Genre: Book
Grade: A-/B+
Notable People: Caleb Carr
Title: “The Alienist”
Review: A huge dynamic book that many will be familiar with from the TV series, though I’ve never seen it and did not make the connection until I got the book (after reading Carr’s most recent work, “Surrender, New York”). Carr likes historical fiction with very real characters and is thorough is his research; think Teddy Roosevelt, John Pierrepoint Morgan, William James). Alienists were the precursors to today’s criminal profilers and reviled as dingbats and heretics during the 19th century. This book takes place in turn of the century New York-a very different place than it is now, and it is a wonderful picture of the time and place. The pursuit of a “whore-boy” serial killer is fascinating and well-grounded in both the theories of the time and what we now know. Hard to put down for most of the book though the end was little shadowy. Good one to hunker down with.