Don't Tell Anyone... But You Might Learn Something

Author's Rating:

Pros: Obviously well-researched, complex and rich characters, well-depicted setting

Cons: Too short!

Author's Review
The first of two books surrounding the same book of Victorian sleuths, Caleb Carr's The Alienist combines extensive period and forensic research with extensive character development and a captivating plotline. I warn before I start this that I have become a Carr devotee since reading these books, and rank those two books as a group only just below Huxley's Brave New World as my favourite book of all time.

Told from the perspective of a turn-of-the-century New York Times reporter who becomes involved with a police investigation via friendship with those brought in to solve an extremely brutal crime. This part of the story is somewhat formulaic, in that a group of 'rebels' using risky or 'unproven' techniques (in this case, things such as fingerprinting and profiling) are struggling to solve a case while hampered by a department which sneers at or actually attempts to destroy their efforts to solve a crime which has captured the public eye.

If this is enough to dissuade you from reading this book, you've obviously not read a whole lot of mystery/suspense books in the past decade. It's not so much a question anymore of what the formula is as what's done with it--and in this case, the formula serves merely as a springboard for a much larger exploration of the time period, psychology in general, and the roots of today's police procedures.

I will warn, however, that the crimes discussed in this book--the murder and mutilation of boy prostitutes who present themselves to their clients as young girls--may offend or sicken some people. Crime-scene descriptions, while fairly brief, must by the nature of the book be discussed. If you are particularly object or sensitive of stomach to these things, this book may not be for you. However, it is a fairly minor part of the book's text overall, and if you can look past or skip that, if it does truly offend you, you will most likely find much more to appreciate in the rest of the book.

The plot arc ends predictably (what police mystery doesn't end with the good guys getting the bad guy?) but there are some quite surprising plot twists along the way, and a lot to be learned about early forensics, which obviously came from extensive research. The presentation of the forensic knowledge is also handled very well, since there are several characters who are not familiar with forensics, thus what's going on with that part of the investigation must needs be explained by those with said knowledge and information--a neat way of providing context and illumination for the reader without making them feel stupid or boring them to tears with textbook explanations, and while providing further character development through interaction.

I haven't even touched on the elaborate, unvarnished and rich depiction of New York City at the turn of the century yet--and there's much more to discuss and review. I don't, however, want to ruin anything for anyone, so go pick it up, and discover for yourself. Be sure to keep a dictionary close at hand, however, as Victorian language is very different from our own, and while I'm a ravenous reader with a fairly well-developed vocabulary, I had to reach for Oxford's help more than once.

Follow this book with the second in the series, The Angel of Darkness, for a good chunk of satisfying reading.