Rating: 
Summary: A sequel and a winner - a rare combination
Review: After the exquiste ALIENIST I was prepared for a letdown with this latest novel. We are again back in turn of the century New York City and the description is just as real as before. Only this time the cast of characters has been augmented by a servant boy who becomes the narrator. This gives the story a whole new twist.This time we are chasing a female criminal, an evil woman, and an apparent rarity in those days where women were viewed as the gentler sex. She is a cunning criminal with a first-rate mind that is always calculating the next move. Again we have the intelligent and beautiful Ms. Howard going where no woman has gone before. She is a modern woman for her times but never for effect. SOme reviewers have criticized the inclusion of "famous" people but this was accomplished with a subtle touch and therefore is perfectly acceptable. Again, one is mesmerized at the writing and description as much as the witty dialogue and swift action.
Bravo!
Rating: 
Summary: a woman's place in 1867 NYC
Review: Although this book is a bit of a laborious read at 750 pages, it is just as compelling as "The Alienist". The entire team of criminologists, led by Dr. Lazlo Kreitzler, is back. The atmospherics of 1867 New York City are back, as are the disreputable characters and gang members such as Stevepipe the narrator, the Hudson Dusters, the very poignant cocaine addict Kat (Stevepipe's girlfriend), the Filipino hitman El Nino, the civil war vet Micah Hunter, Hickie and his pet ferret, the more reputable prosecuting attorney Rupert Picton. The serial killer this time is a woman, Libby Hatch,with seductive eyes, every bit
as much of a mass murderer as John Beecham. In this case, she murders her own children, and also those she has cared for or kidnapped. Her problem is society's problem, namely that women are seen as nurturing mothers. Any other role is unacceptable,
as Dr. Kreitzler explains. But Libby is not a good mother. Failing to recognize this, she blames the children for their health problems, not realizing she is in fact poisoning them. She considers her role a selfless one and considers herself guiltless right up until her death, as does the Vanderbilt family. The wealthy, as in "The Alienist", want to ignore the crimes and keep the mass murders out of the newspapers. There
are mobs in upstate New York who recognize Libby as a killer but fear retribution from the Hudson Dusters, the New York street gang that protects her. We again have cameo appearances by famous individuals including women's rights activist Elizabeth Stanton, defense attorney Clarence Darrow, and Theodore Roosevelt. In this book, there is quite a bit of historical information regarding Spanish-American relations at the time of the Spanish-American War, but in the end, somewhat surprisingly, the initial kidnapping victim, Ana, daughter of the Spanish counsel, emerges unscathed from her ordeal. It's probably also worth noting that the Spanish counsel beats his wife, a common practice in 1897.
Rating:
Summary: Return to the dark psyche of 19th century New York City
Review: Angel of Darkness returns us to late 19th century New York, and the horrors that permeate the city. The same cast of characters is present, although this time, seen through the eyes of Stevie Taggert, a former street urchin. For those who read The Alienist, this is an enjoyable take on the familiar investigators. Stevie, his adult cohorts, and a trained ferret named Mike, track a female serial killer and bring her to trial in upstate New York. The soon-to-be famous Clarence Darrow is brought in by Cornelius Vanderbilt to defend the woman and the state of motherhood itself. Roosevelt makes a cameo appearance as does the Spanish-American War. New York City is as finely rendered as before, you can feel the menace as the sleuths stalk the streets, trying to find the next child to die, and uncovering the stories of the children killed before her. However, the story does not flow as inevitably as the first story- the hunt for the serial killer John Beecham. This story has a forced feel as if the author were consciously trying to top the last novel- to work in more horror and more famous characters. That criticism aside, this is an entrancing story, well worth the readers time. And with all the vices it reveals, it shows us that there is nothing new under the sun. Our societal problems today are simply the doomed repetition of the history we have forgotten
Rating:
Summary: a disturbing book but good nonetheless
Review: As I am an extremely timid person, this book left me feeling rather disturbed and frightened. However, I will not hesitate to say that ANGEL OF DARKNESS was a good book. Stevie Taggart's lively narration kept the lenghty story moving at a lively pace. Although the sight of a thick 700+-paged book may seem intimidating, I had no trouble finishing the book and stayed up late to finish it. Once you get involved in the plot, you will find the book difficult to put down. The book deals with the actions of a dangerous woman, Libby Hatch (who also goes by many other names), who killed her own children, many infants in the hospital she worked at, two husbands, a lover, a contractor who remodeled her house, and countless others. The team, including Dr. Lazlo Kreizler (the alienist and psychologist), Stevie Taggart (the narrator, a boy the Doctor saved from prison), Cyrus (another man saved from prison from the Doctor), John Moore (a Times journalist), Sara Howard (an independent female detective), and Lucius and Marcus Isaacson (two brilliant detective sergeant brothers), are on a search for Libby's past. According to the Doctor's theory of "context," each person's actions can be explained, although not necessarily excused, by his/her childhood. So, the team goes on a wild chase through the state of New York to try to uncover details of Libby's past that will help them understand her actions and help them save an unfortunate child who has fallen into Libby's hands before Libby decides to do away with the child as she has done many times before. The plot is intriguing; the dialogue is intelligent as well as often humorous; the book is, overall, a success! However, for those of you who enjoy savoring the pages of the book for days after and having a great deal to reflect on, this book is not exactly the book for you. After reading it, you will not think about it for days or feel as if you have learned a profound lesson. You will have gotten a few days of entertainment, that's all. In other words, although I enjoyed the book, I do not feel as if it has touched a part of me inside or left me much changed. It has not occupied my thoughts for days after. It is one of those books that you enjoyed but could have done without, if you know what I mean. But to those timid beings out there who are much like myself, I would suggest that you make a decision between reading the book (which will lead to nights of fear of the darkness as you picture the face of Libby Hatch and her evil yellow eyes) and leaving it on its shelf (as well as missing out on an interesting novel).
