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
Rating:
Summary: The first and best
Review: Caleb Carr's introduction to his motley crew of detectives is truly better than his later work, "Angel of Darkness." I found his descriptions of old New York thrilling and mesmerizing. Teddy Roosevelt as Cheif of Police--what a wonderful character! Kreisler, Moore, Steevie, Cyrus, and the awful, sad Beacham--you too will be engrossed by these people. Carr's nrrative style is somewhat choppy at times, otherwise this would rate 5 times.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't be fooled.
Review: The Alienist is one of the most overrated book in recent memory. Critics praised it for its intense suspense and great characters. They must have read a different book than the one I did, because I found very little of either in this book. In the end, the novel is a very disappointing read that I will easily forgot. New York, late 1800s. A serial killer is murdering your male prostitutes. And since the crimes aren't affecting the upper class, they have been ignored for a long time. Theodore Roosevelt, then the President of the New York Police, hands the case to a New York Times reporter and an alienist, both of whom he has know since his early college years. The men, with the help of a young woman who dreams of becoming a police officer and a few more men working underneath them, go about trying to solve the case that no one else has been able to solve by using new techniques in psychology and science. The book moves very slowly. Instead of giving intense scenes of suspense, what Carr gives us is scene after scene of our main characters analyzing and reanalyzing the madman's murders, trying to recreated the ways in which this man's mind works. True, there are a few chilling scenes. The murders themselves are quite gruesome. But I think that the horror level is downplayed because the murderer himself takes a secondary place in the novel. Carr isn't really interested in this man. He is more interested in giving his readers a historical account of the birth of forensic science, which could have been quite interesting had the author rememebered that he was in fact writing fiction. The book is well-researched and it does bring you right into the New York of the late 1800s. But that alone isn't enough to sustain the reader's attention for 600 pages. By the end, with its by-the-book and quite bland finale, the story didn't do anything for me. Maybe I didn't like the author's style (way too many scenes of psychological analysis, not enough actual detective work), or maybe the book was so hyped that I was expecting too much from it. Either way, The Alienist is far from being the great achievement in mystery writing some have made it to be.
Rating:
Summary: Cobblestone Streets and Horrific Murder
Review: The first review I ever wrote on Amazon was for "The Angel of Darkness", Caleb Carr's incredible sequel to this equally magnificent novel of a serial killer on the loose in turn of the century New York, and the dangerous pusuit of him by Dr. Lazlo Kreizler, his good friend John Moore, the way ahead of her time Sara Howard, law enforcement brothers Lucius and Marcus Isaacson, young street urchin Stevie, Kreizler's loyal servant Cyrus, and of course, police commissioner Theodore Roosevelt. These two books are wonderful historical mysteries with gritty and exciting storylines set in flavorful turn of the century New York. Carr does this better than anyone I have ever read. You can smell the wet cobblestone streets after it rains and hear the clip clop of horses pulling carriages under gaslights. "The Alienist" is dripping with atmosphere and the characters, both fictional and historical, are fleshed out and real, so much so that by the time we are done with this one and go to read "The Angel of Darkness" we feel as though we are visiting 'old friends'. When Lazlo's old friend Theodore Roosevelt is confronted with several 'boy [prostitute]' murders, so gruesome that even the most seasoned and hardened of professionals can barely stomach being called to the murder scenes, he makes a decision that will change the face of police work forever. He 'unofficially' let's Kreizler form a small group to pursue the killer through psychological profiling. Police secratary Sara Howard and crime reporter and best friend John Moore, who knows the underbelly of New York all to well, are two of the main players in this teriffically exciting mystery. Kreizler's servant Cyrus, and young Stevie, saved from the streets by the kind Kriezler's methods, also play a large part, as do the two police brothers Lucius and Marcus Isaacson, who use revolutionary forensic methods to help close in on a disturbed serial killer who's interval between killings is getting shorter. As they close in on who the killer may be and where he will strike next, by profiling him and understanding the impetus for his brutal crimes, the danger hits closer to home than any of our friends had expected. There are moments so exciting in this book that you just have to make yourself put it down, and the atmosphere is wonderful. We wish that we also could be there at 'Delmonicos' to eat and enjoy the atmosphere as our new found friends plan out their next move. I read the second book first and it did not lessen my enjoyment when I went back to read this one. They are equally good. Moore narrates this one and a young Stevie narrates the second, giving both these wonderful books a special flavor, and a very real insight into human, and inhuman behavior. There is tragedy and friendship in this mystery as well, and we come to love these people. Both books are long, "The Alienist" about 500 pages and "The Angel of Darkness" about 600. I kid you not, you will be sorry to turn the last page. This (and "The Angel of Darkness") are great reads and hold a special place among my books. If you love to read you do not want to miss this one!
