{"schema_version":"bf_book_companion_v1","release_id":"20260414T161624Z","book":{"amazon_purchase_url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/1400080673?tag=bookfrontier-20","asin":"1400080673","authors":["Erik Larson"],"book_id":"9781400080670","canonical_url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781400080670","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781400080670.jpg?v=20260414T161624Z%3A2026-04-14T16%3A16%3A24Z","description":"NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An “irresistible” ( The Washington Post ) true story of love, murder, and the last moments of the “great hush” before wireless radio connected the world, from the renowned author of The Devil in the White City and The Demon of Unrest “Gripping . . . an edge-of-the-seat read.”— People In Thunderstruck, Erik Larson tells the interwoven stories of two men—Hawley Crippen, a very unlikely murderer, and Guglielmo Marconi, the obsessive creator of a seemingly supernatural means of communication—whose lives intersect at the turn of the twentieth century during one of the greatest criminal chases of all time. Set in Edwardian London and on the stormy coasts of Cornwall, Cape Cod, and Nova Scotia, Thunderstruck evokes the dynamism of those years when great shipping companies competed to build the biggest, fastest ocean liners, scientific advances dazzled the public with visions of a world transformed, and the rich outdid one another with ostentatious displays of wealth. Against this background, Marconi races against incredible odds and relentless skepticism to perfect his invention: wireless communication, a prime catalyst for the emergence of the world we know today. Meanwhile, Crippen, “the kindest of men,” nearly commits the perfect crime. With his superb narrative skills, Erik Larson guides these parallel narratives toward a relentlessly suspenseful meeting on the waters of the North Atlantic. Along the way, he tells of a sad and tragic love affair that was described on the front pages of newspapers around the world, a chief inspector who found himself strangely sympathetic to the killer and his lover, and a driven and compelling innovator who transformed the way we communicate. Thunderstruck presents a vibrant portrait of the era of séances, science, and fog, inhabited by inventors, magicians, and Scotland Yard detectives, all presided over by the amiable and fun-loving Edward VII as the world slid inevitably toward the first great war of the twentieth century.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9781400080670","publication_date":"20070925","publisher":"Crown","slug":"thunderstruck","subtitle":"","title":"Thunderstruck"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"TRU002010","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Serial Killers","score":0.7473,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"FIC031020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Historical Thrillers","score":0.7449,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"TRU002020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Mass Murder Cases","score":0.7434,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"hint":[{"bisac_code":"TRU002010","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Serial Killers","score":0.7473,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"FIC031020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Historical Thrillers","score":0.7449,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"TRU002020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Mass Murder Cases","score":0.7434,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"BIO015000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Science & Tech Pioneers","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS037070","confidence_band":"high","label":"20th-Century History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"TEC056000","confidence_band":"high","label":"History of Technology","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"Serial Killers","score":0.7473,"slug":"serial-killers"},{"label":"Historical Thrillers","score":0.7449,"slug":"historical-thrillers"},{"label":"Mass Murder Cases","score":0.7434,"slug":"mass-murder-cases"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers who enjoy Serial Killers","Good for readers interested in book club","Good for readers who enjoy Serial Killers and Historical Thrillers."],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Kate Summerscale"],"book_id":"9780593653630","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780593653630.jpg?v=20260414T161624Z%3A2026-04-14T16%3A16%3A24Z","score":17.1747,"title":"The Peepshow","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780593653630"},{"authors":["Michelle McNamara","Gabra Zackman","Gillian Flynn","Patton Oswalt"],"book_id":"9780062319791","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780062319791.jpg?v=20260414T161624Z%3A2026-04-14T16%3A16%3A24Z","score":17.1611,"title":"I'll Be Gone in the Dark","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780062319791"},{"authors":["Maggi-Meg Reed","Valerie Bauerlein","Random House Audio"],"book_id":"9780593500583","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780593500583.jpg?v=20260414T161624Z%3A2026-04-14T16%3A16%3A24Z","score":17.1463,"title":"The Devil at His Elbow","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780593500583"},{"authors":["Gregg Olsen","Karen Peakes","Hachette UK - 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