Rating: 
Summary: "Darkness" Engulfs
Review: Caleb Carr's "The Angel of Darkness" concerns itself not only with its central plot twist--the daughter of a foreign dignitary is kidnapped in New York City in 1899--but with questions of social justice and the role of women at that time. His skillful writing helps him to pull this all off, but "Angel" asks two questions key to the mystery: Why do we assume that women are nurturers and men are not? And how damaging is this assumption not only to society but to individual men and women? The villain is Libby Hatch, a woman with a string of catastrophes behind her, who kidnaps the daughter of a Spanish diplomat in the turbulent time preceding what will become the Spanish-American War. The desperate mother, denied help by her husband, seeks the services of Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, the "alienist" who has aroused the support and antagonism of so many authority figures in New York for his work with troubled children. Kreizler himself is in political hot water: an accident at the institute he runs has resulted in an investigation into his workings there, and he himself is prohibited from setting foot in the place for sixty days. That gives him plenty of time to head the search for baby Ana, and I can't reveal more of the story without having to unravel the entire plot. Suffice to say that all of the original characters from "The Alienist" return, and this time the story is told from the viewpoint of Stevie Taggert, Kreizler's 13-year-old ward. Carr does bring the dives and slums of New York to life; you can almost taste the noxious concoctions served up at the child-bars and brothels (buttered rum, cocaine shavings and benzene should have killed its consumers well within a year) as well as smell the odors (Hickie's flat, crammed with animals, made me gag just to think of it). But all of it is delivered in a pseudo-dialect that is just ungrammatical enough to sound like a poorly-educated adolescent. To be fair, it's a good "voice" and it enhances Stevie's credibility. But for myself, I found reading "Angel" a second and third time harder because I kept noticing the dialect instead of the story. The story will sound more than familiar to fans of true crime, particularly the Diane Downs case. That doesn't make it any less chilling. Nor does Carr let the reader forget his central premise of wrongful assumptions and spiritual damage. At points in the book, it feels as if the author wants to pound it into his readers' heads with a sledgehammer. But what truly makes this story work is Libby Hatch herself, a woman capable of extremes that will take your breath away. Carr does her a disservice by the cliched mode of her death--but Libby is a standout villain, someone who is neither entirely evil nor as good as she'd like others to think. If you're at all interested in Diane Downs, whose actions helped to inspire Carr's novel, I recommend Ann Rule's "Small Sacrifices" to read in tandem with "The Angel of Darkness." You will not regret the experience.
Rating:
Summary: Worthy Sequel to the Alienist
Review: Caleb Carr's book the Alienist was one of the best books of the nineties, a wonderfully evocative detective novel that took place in 1890's New York. The premise of the book: that a very diverse and unusual group of detectives would be recruited by New York City's new Police Commissioner, Theodore Roosevelt, was a bit of a stretch, but Carr made the characters so interesting it wasn't important that improbability was outweighed by entertainment.
In this second installment, Roosevelt's in Washington, serving as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and even Dr. Kreizler is somewhat annoyed by Roosevelt's attitude toward the Spanish and the possibility of war. Things are complicated when the wife of a Spanish diplomat approaches one of our band of detectives, the redoutable feminist investigator Sara Howard. Her daughter has been kidnapped, and her husband beat her when she announced that the child must be found. As if this isn't enough, there's an investigation into Dr. Kreizler's hospital, and as a result he's been ordered to stay away from that institution for two months.
The whole story is recounted by Stevie Taggart, and (as others have noted) this leads to the novel's few difficulties. The grammar is somewhat eccentric, and I liked the one criticism that this book is written as if an educated person was trying to sound ignorant. Stevie is an interesting character, though, and his viewpoint is fun, if the voice isn't completely convincing vernacular-wise.
