If you are interested in the Hamilton/Burr duel-choose another title. The author may have misled people in putting duel in the title, but I won't quibble with much else. Enjoyable to see how a homicide was "investigated" ( practically not at all) and prosecuted in the days of early America. Sme folks complained that there was not enough to get a sense of the characters, but, considering how long ago it was and how little would remain of your average citizen- I thought he did a great job ( )

Well researched . A murder of a young woman and the trial of the accused murderer in 1799. Very good description of the way people lived in New York many years ago. ( )

In 1800 in New York City, a young woman mysteriously disappears from a boarding house where she lives with the owners. Days later, first her muff is found, then her body found in a water well. A young man, Levi Weeks, who was also a boarder at the house is accused. Levi is a young carpenter and the brother of a up and coming architect in New York. Ezra Week, the brother, is able to obtain three attorneys to defend Levi: Aaron Burr, Alexander Hamilton, and another well-known lawyer at the time. Although murder cases were not the specialty of Hamilton or Burr, both were somehow indebted to Weeks so they took the case.

The story is as much about the investigation, trial, and aftermath of the murder than about the relationship between Burr and Hamilton. Based on many notes and references, the story seems very factual. It reads like a novel. Especially liked the ending chapters that relate what happen to the various parties involved including the duel between Burr and Hamilton. Good read; would read more by this author. ( )

I enjoyed *Duel with the Devil*, Paul Collins' account of how Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr teamed up to prevent an innocent Levi Weeks from being convicted of the murder of Elma Sands in 1799. I appreciated the easy history lessons necessarily integrated into the story, though I should have liked to have learnt more about the process Hamilton and Burr used to discover the exculpatory evidence that led to Weeks' acquittal and to have been privy to how the great rivals divided up the courtroom responsibilities. The book's style was generally fluid, though occasionally stilted, and the structure sometimes a little choppy, but I recommend *Duel* for its unfolding mystery and for Collins' dedication to respecting the historical evidence available to him. ( )

Historical true crime is one of my favorite genres and when you have Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr teaming up for the defense, it seems like it should be a perfect set-up. This book is pretty good though I never got a great feel for the primary characters -- the victim and the accused. It does better in providing portraits of Burr and Hamilton, who were already legal and political antagonists even if they would team up on a case if paid to do so. The book is best at providing a portrait of turn of the (19th) century New York, when the commercial city was still the nation's capital and the country was mourning its first president. Recommended for those who are into that time period, or are already into historical true crime. ( )