More than a decade after my original reading of this book, The Alienist continues to be the measuring stick by which I judge all other mysteries. ( )

I really am a sucker for serial killer stories, and the historical detail was impressive. But the obligatory "explaining the killer" bit, especially in the midst of the action, still makes me want to hurl a book against the wall. I could be tempted to read Carr again, though. ( )

Set in 1896, The Alienist tells the story of a police reporter who becomes involved in a murder investigation. This isn't just any murder investigation - the city has been attacked by a serial killer. One who targets young boy prostitutes. While I enjoyed unraveling the mystery along with the narrator, I also felt the ending was somewhat anti-climatic. In the last few chapters, I was awaiting the twist - the twist which I just knew I'd figured out. But it never came. Overall, I enjoyed the book. It took me until at least page 100 to really get into the story, but once I did, I had to finish. I give it 3 stars. ( )

A highly atmospheric period detective novel that I think just about any mystery fan might enjoy -- although it is gritty and graphic, it is never exploitive. Carr has a remarkable knack for providing just the right amount of descriptive prose -- it's neither too briskly nor too leisurely paced. The sequel, Angel of Darkness, is also quite good. ( )

http://thebookwormslibrary.com/?p=201... ( )

Set in turn of the century NYC, early crime fighting with a Sherlock Holmes flavor, where the alienist, a psychologist, is the key investigator of a serial murderer. Foggy, wet, Victorian, another fascinating look at psychology and crime from the outside in.

I listened to the unabridged audiobook. It was well done but dragged by the time end finally rolled around. In total it was in excess of something like 20 hours. Ow. I appreciate the author's research of New York in the 1890's and it definitely enriched the story. But at times it felt like I was being subjected to, "I had to research it so you have to read/listen to it."

Do only what helps you advance your story and create the mood you want, don't overdo it. ( )

This book has it all -- serial killing, mystery, forensic science, the beauty and grit of a city -- all set in New York City in the 1890s. Carr makes you feel like you're actually wandering the streets, smelling the smells, and feeling the dirt of the city. The life that Carr breathes in to his writing is a thing of beauty. ( )

An engaging murder mystery set in turn-of-the-century New York City. A team of sleuths investigate a series of murders in some very seedy areas. The team consists of a psychologist, a reporter, a troubled young man, a female would-be cop, and two bickering policemen who are brothers. The premise revolves around the new concept of a serial killer, the emergence of forensics, the use of psychology and the interaction between the team members. This is one of my favorite books. ( )

An unconventional investigative team takes on a serial killer on the streets of 1896 New York.

I didn't enjoy this quite as much as its sequel, (THE ANGEL OF DARKNESS), but it was still a damned good read. I love the way Carr writes. His books are big and detailed, and each piece of the puzzle carries you on into the next. I found myself crowing with delight as Moore and the rest discovered some illuminating new fact, and I gasped in shock when things went against them. There were a couple of areas where my interest waned a wee bit, but for the most part I remained involved and engaged. This is the sort of book you just want to wallow in. The plot, the characters, their world... it's good stuff, people. It's very, very good stuff. I had a blast with it, and I miss it now that it's over.

Carr mixes real historical figures in with his fictional protagonists very nicely indeed, and he makes great use of historical detail. There's a ton of information here; so much, in fact, that I've read a few other reviews that mention his propensity for info-dumping. To be honest, he does do rather a lot of this, but it's all so interesting that I really can't see it as a negative. It fits in perfectly with the narrator's character, too. Moore is a reporter, and he's looking back at a pivotal period in history. He's going to want to talk about his city and the changes it's gone through over the years. It fits, and it works well within the context of the novel.

The characters, too, are wonderfully drawn, but I'm not sure I'd have felt as much of a connection to them if I hadn't already met them in THE ANGEL OF DARKNESS. I think this is mostly due to the differing narrators. Stevie, (who narrates the second book), is obvious in his affections for his fellow investigators; Moore is much more circumspect. The lot of them still come across as fully-formed individuals in their own right, but the spark wasn't quite there for me. I did enjoy spending more time with them, though, and I found it interesting to see how Carr had introduced these people I already knew so well.

