Rating: 
Summary: Great-IF YOU HAVE INSOMNIA
Review: The storyline sounds fascinating..you try and try to get caught up in it but the book is way too too detailed & extremely slow moving, I found myself nodding off a few times & stuck on the same paragraph. If you have trouble sleeping this is the book for you. A waste of time and money.
Rating: 
Summary: REALLY WELL-THOUGHT OUT, CLEVER, INGENIOUS, EXCITING
Review: Very good twists and clues, smart characters, lively dialogue, characters I cared about, interesting adventures, and ingenious workings of New York City and Theodore Roosevelt. I would recommend this book highly.
Rating: 
Summary: heavily padded, amateurish, lacking characterizations
Review: It seems all too clear that Carr's main interest is in recreating life in turn-of-the-century New York City. Page after page, we are told not only what it is like outside and inside a given building, but what the building was used for 20 years, 40 years, 60 years... etc... before! Characters are undeveloped; the "heroes" are unheroic underdogs, and the "mystery" is solved by blundering, and ends in a preposterous movie-type chase and standoff... just like the next novel that followed. I managed to read it and its sequel, but I can't imagine ever re-reading either one.
Rating:
Summary: This book has a life of its own inside the pages
Review: At first I was sort of worried about starting such a long book. I guess I'm a "short-book-reader", But once I got into this book I was sucked in by the unbelievably realistic characters. I recommend this book for someone who likes to read books that contain more than just a story!
Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't put it down!
Review: This was one of our book club's selection and although I wasn't excited that we were reading it I just couldn't put it down! Well written, certainly compelling but very grisly. Our book club discussion also touched on the female detective on the NYPD back in a time when that was quite unusual.
Rating:
Summary: Technically Interesting, Story-Wise a bit flat
Review: After reading some of the reviews, I would agree the characters are very flat and uninteresting from a personal standpoint. They are never really developed in any manner where you feel any sort of attachment w/them. Also, true interaction w/the murderer never happens until the very end (which by the way, takes an awfully long time to develop), and at that point he/she comes across in many ways as the LEAST interesting character in the book. However, the book has some strong good points. I thought Carr did an excellent job painting the scenes of "turn of the 20th century" Manhatten (one of the reasons I bought the book)and technical accounts of crime investigation during that time period seemed thorough and interesting. Also, the dash of historical figures like JP Morgan and Theodore Roosevelt were for me entertaining. The psychiatry mumbo-jumbo was not earth shattering or enlightening. Overall, if you are looking for a real suspenseful grabber this one is not going to do it for you like Silence of the Lambs. But as a casual book to read for an hour or two on a plane flight or before bed I couldn't say you'd be wasting your money. Just get the paperback...or go to the library. Happy Reading!
Rating:
Summary: BRILLIANT!!!!
Review: Although it has been some time since I first read the Alienest, having just completed reading the follow up (The Angel of Darknesness) I felt compelled to leave a coment not on just the books but on the author as well. Caleb Carr is a brilliant writer. With his rich attention to detail and his wonderful band of characters! A MUST read for anyone who loves an OUTSTANDING novel. Very well done Mr. Carr!!
Rating:
Summary: Started good, ended boring
Review: I was convinced to buy this book (big mistake) by the cool, mysterious, photograph on the cover and by the huge words "..New York Times Best Seller List..." along the cover. The first few chapters were ok I guess, I was hanging in there hoping for something more. I read each chapter, hoping for some substance to be added, only to be disappointed each time. I have to agree with a lot of people that the characters are sooo DULL and unbelieveable. I didn't care at all about any of the characters. By the time I finished it, I didn't care who lived or died. I just wanted to finish the damn thing then throw it away.
Rating:
Summary: If you liked the Alienist, you MUST read Scarlet Women
Review: Scarlet Women, by J.D. Christilian is just as captivating and similar in style to the Alienist. I would highly recommend this book for fans of The Alienist
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down!
Review: I must admit, I originally purchased this book in late 1995 while boarding a plane for an 8 hour flight. I don't know if it was stress or what, but I must have read the same 5 pages over and over. When I reached the destination, I just put it away. About a month ago, I was in search for a good read.. and I picked it up again. Needless to say my children and husband were neglected for the entire weekend and I finished reading one of the best books I have ever read. I was a little disappointed at the ending- thinking Ok- now what? Well, I am now about 250 pages into the Angel of Darkness-- and finding the answers. A terrific read. Bravo Caleb Carr!
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