things about this one 👏 2y
52 likes2 stack adds1 comment
blurb
quirkyreader
post image

Home sick from work today. So I was bad and watched two horror movies and working my way through this.

everlocalwest Sounds like a nice recovery day! Hope you are feeling better. 3y
quirkyreader @everlocalwest it kind of was. 3y
27 likes1 stack add2 comments
blurb
mdemanatee
post image

An entertaining enough listen from when I was in a bit of a slump (at this point I think the heat is driving a lot of it.) It sometimes felt like it lacked narrative propulsion but was very interesting. And somehow we still managed to show up in Chicago for a bit.

review
RainyDayReading
post image
Mehso-so

A narrative non-fiction regarding Dr.Cream and his inclination towards murder. The subject of the book was interesting and I was surprised I had never heard of him before. But the structure of the book was a bit confusing and I found myself losing steam halfway through. It‘s not told in chronological order,instead jumping around through Cream‘s life. If the story hadn‘t done that,I might have enjoyed it more. @TheAromaofBooks #bookspinbingo

catiewithac Bummer. I was looking forward to this one. 3y
RainyDayReading @catiewithac You might enjoy it more than I did! Usually jumping around in time doesn‘t bother me, but for some reason it did with this one. Could just be the writing style. 3y
TheAromaofBooks Great progress!!! 3y
27 likes3 comments
blurb
quirkyreader
post image

Just started this ARC today.

33 likes1 stack add
review
EKonrad
post image
Mehso-so

I thought I'd love this combination of history and true crime, but the story structure just didn't work for me at all. Have seen other good reviews of this, so maybe it was just me! ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #arc

Full review at: https://erinkonrad.com/2021/07/17/the-case-of-the-murderous-dr-cream-book-review...

blurb
BookishMarginalia
post image

This looks like a very interesting book! https://apple.news/AZ_FQemv0THOjyWtkFWvDQA

#BookExcerpt

Monica5 Yes, it does😊 3y
53 likes2 stack adds1 comment
review
TorieStorieS
post image
Pickpick

This #NonFiction read caught my attention right away- & I really didn‘t expect a local connection- my mother recently moved to Belvidere where Dr. Cream was first convicted of murder! Narrative nonfiction that reads with all the fast pacing of fiction, this is a fascinating historical true crime that reveals the many advantages the criminal mind had-& how his own ego & greed allowed justice to eventually prevail… Thanks to @AlgonquinBooks !

56 likes4 stack adds
blurb
WanderingBookaneer
post image

This book has a blurb by Louise Penny:

“A tour de force of storytelling. One of the best books I‘ve read this year. Dean Jobb breathes new life into Cream's victims—who they were, where and how they lived—all the while blending in thorny issues of policing, of the fictional detectives being created, of the other serial killers on the loose. This book is both chilling and thrilling.” —Louise Penny

49 likes2 stack adds
blurb
quirkyreader
post image

#bookmail. This was a surprise. Thank you @AlgonquinBooks

LeahBergen I‘ve been eyeing this one. 3y
quirkyreader @LeahBergen I‘m looking forward to it. 3y
27 likes3 stack adds2 comments