And the science! THE ALIENIST is very much concerned with profiling, of course, but there's also some good stuff with fingerprinting and other modern investigative techniques. It's fascinating, and not all of it actually pans out. There's a great scene where one of the detectives tries to photograph a victim's eye in the hopes that it'll reveal the killer's face. I got a big kick out of all these little sidetrips and tangents.

All in all, this was a great read. I really do wish Carr had written more with these characters. If he ever does publish them, I'll read 'em. You'll have to lock me up to keep me away.

(This review originally appeared on my blog, Stella Matutina, in a slightly different form). ( )

The Alienist was recommended to me by my father who claimed that this was arguably his favorite book; and boy did it meet my expectations. We are thrust into 1896 New York City as Carr is able to paint the city just as it was in its dirty yet beautiful way. The story begins when the police discover a series of gruesome murders of boy prostitutes. The new police commissioner, Teddy Roosevelt, takes over a team that consists of a Doctor Kreizler, John Moore (a NY Times journalist) and Kreizler's two patients turned servants. The story ends up not focusing so much on crime solving, but of 1890's society and New York as a hotbed of lawlessness and poverty. The team also goes against the grain and appoints two Jewish twins to head the forensic investigation. Lucius and Marcus Isaacson provide a comedic duo that actually revolutionizes the use of fingerprinting in the novel. Roosevelt's role becomes very intriguing because he must find this serial killer before he strikes again while also cleaning up the corrupt NYPD spoils system.

Interesting to learn what life in NYC was like in the 1890's. Also how forensic techniques we take for granted now were just developing then. A rather dark subject, but fascinating all the same. Recommended. ( )

Remarkable book that captured the time period. The mystery kept you reading. The authors use of historical figures and the mood and views of most people of the period towards the use of psychology was great. I have to say that the book started a little slow for me, but picked up about a quarter of the way through. I also didn't appreciate the author's habit of having the main character realize something but not fully explain to the reader until later. I also feel that Roosevelt came through a little flat. Considering Roosevelt's personality in life I feel that the author didn't do him any justice. ( )

I'm not usually a fan of mysteries, but this one was fun and interesting. I am a fan of histories, and this novel takes place in New York in 1896 and one of the characters is Teddy Roosevelt, who at the time was Commissioner of Police. I enjoyed this book so much and became so fascinated by Roosevelt, that I'm going to read a two-volume biography about him. Always lovely when one reading experience engenders another. ( )

Truly excellent, but it was all downhill from here for Carr. ( )

The Alienist is really about the first criminal profiler. Dr. Lazlo Kreizler is enlisted by the police to help catch a brutal killer, butchering young rent boys. With few physical clues to follow, the doctor's team tries to develop a psychological profile of the killer.

This book was fabulous - great characters, descriptions that really capture the feel of the time period and a truly compelling mystery. I was dreadfully disappointed in the follow-up, The Angel of Darkness, after such a terrific first effort. ( )

At the end of the nineteenth century, Theodore Roosevelt is New York City's chief of police is faced with a serial killer. He recruits a a psychologist and a journalist to solve the case with a young woman from the police in a very modern approach to criminal forensics. Carr's historical knowledge and his lush literary style yield a compelling novel that could be true reportage of the period. This is an en entirely satisfying work. ( )

The year is 1896 and New York is going through radical changes. Building projects are reshaping the skyline. The port industry is being displaced by manufacturing and finance. Theodore Roosevelt has become chief of police and is struggling to rid the department of corruption. Politicians, criminals, clergy, and financiers scheme and vie for control. And in the middle of all this change, the brutal murder of a runaway becomes the first sign that a serial killer is stalking the city.

In steps Laszlo Kreizler, a psychologist whose modern methods generate controversy, who volunteers to investigate the case for Teddy Roosevelt. He is joined by the narrator, who is a journalist, two detectives with new ideas about crime fighting, and Sara Howard, who hopes to be the first female detective. Kreizler uses his knowledge of psychology to develop something akin to profiling, while the rest of the other members each bring their own insights. The team plan to use a combination of forensic and psychological insights to track the killer down. Soon, however, they find that the killer is not the only force they may need to contend with.

