The Alienist: A Novel

Caleb Carr

Oct 2006 · The Alienist Series Book 1 · Sold by Random House

About this ebook

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NOW A TNT ORIGINAL SERIES • “A first-rate tale of crime and punishment that will keep readers guessing until the final pages.”—Entertainment Weekly

“Caleb Carr’s rich period thriller takes us back to the moment in history when the modern idea of the serial killer became available to us.”—The Detroit News

When The Alienist was first published in 1994, it was a major phenomenon, spending six months on the New York Times bestseller list, receiving critical acclaim, and selling millions of copies. This modern classic continues to be a touchstone of historical suspense fiction for readers everywhere.

The year is 1896. The city is New York. Newspaper reporter John Schuyler Moore is summoned by his friend Dr. Laszlo Kreizler—a psychologist, or “alienist”—to view the horribly mutilated body of an adolescent boy abandoned on the unfinished Williamsburg Bridge. From there the two embark on a revolutionary effort in criminology: creating a psychological profile of the perpetrator based on the details of his crimes. Their dangerous quest takes them into the tortured past and twisted mind of a murderer who will kill again before their hunt is over.

Fast-paced and riveting, infused with historical detail, The Alienist conjures up Gilded Age New York, with its tenements and mansions, corrupt cops and flamboyant gangsters, shining opera houses and seamy gin mills. It is an age in which questioning society’s belief that all killers are born, not made, could have unexpected and fatal consequences.

Praise for The Alienist

“[A] delicious premise . . . Its settings and characterizations are much more sophisticated than the run-of-the-mill thrillers that line the shelves in bookstores.”—The Washington Post Book World

“Mesmerizing.”—Detroit Free Press

“The method of the hunt and the disparate team of hunters lift the tale beyond the level of a good thriller—way beyond. . . . A remarkable combination of historical novel and psychological thriller.”—The Buffalo News

“Engrossing.”—Newsweek

“Gripping, atmospheric . . . intelligent and entertaining.”—USA Today

“A high-spirited, charged-up and unfailingly smart thriller.”—Los Angeles Times

“Keeps readers turning pages well past their bedtime.”—San Francisco Chronicle

Ratings and reviews

In 1896, John Schuyler Moore, crime reporter is urgently summoned to the scene of a murdered adolescent boy in the lower east side of Manhattan. Upon arrival, he sees his friends, Dr. Laslo Kreizler, a psychologisy (alienist) and Theodore Roosevelt, newly appointed commissioner of police. The boy was dressed in a girl's cloting and had been disfigured and murdered. Roosevelt tells them that this is the third such case and the others were not publicized because they were poor and no one cared about them. With rampant corruption in the police department, Roosevelt wants to set up a private task force to find the killer. Laslo and John are part of it as is John's friend, Sara Howard, an independent thinking woman who was a secretary at the police department. Also on the team are two intelligent and honest police officers Lucus and Marcus Isaacson. The descriptions of New York around the beginning of last century are realistic and delightful. The characters eat at Delmonico's Restaurant where they might meet Diamond Jim Brady or Lillian Russell, they pass the Brooklyn Bridge, Wanamaker's Department Store and Christ Church. This police procedural is skillfully done with a huge cast of characters, many who were taken from the pages of history. The author also informs us of such advances as the use of finger prints and criminal profiling. Caleb Carr is from the area where the story unfolds and his creative vision and research are evident. I enjoyed the story and as I read it, I felt as if I was experiencing an episode of Walter Cronkite's '70s TV show, You Are There.

I didn't just read this book, I moved into it. I lived and breathed every word, and was horrified to find myself at the end. The best book ever written about New York city.

My Brooklyn-born and first generation Grandmother (1894, before the "anschluss" to a greater NYC) told me yarns of the old days ---without the gore---that resonate wonderfully in Caleb's narrative.... Here the horror and thoughtful warmth come to life...

About the author

Caleb Carr is the critically acclaimed author of The Alienist, The Angel of Darkness, The Lessons of Terror, Killing Time, The Devil Soldier, The Italian Secretary, The Legend of Broken, and Surrender, New York. He has taught military history at Bard College, and worked extensively in film, television, and the theater. His military and political writings have appeared in numerous magazines and periodicals, among them The Washington Post, The New York Times, andThe Wall Street Journal. He lives in upstate New York.