The Alienist

By: Caleb Carr

Narrated by: George Guidall

Length: 20 hrs

Publisher's summary

The year is 1896, the place, New York City. On a cold March night New York Times reporter John Schuyler Moore is summoned to the East River by his friend and former Harvard classmate Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, a psychologist, or "alienist." On the unfinished Williamsburg Bridge, they view the horribly mutilated body of an adolescent boy, a prostitute from one of Manhattan's infamous brothels.

The newly appointed police commissioner, Theodore Roosevelt, in a highly unorthodox move, enlists the two men in the murder investigation, counting on the reserved Kreizler's intellect and Moore's knowledge of New York's vast criminal underworld. They are joined by Sara Howard, a brave and determined woman who works as a secretary in the police department. Laboring in secret (for alienists, and the emerging discipline of psychology, are viewed by the public with skepticism at best), the unlikely team embarks on what is a revolutionary effort in criminology-- amassing a psychological profile of the man they're looking for based on the details of his crimes. Their dangerous quest takes them into the tortured past and twisted mind of a murderer who has killed before. and will kill again before the hunt is over.

Fast-paced and gripping, infused with a historian's exactitude, The Alienist conjures up the Gilded Age and its untarnished underside: verminous tenements and opulent mansions, corrupt cops and flamboyant gangsters, shining opera houses and seamy gin mills. Here is a New York during an age when questioning society's belief that all killers are born, not made, could have unexpected and mortal consequences.

©1994 Caleb Carr (P)2012 Simon & Schuster Audio

Outstanding classic revisited

Awesome book...one of my favorite works of fiction. Top notch story telling. Big time suspense.

A great psychological mystery

I recently listened to The Alienist written by Caleb Carr and narrated by George Guidall.

An alienist, at the turn of the 19th century at least, is what we might think of as a psychologist today. Dr Kreizler, a well known Alienist, and Mr Moore, both friends of Theodore Roosevelt, are secretly commissioned by Roosevelt to form a secret police unit that will be the first to engage in forensic psychology in order to capture a disturbed individual that's been murdering children, mostly male children who are prostitutes dressed as girls, throughout New York city.

Narration: George Guidall does an excellent job with the text, however, I think it helps that the text is written from the perspective of Mr. Moore who is a bit of the so called 'everyman' in the story. He pairs nicely George Guidall's down to earth narration style.

Conclusion: This is a really interesting historical mystery with strong psychological undertones. The book is both well researched and well written and really captures the emotions of the characters as well as the tenor of New York city at that time. It's an excellent choice for those who want a period crime novel in the city that never sleeps.

Great book.

Truly one of the best books I’ve listen to in a very long time. Keeps you on The edge of your seat always wanting to know what’s gonna happen next.

A great story improved by perfect narration

The Alienist contains all the elements both of great fiction and great thrillers. Engaging from start to finish, a mystery worth your time, convincing and interesting characters, and the voice of George Guidall. As has become common in modern thrillers, The Alienist gives background on the science, the zeitgeist, and the history of the story setting, late 19th century New York. I really enjoyed the details on Delmonico's, a popular restaurant in New York. I wanted to track down a great traditional restaurant and order a 12 course meal. The book did not feel long at all and I finished it in 3 days. Top shelf.

AMAZINGLY TERRIFYING!

Narrator was perfect. Great crime novel with plenty of suspense and really interesting characters. I love a scary book but this was so much more.

Fabulous. Tremendous. Excellent. PART I!

Let Caleb Carr transport you back to NYC in the late 1890s. Roosevelt was a powerful town figure, but not yet President. The police definitely played by their own rules and gang leaders kept their hold on the extensive and dark underworld of a very segregated, multi-cultural, multi-class tapestry of a busy, dirty city.

A murderer is on the loose. One that preys upon a very present, but deliberately overlooked segment of the populace: child prostitutes. Specifically male, child prostitutes. One man's interest in the case is driven by his passion and genius for a new, much feared and even maligned facet of the medical field. What we today refer to as psychiatry, was then called alienism. Doctor Kreizler, it would seem, is one of the most revered and despised of them all. That's because he may just be able to catch the killer...

Slow start but worth it!

Takes awhile to get going, but if you can hang in there it's worth listening to. Took me 3 tries actually but once the story begins to unfold it really does capture the reader. The narrator narrator did a fine job and you always knew who it was in the story that was speaking. Glad I finally made it through this book!

Sherlock Holmes meets Teddy Roosevelt

If you could sum up The Alienist in three words, what would they be?

Progressivism solves murder

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

At times - during the actually events around the murder investigation it was a very suspenseful story.

What about George Guidall’s performance did you like?

It was very impressive, and at times unbelievable how Guidall was able to take a room full of different characters and give them each a different personality in their voices.

Guidall is definitely a very skilled orator.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

NYC enters the 1900's with it's own, "Jack the Ripper".

Any additional comments?

Sometimes the characters we one dimensional - Sara specifically - male authors are generally horrible at developing female characters. I guess the opposite is also true.

great! highly recommend!

this book was recommended to me by my boss. it was really great, there are some gruesome parts and I tend to be squeamish but it didn't affect me as much as that normally does. I was really hooked the whole time. great ending, fulfilling overall.

Great historical mystery

enjoyed this mystery and history of forensics for solving crimes in 1800s of new york city