I just finished reading a wonderful book called The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. It's not new, it was published in 2003, but it might be made into a movie sometime this year.
It's a non-fiction book set in the early 1890's, and it tells three interconnected stories:
1) Chicago architect Daniel Burnham's efforts to construct the World's Columbian Exposition (the White City of the title).
2) Patrick Prendergast, who bears certain resemblances to Charles Guiteau, but Prendergast's target is the mayor of Chicago.
3) A man calling himself Dr. H. H. Holmes, who operates a hotel some of whose guests "never thereafter were heard of again" (the devil of the title).
The stories would each be interesting in themselves, but they intersect in some fascinating ways.
Throughout the entire book there are wonderful little tidbits of history. For example, the designers of the exposition wanted to outdo the Eiffel Tower, which had been erected just a few years previously. The narrative of the man who achieved that and the way he did it form some of the most interesting passages; the author conceals the man's name early on so as not to give away the surprise (for those of us who didn't know the story).
BTW, a scene in Show Boat takes place at the Chicago World's Columbian Exposition. Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley make appearances in the book (so there's an Annie Get Your Gun reference).
And I was reminded of Sweeney Todd.
A lot.