The novel has several strengths. The cast of characters is pretty top notch, and their interactions and role in the drama quite natural. There's a lot of information regarding turn-of-the-century New York, which will appeal to any history buff. As with any good serial killer story, there are some moments of real tension and dread. And overall, I found myself caught up in the methodical, scientific search for the killer, as the heroes would gather clues, develop theories, and seek out more information. The book's one weakness, though, was that I found the way the information is conveyed a little flat at times, with too much being conveyed through the narrator's exposition. For example, the principals would stop and discuss the various clues they found and come to some conclusion, but instead of getting dialogue, the narrator would give a summary basically stating, "We got together and discussed the clues and then decided that we should do such and such." There was a bit too much of that for my taste, and I would have preferred to see more showing and less telling.

But overall, it was a very engaging, suspenseful story with a lot of neat historical detail. ( )

One of my all time favorite books and arguably a historical fiction classic! It's hard to believe that I read it 10+ years ago. ( )

This was not a book on my TBR list. I bought it at a truck stop on Interstate 5 in Buttonwillow, Ca out of sheer desperation for SOMETHING to read. Only another avid reader can understand the absolute horror of being stuck for hours at a truck stop restaurant with someone whose conversational gambits all stem from People magazine. I NEEDED a book. And what a surprise. I don't often find that the sparse rack of "bestsellers" in stores, book or otherwise, is of any interest to me, but this caught me by surprise. Once I began I was helpless not to finish it. I have never been to NYC and don't foresee that I ever will, but I felt that I had been there a hundred years ago while reading this story. I won't give away the plot, which was a bit difficult to handle (I'm a big wimp) at times, but I will say that like Steinbeck in "The Grapes of Wrath", this author has that enviable ability to transport the reader to the time and place of his choosing while allowing him or her to watch events as they unfold, like an eavesdropper. I just love that! They say every book is an adventure and you need merely open the pages in order to travel... and that may be true, but some authors can offer a much better ride as it were. And oh what a trip this one was.

P.S. I do NOT give as glowing a review to his sequel, "Angel of Darkness". It would have been better had "Alienist" been a stand-alone. ( )

Did not find this a compelling read, despite my interest in historical novels and particularly those set in NY. I felt that the (brilliant, from a marketing standpoint) inclusion of Roosevelt was the only bit that gave this book "legs;" the female protagonist was a bit too patronizingly "spunky," as if her inclusion was a perfunctory nod to women and feminist readers. If there was anything whatsoever engaging about the narrator's character, I missed it utterly, and didn't find the other main character - the Alienist of the title - particularly interesting. I am obviously in the minority, but I just never felt that familiar burning desire to FINISH the book, to see what comes next, to devour the next page, while reading this book. ( )

New York City at the close of the 19th century is a study of contradictions. High society, dominated by the Vanderbilts and the Morgans, rule the city under the guise of bettering society. But when a murderer strikes at a segment of the city whose existence has previously been ignored and even denied, Theodore Roosevelt, the Commissioner of Police at the time, has to make a hard choice. In the midst of a political battle to clean up the NYPD, he chooses to quietly supply help to his two college buddies, Dr. Lazlo Kreizler, the infamous alienist, and John Moore, police reporter for the New York Times. As the two work to track down the brutal killer of boy prostitutes, they are harassed by several different parties, all with their own reasons to stop the investigations. When the investigation takes a tragic turn, they must decide what price they are willing to pay in order to stop a madman. ( )

I love historical fiction and felt that Caleb Carr did a great job of transporting me to 19th century New York City, particularly the idea that this type of psychological analysis of a killer was breakthrough detective work of the period. Suspenseful read and many interesting and sympathetic characters. ( )

An alienist is the precursor to the modern day psychologist. Set in the late 1800's, Alienist Lazlo Kreizler must track down a brutal and sadistic murderer of young boys in NYC. Carr, as a historian, successfully recreates Manhattan at the turn of the 20th Centuy. Historical characters such as Theodore Roosevelt are intertwined with fictitious characters such as newspaperman John Moore to produce a clever psychological thriller. ( )

our book discussion group read this book after reading Eric Larssen's Devil in the White City. Larssen says that it was this book that inspired him to write about the 1890's in the U.S. and that Carr did an excellant job of describing the city and life in the city in this book. I agree. it is a great period piece. The book itself was food for a good discussion, but the fact that the author is so sexy doesn't hurt either. I would recommend for other book discussion groups. ( )