The Alienist

This novel captivated me from the very first page. It masterfully blends historical figures and facts to create a gripping thriller. I was immediately drawn into New York City in 1896 and the groundbreaking investigation.

The alienist, which is what psychologists were at the turn of the century, uses a unique, untested, and ridiculed method to track down a serial killer: psychological profiling. The appearance of real historical figures, like Theodore Roosevelt, then police commissioner, and J.P. Morgan, added a rich layer of authenticity and intrigue to the story. For me, the meticulous details of the era made each twist… show more.

I read this one in college, and it sparked my imagination for years and years. Set in 1890s New York, it combines the lowbrow pleasures of gory crime with lots of nifty historical settings and facts (the history of psychiatry! Early forensic science! Gilded Age politics!).

I read it on my bottom bunk in the dorms in about 8 hours, probably while I should have been studying. I’d love to recapture that intensity of pleasure in reading, but a job and two small children make it tricky. 

This was a transformative read for me, taking me so deep into the world of turn of the century New York City that it felt like Carr was introducing me to new possibilities as a writer.

Carr is a historian as well as a novelist, and many of the landmarks, neighborhoods, and streets in this book took on a deeper meaning for me afterward. The crime narrative, which takes place during a pivotal moment in the evolution of modern criminology, is so propulsive and fascinating that I was holding my breath through some of the wonderfully spooky scenes.

I devoured… show more.

Because it takes me immediately back to college, which was when I’d first read it. Out of the books on my list, I’ve read The Alienist the most—three times, I believe, and I’m planning on listening to it on audio soonish. But 1890’s New York serial killer, with a young Teddy Roosevelt as police commissioner? Okay, sign me up. The storyline was soooo dark, and I couldn’t get enough of it. Immediately after reading it I wanted to write something like it—I’m proud of you Isaac Crawley! But, in my mind, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better team than… show more.

Caleb Carr’s novel The Alienist is the work of a military historian. Carr tells the story of how neither his agent nor his publisher wanted him to write historical fiction. So he submitted The Alienist as a true crime story based on an early serial killer. Finally he had to admit he’d made up criminal psychologist Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, the alienist, the killer, and most of the other captivating characters in his chilling, savage, and convincing novel. The way historian/novelist Carr describes the glamorous and gritty world of 1896 New York City, J.P. Morgan, and especially Police Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt… show more.

Teddy Roosevelt commands the NYPD in the late 19th century as a serial killer roams the dirty rat-infested streets of the developing city. Laszlo Kreizler a well-known pathologist, or The Alienist, as they were known back then, and John Moore, a reporter, both good friends of Roosevelt’s, tandem the tantalizing investigation scouring the dark streets looking for a killer of young male prostitutes in the 1890’s. Incredible calculations are discovered as the three take on the antics of the first serial killer of that day and age. Twists and turns keep the pages flipping in anticipation of the… show more.

The Alienist captivates right from the beginning with two marvelous characters. The mystery, set in 1890’s New York City, is told through the journalist character of John Schuyler Moore. This is groundbreaking as many current mysteries have a protagonist of investigative reporter, but Moore is the first I know of. The central character is really Dr. Laszlo Kreizler who is also avant-garde in that he is a phycologist who studies the mind and uses this knowledge to track down a serial killer. Think Hannibal Lecter without eating people. 

I cannot say enough to praise this book. It was also my late father’s favorite, and we used to sit around and talk about it into the wee hours. The storyline follows one of the first forensic detectives (called Alienists back in the day… 1898) and his search for a Jack the Ripper type killer through Gilded Age Manhattan. The setting is superbly researched, the characters jump to life from the page and the plot is so intricately woven that I found myself not breathing while I was reading some of the passages. The world these characters inhabit is splendid… show more.