The story is told by Stevie Tagett's point of view.
It's 1897 and someone attacks Senora Isabella Linares, wife of a Spanish official. They hit her on the head and steal her baby.

Stevie Tagett is a former street urchin and street smart. He is with a team of characters; Sara Howard, who totes a derringer and just opened a PI business, John Schuyler Moore, a crime reporter, Marcus and Lucas Isaacson, New York City detectives. They are led by the analytical Dr. Laslo Kreizler.

They find the details of the kidnapping and have Isabella go to an artest to make up a sketch of the attacker. With the copies of the sketch, the Isaacsons check police files and find a match. Nurse Elspeth Hunter, aka, Libby Hatch, who was investigated for a number of deaths in a New York Hospital. The children were under Libby's care and all died of the same respiratory ailment. Libby was questioned and resigned.

The group comes to her home. She lets them in but they don't find any evidence of the child. Later, Stevie breaks into the home with an acquaintance who has a dog that can smell scents. They find a hidden room but the door is steel and they can't open it. The group gets hair fibers that they identify so they know Libby is involved but that's not enough evidence. Needing more proof, they travel up the Hudson by boat and go to upstate New York to learn more of Libby's background.

The book goes into such extensive detail that it becomes too long. The slow reading causes the story to stall and interest to lag but there was a satisfactory resolution. It was very historical. The characters were interesting but fairly cardboard figures. Not much character build up but much historical information.

The ending was satisfactory but also a relief to get there. ( )

I liked this novel alot and plan on reading The Alienist in the near future. It seems as though a decade of creative energy and research produced it. Intense character development takes place as the plot unfolds with definite suprises. Teddy Roosevelt and the pygmy El Nino seem unlikely characters but one must remember that this is a crime novel with a historical setting in turn-of-the-century New York not historical fiction portraying a real series of events. Some women may not like content of this novel out of context and people of Irish ancestry may just not like it. It is a stand-alone novel although it has primary characters and setting are those of the earlier novel, The Alienist. I hope Caleb Carr writes more novels(or short stories) in the "Alienist world"8-) ( )

I don't want to waste any more time on a long drawn out stories that move at a snails pace. If you are real familiar with New York and its history and architecture, the historical back drop of the novel will keep you interested. For me it was too much detail and not much substance. Boring ( )

A crack team of investigators looks into an unusual kidnapping.

This is the sort of book you just want to wallow in: big and detailed and evocative, and ponderous in the best way possible. It’s slow, yes, but it’s never boring. I was always more than eager to dip back into the story.

THE ANGEL OF DARKNESS is that rare, wonderful thing: a book with an equal focus on plot and character. Every scene, every detail, either adds to our understanding of these characters or furthers the plot. Often, it does both. It’s beautifully done, and it made this book a joy to read. I cared about these people, and I wanted to see them bring the criminal to justice. I was glad it took them so long to do it, as it let me spend more time with them.

Carr builds his world with such care that it’s tough to tell what’s real and what’s invented. Plenty of historical figures make cameos of varying lengths; Franz Boas’s brief appearance tickled me pink, and I’m sure other readers will be pleased to see the likes of Clarence Darrow and Theodore Roosevelt play their roles in the story. Their integration is seamless; these folks work very well indeed alongside Carr’s fictional protagonists. The settings, likewise, are blended into the story so nicely that this non-New Yorker found it impossible to tell what was imaginary and what really exists outside the author’s mind. I had a blast with it.

And the forensics… man, did I ever love the forensics! The book is set in 1897, so sciences like fingerprinting and ballistics are brand new. I found it fascinating to watch the investigators employ these new techniques, and I shared their frustration when they found it impossible to convince others of the truth behind their findings.

I did find the second half slightly less enjoyable than the first, but I think this was mostly a momentum thing. I had something of a forced break from the book. I doubt I'd have had a problem if I'd read the whole thing straight through, sans interruptions.

All in all, this was a fantastic book. I enjoyed the hell out of it, and I’m looking forward to reading more of Carr’s work. I do think it’s a shame, though, that he’s only published one other book featuring these characters. There are hints, here and there, that he originally planned at least one more book. I’d love to read it. ( )

I read this book back in 6th or 7th grade. I really enjoy any novels about vampires. I find these stories so intriguing. Thank goodness for fiction. ( )