My latest book to read and review is “The Alienist” by Caleb Carr.
The scene is New York City in 1896. Young male prostitutes are being brutally murdered. Police Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt turns to prominent alienist, Dr Laszlo Kreizler, for assistance.
Kreizler, along with a journalist named Moore, who is the narrator of the story, two police detectives, and police department secretary Sara Howard, join forces to track down the killer.
The book is a tense psychological thriller, though I did find I got bogged down a little with the actual psychology part of it. Carr gave his main character, Kreizler, a tendancy to lecture and I found that my attention wandered away at times.
The digressions into New York CIty’s past, both criminal and otherwise, were interesting. As were the vibrant descriptions of 19th century New York’s underworld and its inhabitants.
On the whole, I found “The Alienist” to be an enjoyable read.