Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.
|
Loading... The Alienist (1994)by Caleb Carr
  
Historical Fiction (15) » 29 more Sense of place (24) Urban Fiction (5) Murder Mysteries (15) Page Turners (59) Books Read in 2018 (1,239) Favourite Books (1,585) Books About Murder (139) Detective Stories (168) infjsarah's wishlist (61) Unread books (500) No current Talk conversations about this book.  Mcdede | Jul 19, 2023 |  Despite the fact that this book indeed reads like a Sherlock Holmes mystery of sorts, I found this novel utterly enjoyable and read it in only a few sittings. As a fan of historical fiction, I fell in love with the trueness Carr portrayed to the era and setting as well as the characters. Although not a huge fan of murder mysteries or psychological thrillers, Carr drew me into the world of the early 1900s New York effortlessly, kidnapping my attention as I grappled with recent discoveries and turning points in the investigation of this tale. I found myself eagerly plotting my next opportunity to read this amazing work and would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys murder mysteries or is interested in forensics/criminology. (  ) coffeechic | May 31, 2023 | #854 in our old book database. Not rated. (  ) villemezbrown | Mar 28, 2023 | So, I found this book on my shelf and thought it sounded good and that I would sit down and read it. I read the first paragraph and thought .. wait a minute, this is familiar.. then I remembered that I had read it over the summer. Now, you would think that this would mean this book was forgettable, something to read if you have nothing else - but as I flipped through the pages to remind myself, I remembered ... it was an excellent read. Why did I forget it? I don't know.. the writing is fluid, moving you along a story with descriptions that should make the reader shy away but are done almost respectfully.. the smells of the city streets accompanies you through ... is there a second, I think I have to go check now! (  ) jarichardsonsmyth | Feb 24, 2023 | Well it was a long haul but I made it through. Don't get me wrong, this novel is very good but I have to say the Netflix series was so much better! I wish I had read the book first. The beginning of the novel gave all the background info on the characters but, of course, since I had already watched the show, I felt a bit bored. I recommend this novel but be sure to watch the show after reading! ( ) mtngrl85 | Jan 22, 2023 |
A series of gruesome murders and mutilations of heartrendingly young prostitutes--boys dressed as girls--reunites three alumni of William James' pioneering Harvard psychology lectures: Times reporter John Schuyler Moore, eminent psychologist Dr. Laszlo Kreizler (called, after the fashion of the time, an ``alienist''), and New York Police Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt.... The result is somehow gripping yet lifeless, as evocative period detail jostles with a cast of characters who are, for the most part, as pallid as the murder victims. Kreizler is a fictional hero, but in Caleb Carr's imaginings he becomes every bit as believable as the book's real-life characters, and the murders he sets out to solve take on a ghoulish plausibility.... The Alienist isn't only an ingenious thriller. Carr brings enormous gusto to his portrait of old New York, where breakfast for the well-to-do might comprise 'cucumber fillets, Creole eggs, and broiled squab'. From the fetid reek of 'stale beer dives' to the baronial splendour of bankers' mansions, from dirt-poor tenements to the fanciest French restaurants, the city seems to rise off the page....Part of the book's triumph is that it accommodates big questions without sacrificing anything in accessibility; it recreates a world that is simultaneously alive and haunting Belongs to SeriesIs contained inHas as a student's study guideAwardsDistinctionsNotable Lists
A new breed of evil in Old New York New York, 1896: Lower Manhattan's underworld is ruled by a new generation of cold-blooded criminals...Police Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt battles widespread corruption within the department's ranks...and a shockingly brutal murder sets off an investigation that could change crime-fighting forever. In the middle of a wintry March night, New York Times reporter John Moore is summoned to the East River by his friend Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, a brilliant pioneer in the new and much-maligned discipline of psychology, the emerging study of society's "alienated" mentally ill. There they view the horribly mutilated body of a young boy, a prostitute from one of Manhattan's infamous brothels. Supervised by Commissioner Roosevelt, the newsman and his "alienist" mentor embark on a revolutionary attempt to identify the killer by assembling his psychological profile -- a dangerous quest that takes them into the tortured past and twisted mind of a murderer who has killed before...and will kill again before the hunt is over. As rich in vivid period ambience as Ragtime and Time and Again, and as relentlessly suspenseful as Red Dragon or The Silence of the Lambs, The Alienist will take you to a New York that no longer exists -- to confront an evil of timeless savagery. No library descriptions found. |
Popular covers
 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813Literature English (North America) American fictionLC ClassificationRatingAverage: (3.95)
Is this you?Become a LibraryThing Author. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wikipedia in English (2)
2
Should have been pared down 150-200 pages. (