Rating: 
Summary: It is OK...
Review: Altogether I would call this an OK book. It is not fantastic, but it is not horrible either. The book was very slow and boring during the first 200 pages or so. And, in many ways, it was almost a chore for me to read it because I was so determined to get to an interesting part. Since the book was written first-person, you did not really get to know the characters very well. The book fails to take you away because it is so weighed down by historical. And though I LOVE historical fiction, the historical aspects of this book failed to flow with the plot. Probably the only part of the book that I would consider remarkable was the plot. Carr did an amazing job in the murderer's life and how technology, when it came to solving a crime, was still evolving. Only recommended if you have a LOT of patience and time on your hands.
Rating: 
Summary: Slow at first, but over all, very good
Review: I read this book last week, and I must say, it is probably the best book I have read in years, and the best book ever in this genre. Carr is an excellent historian, which makes the story very believable, however I would recommend either a large vocabulary or having a dictionary at all times. The only unappealing element is the fact that it is very slow at first... actually almost the first half of the book is slow, but it does establish a great background; other than that, an excellent read.
Rating: 
Summary: Well Done
Review: I don't know enough about the period that The Alienist is set in to know whether or not Carr's picture of New York at the time is accurate or not, but the important thing is that he makes the reader believe that it is. This book was very well written and it really makes the reader feel like a part of the story.A friend recommended this to me or I never would have read it. This book is definitely worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: The most incredible book I ever read!
Review: You can't put this down. I work right in the neighborhood where "Number 808" would have been. That made it doubly fascinating! You have to read this, it is so incredibly well written!
Rating:
Summary: CSI New York: 1896
Review: "The Alienist" could be the basis for the next CSI TV spinoff, "CSI New York: 1896." Caleb Carr gets great traction by turning back the clock. The historical setting and depth of research frames the novel; but it is the story that propels it. This is an intellectual pursuit, much like the CSI shows on TV as Lazlo Kreizler helps focus on the criminal by looking at what is known and projecting & testing new suppositions.
I found the myriad of issues that flavor the novel to be of equal importance. Themes of economics are explored such as the Santorellis living a very poor slum life in New York. Themes of rascism are explored as the attitudes of Rev. Victor Dury toward the American Indians and attitudes of New Yorkers toward blacks such as Cyrus, Kreizler's assistant. Themes of attitudes toward homosexuals are certainly detailed as the murders center around male prostitutes. Themes of sexism and gender roles are explored such as Sara Howard's wanting to be a police detective, but having to settle for being a secretary at the department. Themes of police abuse of power are explored such as the villain Connor who kidnaps or assassinates. Themes of economic power and clout were explored such as the forced meeting with J.P. Morgan. Themes of equal justice are explored as concern for even the least of society is demonstrated. All of these serve to give the novel an exquisite depth beyond just a thriller. I found the characterizations to be pretty good. I wasn't sure I really got to know John Moore, despite the story being told through his eyes. I kept expecting some romantic attachment would develop with Sara. I enjoyed the real life person of Theodore Roosevelt and his family being a character. I was particularly impressed how Carr is able to flesh out a pivotal but still relatively minor character like Adam Dury and make us not only know the history, but be touched by his life. Carr brings this full circle by having Kreizler give consideration to the impact of the way the plot resolves on this minor character's life. We all approach novels with expectations. I searched for & read this book because of a favorite Amazon reviewer. I was open to the material, hoping only for a good novel. Carr has delivered this, which is why this book continues to draw attention. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: murder, suspense, and psychology OH MY!
Review: This book was excellent. It sounds cliche to say that it was a page turner, but it definitely was that. I read the book in about three sittings. If the book had been slightly shorter, I can say that it would have only been one. This book has enough violence and gore to please any lover of brutality (it can get fairly graphic), but enough psychology for the intellects that might read this book. You truely feel like you are in 19th century New York. You get attached to the characters, and loath the people that instruct their investigation. A must read.
Rating: 
Summary: The Alienist has no clothes
Review: Do yourself a favor and read Mark Helprin's masterpiece Winter's Tale instead. I thought I was crazy when, 150+ pages into the novel, I still was waiting for it to begin. Then I read all the negative reviews here on Amazon and realized that, while I may be in the minority, I'm not alone. Mr. Carr has certainly done a multitude of detailed historical research - but his book fails as an engrossing work of fiction because it dryly parrots this research back at the reader with no discrimination, lending the novel a kitchen-sink textbook table-of-contents style. The cast of stock characters, unbelievable and wafer-thin, function solely as cyphers to Mr. Carr's meticulous and detailed research. The "mystery," such as it is, is fitfully told and secondary. Cut all the witless and style-less "research," and there's no "there" there. This novel has no soul, and no merit as a work of detective, historical, or even "beach-book" fiction. How The Alienist wowed critics and fans alike is the true mystery at this novel's center.