Rating:
Summary: The Alienist
Review: I didn't pick up The Alienist having heard about it or wanted it beforehand- it caught my eye and I snatched it up. Only a few chapters into the book and I knew I had a new favorite, and for the next two days I didn't put it down. The Alienist is a superb novel; suspenseful and gripping and masterfully written. As a rule historical fictions aren't my thing, but the book violated that and now I'm irreversably hooked. ^.~ The characters are mesmerizingly portrayed, given a depth and humanity that I can't latch onto in most other novels, usually because they lack it. If you need a book to keep you up reading all night, the kind of page-turner you can't bear to put down until the next night, then go for this one.
Rating:
Summary: History, murder and the beginnings of criminal forensics...
Review: It actually took me a while to finish this compelling novel by Caleb Carr. I had trouble putting it down and I savoured every word. One very important aspect of this novel for me was the historical aspects of modern criminal forensics ie.,psychological profiling, dactology (finger-printing), hair and fiber analysis, the list goes on on and on. Carr does a spectacular job of creating believable characters set in late 19th Century period New York City, he paints startlingly accurate landscapes of poverty and wealth that took me to the streets of New York. Whether you are a mystery buff, a criminology buff, and/or a history buff this novel has it all. Read "The Alienist" and have Carr's "Angel of Darkness" ready to pick up when you are done.
Rating:
Summary: Crazy people in an old world
Review: Caleb Carr's The Alienist is an exotique novel. It is a mix between The Silence of the Lambs -- without such a poweful killer --, a bit of Henry James's early XX Century Fiction -- without too much social analysis --, and a bit of Agatha Christie's murder mistery stories. The Alienist is all of that, and none of that. Simply cassifying this as a thriller is not enough to be faithful to waht this novel is. The point that makes it differs from, say, The Bone Collector is the setting. Carr's novel could be like any other thriller, but it takes place in the late XIX Century NY, and things were different by that time. Well, not so different. There were young travestites hanging around, and psycho killers --despite not being called as that. The whole book revolves around a serial killer who is murdering male prostitutes. A group of high society people decide to investigate the murders and stop the killing. We must remember that by that time, the forensic techniques were starting to catch on, so most people didn't believed the man murdered by his mental reasons. The title alienist is Dr Lazlo Kreizler who is a friend of a journalist man -- the narrator. They go little by little discovering what happens and why it happens. There are no many clues and they still must face some factions of society who is trying to cover the murders because of its sexual and escandalous content. An there it goes: who is the killer and why. Carr's style is interesting, because he tries not to make a XXI century high speed thriller. And he gets it. Things happen on their own pace. The writing is in slow moting sometimes, what may demotivate the readers --myself included-- in some chapters. Nevertheless, the novel is interesting, mainly because of the well done research about the older forensic thechniques. There are some very graphic passages, but they are not very frequent, despite being desturbing.
Rating:
Summary: Dark chilling thriller
Review: Not the best midnight read, nor recommended for campsites, this novel is of limited long-range artistic significance, despite its gallant attempts to chronicle at some length the beginnings of psychological criminology. The serial killer is actually a composite, or an archetype--not too different from Freddy Kreuger of the Friday the 13th movie murders. His personality is pretty bad, but Dr. Laslo Kreitzler, the psychologist, is somewhat sympathetic. Mostly, he wants to catch him, to spare New York City of 1896 any further tragedy. But Kreitzler has enemies,the political establishment and mob thugs, who want to maintain the status quo and conceal the case from the city's poor immigrant population who might rise up in anger. The novel is filled with racism against American Indians, women, blacks, and immigrants. For this reason , it is a difficult and a depressing read. There is a certain amount of humour in the serial killer's defining characteristics, though the total atmosphere, described in some detail, is pretty bleak. Theodore Roosevelt, soon to be on the national ticket, at least sees the wisdom of enlisting Kreitzler's aid in catching the killer.
Rating:
Summary: Great book - highly recommended
Review: This is by far an awesome book - Carr's absolute best - I found this book completely enthralling, I could not put it down. The premise of the first serial killers crime spree, and the amazing tactics in which he is hunted keep the reader intrigued - however, I do forewarn - there are some graphic passages - but this is what makes the experience even more thrilling.
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