Review: The Alienist

The Alienist by Caleb Carr
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Although not really a "page turner" of a mystery, this is a really well done book. The plot and story are more of a "whydoneit" than "whodoneit".

I did find it hard to get through the first half if the book - mainly because there's lots of backstory and speculation vice "action". Additionally, there is an incredible amount of science - namely psychology. Nevertheless, even this is interesting given the setting - New York in the 1890's when Teddy Roosevelt was police commissioner.

The action picks up in the last half of the book and I found that despite my initial misgivings, I would like to pick up the adventures of the stories investigators in the sequel.

If you like historical fiction and mystery, you will like this book.

View all my reviews