Rating: 
Summary: Yard Sale Book, Bought the 1st book 2 days later.
Review: I bought this at a yard sale for $0.50. I wanted something to read while waiting in line at DMV Monday. It was so engrossing, I missed my number being called! I had trouble putting it down and was sad when I reached the end & the 1st book, The Alienist hadn't arrived. I realize the book is VERY long, but it is VERY good. It is exciting! It is deep! It is historically accurate! It is very well written! It is engrossing to the point of provoking obsession in the reader! I can not wait until another book about these characters is written. The author ingeniously wrote from the perspective of one of the characters in a reflective story telling fashion and did not stray from that character's perception. He stayed in character for the >700 pages. Each character was well developed and full of human qualities. Each character was accurate for the setting. I usually stick with Robert Ludlum, Tom Clancy & Vince Flynn, the classics of western civilization and history/biographies. This was GREAT! You will enjoy it! It is disturbing. It can really conjure fright in your imagination while reading and give you a feeling of being one of the characters obserbing the whole story.
Rating:
Summary: A good follow-up to The Alienist
Review: I really enjoyed The Alienist, the first book by Caleb Carr about Dr. Laszlo Kreizler and his "colleagues". When I finished that story, I was very curious for more details. Angel of Darkness picks up soon after the previous case, and the action begins almost immediately. This story is narrated by the teenage Stevie Taggert, the street kid that Dr. Kriezler has taken in, and saved from a life of crime. A Spanish diplomat's child is kidnapped in public, and the mother sees her daughter a few days later on a train. She is not able to confront the woman, and soon enlists the services of Sarah Howard, who has started an investigation service. In a short amount of time, Sarah reassumbles the group and they pinpoint the suspect as Elsbeth Hunter. Yet, the deeper they dig into the woman's past, the more they discover of the hideousness nature of her crimes. With her many aliases, Elsbeth has traveled around New York kidnapping, and killing children. Like the previous book, there were some cameos with great historical figures. Teddy Roosevelt makes a special appearance, this time as the Assistant Secratary of the Navy. Another historical figure that plays a small part in the story is Clarence Darrow (pre-Monkey Trial) when he defends Mrs. Hunter (or Hatch, or Frasier, Franklin... whichever name she decides to use!). Carr is a gifted storyteller, and his books are hard to put down. I love the glimpses of early 20th century New York life. Stevie's narration of the story was a nice touch, and I appreciated seeing it from his vantage point. Other readers have said that this does not compare to The Alienist, but personally I thought it was a very good follow-up.
Rating:
Summary: The Angel of Darkness Evaluation
Review: I truly enjoyed The Angel of Darkness. I found the novel to be very interesting and suspenseful. So suspenseful in fact that at times I didn't want to put the book down. Caleb really out did him self in this novel, he took the book to a plateau of the dark underside of human psyche. Caleb was really able to show the madness and Macomb of the human mind. Caleb as well as doing that was able to throw some forensic science methods which at that time were just starting to become popular. Caleb's ability to tie those two components together is what really made me fall in love with this book. I recommend this book to anybody and on a scale 1-5 I give it a 7 it is amazing. By Matt McCallum
Rating:
Summary: The Angel of Darkness Evaluation
Review: I truly enjoyed The Angel of Darkness. I found the novel to be very interesting and suspenseful. So suspenseful in fact that at times I didn't want to put the book down. Caleb really out did him self in this novel, he took the book to a plateau of the dark underside of human psyche. Caleb was really able to show the madness and Macomb of the human mind. Caleb as well as doing that was able to throw some forensic science methods which at that time were just starting to become popular. Caleb's ability to tie those two components together is what really made me fall in love with this book. I recommend this book to anybody and on a scale 1-5 I give it a 7 it is amazing. By Matt McCallum
Rating: 
Summary: Grossly overwritten, not well planned, and disappointing
Review: I was excited to hear that Carr had revived the characters from 'The Alienist' in a sequel that, given the author's extensive knowledge of New York history, HAD to be informative at the very least. 'Angel of Darkness,' however, was a disappointment. Carr, again, demonstrates the strength of his research, but much of the novel focuses on setting the historical scene. There are cameo appearances of historical figures, which do not advance or enhance the story at all. Such useless sidebars end up making the author sound as if he is merely flexing his knowledge of New York trivia, and unlike 'The Alienist,' such showmanship comes off as merely pretentious. It also makes this book about 200 pages too long. The story itself drags. Very little is revealed of the central character of Libby Hatch after the first 100 pages. The main problem is the central thesis of whether or not women are capable of killing their own children. Is this really that hard to believe? Considering most people in the 1990s have heard of post-partum depression, or read news articles of women dumping their newborns, or are familiar with the huge number of infanticides throughout the world in cultures that value boys over girls, why is it difficult to believe that the murderess in this novel committed all her crimes? It isn't, and yet the author labors repeatedly over this issue.The story would be much less sloppy if Carr did not rely so heavily on cliched characters, dialogue and scenarios (though such cliches did help me finish the book faster, as I was able to accurately predict the outcome of most of the chapters, and hence, hastened my total reading time). I wish I had counted the number of times characters said something like "There was more we didn't know -- MUCH more."The final insult was the author's racist stereotypes (of all non-sequiturs) of an aboriginal immigrant from the Philippines. Initially described as some bizarre freak of nature, and subsequently forced to behave as the investigative team's trained monkey, his character is of no use whatsoever. Hence, Carr's inclusion of this 'pgymy' ends up being a mere freak show act for the purpose of ridicule.In summary, I felt like I was reading a gruesome Nancy Drew novel. The one thing about 'Angel of Darkness' is that it takes 600 pages for the author to accomplish what Nancy Drew can do in 150.