Rating:
Summary: Exceptional Novel
Review: The Alienist provides a tantalizing idea: an American Jack the Ripper. This one is set in the New York of the 1890's, and preys on young male prostitutes. Instead of Inspector Abberline, alienist Laszlo Kreizler, and New York Times reporter John Moore pursue him. This makes for a great novel, full of horrifying crime scenes, political intrigue, and enough plot twists to satisfy any Holmes, Dupin, or Poirot. It is also packed with details that do nothing to take away from the action. In fact, they recreate old New York before the reader's very eyes. And, on top of the vividly drawn fictional characters, you get Police Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt, reporters Jacob Riis and Lincoln Steffens, and banking tycoon J.P. Morgan. This is the ideal book for anytime, particularly on a visit to the Big Apple.
Rating:
Summary: Old formula, new clothes, it worked
Review: "The alienist" deals with a subject very explored in the story of fiction literature: serial killers. Of course, Caleb Carr was smart enough to perceive that, if he was going to write a novel on serial-killing, he would have to think of a totaly new plot, narration style, twists, characters, etc. OR... he could just write a completely average novel, disguising it in a very subtle and, why not say it, intelligent way. The disguise was the epoch the novel is set in: late XIX century. John Moore is the narrator of the story. He is a newsman, expert in crime stories. Also, he has some important friends: Laszlo Kreizler, a doctor enthusiastic with a new method of studying Man (psychology) and Theodore Roosevelt (the same), who, at the time, was Chief of Police Dept. in New York. They are all thrown together, in an unauthorized investigation (Roosevelt was attempting to "clean" NY Police Dpt. of corruption at the time), to catch the murderer of young boy-prostitutes. Though the story is sometimes painfuly slow and has very few and obvious plot-twists, I'm giving it a high rate because it managed to be an enterteinment all the time I was reading it. The characters could be better developed, but there are intelligent lines and situations. The best of "The alienist", however, is the description Caleb Carr makes of the New York of 1896. As always, we have to rely on the author's capability of putting his research into words (in fact, we have to trust the author's word that he has, in fact, done some research of what he's writing about), and in my opinion Carr does it in a direct and forward manner, making this book a simple and nice read. Although the ending was not to my liking (to sudden and undeveloped) I liked the rest of the book. But, come to think of it, I'm not willing to try (at least not now) Cale Carr's other book, "The angel of darkness", fetauring the same troupe of characters. If this one was formulaic, what can I think of another book with the same settings, characters, etc? Maybe I'll change my opinion later. Grade 8.5/10 (Just made 5 stars).
Rating:
Summary: Quite Respectable Historical Mystery
Review: Throughout the first half I was convinced this book would only rate three amazon stars (I was planning to review it even while reading it!), since it was ponderous and somewhat poky in pace . . . and stuffed full of minutiae from late 19th century New York in ostentatious demonstration of the author's obviously extensive research. But, as I hit the half-way point, the book picked up and I finally began to become absorbed in the tale and its characters. While initially just interesting constructs, the team of investigators finally began to live and breathe for me as they started to close in on their murderer and the puzzle began to seem solvable. There was, indeed, something hokey about the characterizations, as another reviewer has noted here. Roosevelt, for instance was a bit too caricatured (but what else is new?) and the local gangster leader and the role he plays rather unbelievable, while the assembled team of investigators were somewhat mechanical in their parts. But the setting, which seemed at first to be just too much lifeless detail to convince, did finally start to work its magic on me (perhaps it was the general accumulation of all that detail which I had found so annoying at the start). Although the reasons for the disinterest of the New York police in the murders at the outset, due to social stigma, etc., did seem a bit shaky, and the ending was a bit contrived, I read through the second half of the book quite eagerly which certainly indicates that Mr. Carr had me precisely where he wanted me! In sum this book managed to build up a head of old fashioned steam, leaving me with a vivid impression of old New York while keeping me guessing till the end. And that's what any good mystery is supposed to be about, isn't it? -- SWM
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