Carr keeps the plot rocketing along, and there are some interesting diversions along the way. In addition to Roosevelt (who makes a cameo late in the book) we meet Elizabeth Cady Stanton and a young Clarence Darrow. We also meet a pair of interesting characters who are fictional: Rupert Picton, a prosecutor, and El Nino, a pygmy from the Philippines who's skilled with poison arrows and interesting throwing knives.
I enjoyed the book, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in historical books or detective novels. Though it does have a few faults, it's still an entertaining book.
Rating:
Summary: Another good story
Review: Carr once again does a great job at transporting the reader to a very believable depiction of New York around the turn of the century. While I don't think this was quite as good as The Alienist, it is still very good. The characters and dialogue are both interesting and well written. The biggest problem that I had with this book was Stevie using "what" in place of "that". If you liked The Alienist, I'm sure you'll enojoy this as well.
Rating:
Summary: It's not 'The Alienist'...but it remains entertaining
Review: Few books that have come across my way have been as thoroughly engrossing as Caleb Carr's 'The Alienist,' easily one of the premier fiction thrillers in recent history. The story's poignant characters, great atmosphere and exciting pacing made it a must-read from start to finish. 'The Angel of Darkness' (AOD) is not The Alienist. I found this second book akin to motion pictures with a solid premise that try to unsuccessfully stretch a good idea way too thin by means of a soft sequel. The result? An end-product that feels like proverbial skim milk when you started with a gallon of pure, whole milk upon first idea conception. The characters from The Alienist carry AOD, but do so without the zeitgeist and flair from the first effort. The ending is rushed, the antagonist non-believable, and the middle 1/3rd of the book akin to delving through literary molasses. Arguably the only character that truly advances in AOD is Cyrus Montrose, who ironically has the most minimal presence in the book of all the returning entities. John Moore, Lazslo Kreizler, Sara Howard, the Isaacsons, Theodore Roosevelt and the narrator, Stevie Taggert, all lack the enthusiasm and individual character nuances axpressed in The Alienist. Another reviewer noted this same point, likely attested to the change in narration from Moore to Taggert. I believe that a sound assessment. The book's most endearing character is a new entity, in District Attorney and Moore ally Rupert Picton. If you are reading this review you're likely a veteran of The Alienist curious if AOD is 'up to snuff' with a true fictional masterpiece. The answer is unfortunately, 'no.' However, the chance to revisit with Carr's lovable ensemble, even on a lesser level, is a must for any Alienist veteran. Thus, sometimes even skim milk is worth consuming--simply to taste the milk again.
Rating:
Summary: A fantastic tale of the brutality of human kind
Review: First off, I should say that Angel of Darkness is not as enthralling and engrossing as The Alienist, but that's okay. It's still one heck of an effort and I seriously doubt that Carr was *trying* to outdo The Alienist given the fact he has tentative plans to carry on the narrrative of Stevie, Cyrus, Jon Schuyler Moore, Sarah Howard and the Isaacson brothers in each of their voices (excepting Moore's and Stevie's of course) in subsequent tales and novels -- yahoo! With that said, Angel is one wicked read. I particularly enjoyed the social commentary on the times and Carr's deliberate attempt (I think) to mirror contemporary society. I was constantly remarking to myself all along that exactly nothing has changed in the last 100 years, except perhaps scientific and popular advances in the solving and acceptance of, not to mention desensitization to, violent crime. Mass murderers always were and always will be. It's not a question of how or even if they're committing their crimes, but how justice is or is not served. In this context, I think Angel is as much a scathing commentary on the practice of putting the victim on trial rather than the accused, as it is a fantastic, historical tale. The one test I use to measure a book is whether or not I can bear the thought of putting it down. Angel failed this test miserably. While I was at work, I wished I was reading it. I stayed up late, skipped meals and even said no to Must See TV, but it was all well worth the sacrifice. Angel of Darkness definitely deserves a spot on any history-loving, mystery-loving, thriller-loving person's top ten list for 1997. Heck, top five. The only thing I had a bit of trouble getting used to was the narrator's voice. Stevie can be annoying at times and was just a little too keen on describing what everyone was eating (maybe just a pet peeve of mine), but you'll find he grows on you and for the last couple hundred pages it really didn't matter who was narrating the tale. Buy Angel of Darkness now (c'mon you know you want to 1-click it!) and if you haven't read The Alienist -- what are you waiting for?!? Start there and then come back. You'll thank me for it.
Rating:
Summary: great until the end
Review: Having read The Alienist (a must if you want to read this book), I was excited to see where the characters were. The book was great and I was completely into the story of Libby Hatch, a sadistic woman who is kidnapping and killing children. Carr only lost me with the ending. The perfect example of a deus ex machina, I was rather dissapointed. To have followed the book all the way through only to be presented with a substandard ending was a let down. But I would still recommend this book because the concepts it presents are still very interesting.
|
