A good writer is a good seducer, hooking the reader from the start with the promise of a rewarding adventure ahead. Writers of long narrative nonfiction, like Erik Larson, face the added challenge of captivating readers who may know little or nothing of the subject and justifiably ask, "Why should I care to read 400 pages about this?"

How Larson makes his readers care from the outset about the elements of his superb historical bestseller, The Devil in the White City, is masterful. The book is also a primer on how a good storyteller uses a sharp eye for color and detail, fictional tools and tight writing to keep a book-length narrative moving briskly.