Rating: 
Summary: Plot flaws, but a page-turner
Review: I'd have to agree with an earlier reviewers comment that this novel contains some rather annoying plot flaws that defy belief; however, the novels characters are a compelling hodgepodge that make the novel a real page-turner. I could also do without the heavy dose of social moralizing that the author beats us over the head with. And sometimes the rhythm of Carr's style becomes rather distracting, especially when any narrative voice is involved. The dialogue between the characters is lively and full of wit. Lots of gallows humor, which is needed for such a dreadful tale of murder. Perhaps the plot flaws are a result of the novel being over 700 pages as it seems that Carr is paid by the word like Dickens,an author whom he clearly likes to imitate. If you can overlook the flaws, which is easy, you'll enjoy this thriller.
Rating:
Summary: His best work!
Review: In John Beecham (villan, Alienist) Caleb Carr presented a madman that murdered boy-whores because of his childhood context. In Libby Hatch (I didn't spoil it. It's on the back cover) he has created a villian that matches the detectives play for play. It's a year later. New York is still the seamy, dark, evil place it was in 1896. Doctor Lazslo Kreizler continues his work with children. John Shuyler Moore still works (and if fired frequently from) the New York Times. Sara Howard is running a detective service for women from the old haunt, Number 808 Broadway. This time, a woman comes to her, her child kidnapped. This woman is the wife of the Spanish ambassador. And incase you didn't know, the US was ready to go to war with Spain. Sara unites the entire group again, but this time, it is told through the eyes of the street-urchin Stevie, under employ with Kreizler. For those of you who have read the Alienist and were awash with all that psycho-babble, the Angel of Darkness may seem like a breath of fresh-air. They even leave New York! I won't tell you where, or for what reason. It'll spoil it. When I first read the book, I was enraptured by it's magic. And I know you will be too.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Good, Despite The Flaws
Review: It pains me to say anything derogatory about a Caleb Carr novel, as no one was more lavish in his praise of The Alienist than I was. First of all, while The Alienist was told by a journalist, this one is told by a former street urchin/hoodlum, Steve Taggart, nicknamed "Steve Pipe" for the weapon that saved him from being raped by a prison guard. It's a wonderfu idea to switch narrators, but it soon contradicts itself when Stevie says he's a simple man, so a simple way of telling things is the approache he'll take. Then he proceeds to write like Henry James channeling through Caleb Carr, using language and images that are far from simple. And the first several chapters are slow, over written, and the ending is a bit unsatisfying. All the said, there are still the marvelous Caleb Carr trademarks: the depth and breadth of New York society, complex plots, story twists and turns, and a feel that were are really there, walking down Broadway and riding through Gramercy Park and meeting another wonderful cast of characters. Like Robert Harris, whose brilliant Enigma was followed up by what I thought was a far inferior Pompeii, Mr. Carr has set his personal bar so high that matching himself is a great challenge. This book is long, detailed, will require some effort. But Caleb Carr's "B" game is better than many writer's "A" games, and when I finished, I would not have missed it. Just push yourself through the first few chapters and see if it hooks you like it did me and most of my reader friends.
Rating:
Summary: Inconsistently excellent--but recommended
Review: Mr. Carr's first book, THE ALIENIST, gripped me as it did most other readers. This sequel came close to doing the same but there were some jarring moments that took the pleasure out of it. For instance, I loved the choice of Stevie Taggert as the narrator for this installment because he was an interesting character in THE ALIENIST. The problem was that this semi-literate young man's writing style was just as professional as the narrator of the first book, the journalist John Moore. (For example, "The sunlight came in softly through big rectangular windows, reflected off ceilings and moldings what were also bright white, and also off the polished red marble floor. The wood paneling on the walls, by way of contrast, was dark and together with the arched doorways gave the place a kind of stately feel." Not exactly Henry James, but pretty accomplished given his background.) Also there are so many unnecessary cameo appearances by historical figures--Mrs. Cady Stanton, Clarence Darrow, Cornelius Vanderbilt II, Teddy Roosevelt (AGAIN!), Charles Delmonico, Albert Pinkham Ryder--the willing suspension of disbelief begins to strain. I guess Thomas Edison, Stanford White and Oscar Hammerstein were too busy to appear. Okay, enough with the negatives; I still recommend this novel. There is far too good a story here to be damaged by my previous criticisms. Libby Hatch is every inch a frightening villain as John Beecham had been in THE ALIENIST. Plenty of great twists and turns, and the scenes with the Hudson Dusters gang are first rate. If you get by some of what I've mentioned, you're in for a wonderfully suspenseful story!
Rating:
Summary: I thought it was a Masterpiece
Review: One of the few books I have ever read twice. It may get a third read soon. My only problem now is how do I go back to the tripe that somehow gets on those "best seller" lists.
It seems there was a small hint in this book that perhaps, we may have another in this two book series. In one of Stevie's lines regarding Sara Howard. It would be neat to have a book written with Miss Howard telling the tale.
Probably not for everybody but I would be surprised that very many would not find it an enjoyable read.
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