The Alienist

Rating:
Summary: You'll be up till the wee hours with this one...
Review: The first time I'd read this book, I'd stay up so late that my eyes would be watering... But I couldn't put it down! Caleb Carr has produced an incredible read for those who enjoy mystery... and even more so for those who don't need the "hand-holding, shout out the clues forshadowing with which many mystery authors insult their audience. Mr. Carr knows how to write an intelligent, well thought out novel which keeps you guessing until the very end.

I have picked up MANY copies of this book, and have given them to friends and relatives - all of whom loved it and ended up giving copies to the people they know. I hope you, too, find this book to be one of those you talk about well after its been read.

Rating:
Summary: Historical fiction, great characters, with serial thrills
Review: Carr weaves an excellent story in this novel. He chooses early 20th century New York and Roosevelt as his setting, and proceeds to tell a story of a serial killer, a genre that is very popular, but he does it with a bit of a twist. He uses an ensemble cast, Teddy R., and two detectives bringing forensics into a US investigation (in use overseas at the time, but not accepted in the States yet).

The book is also full of entertaining references; how the Brooklyn Dodgers got their name, J.P. Morgan's financial empire, etc.

Anyone who enjoys period novels, mysteries, or serial killer stories should love this book. Go get it!

Rating:
Summary: Just a great historical crime novel
Review: Although I am a huge fan of The Big Three of American hardboiled detective fiction (Hammett, Chandler, and Ross MacDonald), I am not an avid fan of detective fiction as a whole, I found this to be an utterly first rate book on several levels.

On one level, it is a just a very fine crime novel. The crimes are disturbing and vivid, their investigation and resolution plausible and engaging, and the impediments put in the way of the solving of the mystery completely satisfying.

On another level, this is a very fine historical novel. Carr has a keen sense of the New York in the 1890s, and does a magnificent job of bringing the reader into a world that really no longer exists. The buildings, the restaurants, personalities, and the city itself are rendered vividly and convincingly. Although I enjoyed the mystery, I believe that I enjoyed the historical aspects of the book even more.

Rating:
Summary: Very interesting history in a fictional novel
Review: Carr did a lot of research for this fictional mystery/detective/historical novel set in New York at the end of the 19th century and it makes the very interesting and well written serial killer/murder mystery that is more than meets the eye. I learned a lot about the period and was intrigued by the descriptions of the times; the gangs, cops, the rich and poor, the drug use, the prostitution, and the lack of so many "rights" that we take for granted today.
The story itself is basic; bodies start showing up with similar causes of death. But how such things are dealt with in the 1890's is nothing we are familiar with in today's world of crime fighting. Carr brings in a great cast of characters to solve the crimes, a writer (the story is told from his point of view), his friend and mentor "The Alienist" himself (for more about him you'll have to read the book!, it's worth it), a female protagonist with her own set of problems for the day, a set of brother detectives that are ahead of their time and Stevie, a young man taken in by the alienist who will go on to "write" from his point of view another Carr book, 'The Angel of Darkness', which is also a good read.
If you enjoy mysteries and adventure and don't mind that some of the descriptions are a bit graphic you'll find this book a real treat.

Rating:
Summary: Alienist is a great read!
Review: A friend of mine suggested I read this book when it first came out. I borrowed the book and then never read it. I wasn't interested. A couple years later, I did. Man, did I wish I'd read it when I'd first had the chance. I usually read biographies, but this made me broaden my horizons.

Carr has faithfully recreated New York City just after the turn of the 20th century. He fills his work with believable characters and action. He throws in a few historical events to allow his book to read like non-fiction and then provides us with a serial killer mystery that keeps you guessing and turning the pages.

It's not War and Peace folks, but it is a darned good read. I didn't think I would like the idea of a period serial killer story with an antiquated Quincey on the job - but I did.

Find time to read this book. You won't regret it.

Rating:
Summary: so intriguing...
Review: This was the sort of book I felt sad to finish and I don't say that often. It is very involved and very descriptive, which I can see that some might find cumbersome, but the author really sets the tone of turn of the century New York which I found incredibly interesting. Such a good story also and really enjoyed the characters. I was thrilled to learn there was a sequel and am hoping that it is as good as 'The Alienist.'

Rating:
Summary: Great promise, but weakens about halfway...
Review: No need to add much to the cacophony on this one, other than to comment that the excitement generated in the reader by the attention to detail and character development in the first half of the book is matched only by the growing disappointment as the story bogs down in the second half enroute to a lame ending. Oh well. Worth reading, just.

Rating:
Summary: easy to connect to
Review: Caleb Carr's The Alienist takes place in Lower East Side Manhattan, right before the turn of the 19th century. It is a fictional story of a team of individuals who set out to find a serial killer who preyed on immigrant children. Although I cannot personally relate to the plot of the book, the way the setting and characters are described allowed me to connect to the story.
The killings in the story are of immigrant children who work in the less respected area of New York. Caleb Carr, a born New Yorker, used his knowledge of Manhattan to create a vivid and truthful picture. "Delancy Street carried us past the shuttered stalls of fruit and clothing merchants and on into one of the worst of the Lower East Side's tenement- and shanty-strewn ghettos...The area was a stew pot of different immigrant cultures and languages..." [pp.13]. This graphic picture, which is reiterated throughout the book allows the reader to connect with the victims as well as the many interviewees that helped to answer many of the questions proposed throughout the case.
The people who come together to solve this mystery are from all different backgrounds and all have different reasons for taking the case. The main characters are all portrayed very humanly. They all have various layers of personality which makes it very easy for the reader to connect to them. As the book goes on, the reader learns unknown things about a characters personality. "... Laszlo very tenuously revealed his personal hopes for the future. It was an unfamiliar sort of conversation for him, and difficult in many ways; but never had I seen the man look or sound so completely human as he did on that train ride." [pp.442]. When reading, you gradually learned about each of the characters just as they learned about each other. It was very easy to relate to each of these characters because I felt that I knew them and their past's. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, not only because it was a compelling "page turner", but because the writing allowing me to connect to the characters and the setting of the book.

Rating:
Summary: absolutely first class!
Review: This book is tremendously well written and the story is a refreshing change from the norm. Mr Carr's subject matter is intriguing and the historic New York setting is particularly well researched. The characters are also superbly crafted. Throughout the book, the build up of suspense is masterful and this is one of those rare books that absorbs you so deeply that the shocks have a physical effect A masterpiece- well worth reading!

Rating:
Summary: The Long Dull Weekend
Review: I had the misfortune to listen to an UNabridged version of this book narrated by Jonathan Marosz for Books on Tape. It was one of the most sloppily written books I've ever had the displeasure of listening to. Marosz' droning narration gratingly served to completely intensify the amaturish writing. The characters were one-dimensional, the plot plodded like a plow horse, and the ending came straight from the comic books. The story line was just barely interesting enough to keep me struggling through the 13 cassettes. I will never listen to or read another book by this author. Edward Herrmann's abridged version of this pretentious and gratuitously gruesome book has to be an improvement. Anything to shorten the agony.