The Angel of Darkness

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Summary: Great Historical Fiction drawn from Today's Headlines
Review: I enjoyed Caleb Carr's Angel of Darkness and thought it was even better than The Alienist. I thought the characters were much more interesting and fully developed this time around and look forward to another book from Mr. Carr soon. Halfway through the book I started thinking about modern-day women killers; particularly, Diane Downs and Susan Smith. In his novel, Mr. Carr alleges that women can be as cold and vicious as men when they kill and that they should not be treated any differently because they are wives or mothers. He says that the idea of "sacred motherhood" is a myth. I agree to an extent, but when reading about these modern women who kill, I find that people are still shocked at such brutality and that they are still hesitant to convict a woman for murdering her own child. I believe very strongly in the idea that there is a bond between a mother and child and that when that bond is broken or missing, it can have disastrous effects on a mother or her children. The book really forces us to examine our own feelings about motherhood and it's role in our society-both past and present. Despite the story taking place in 1897, times haven't changed that much at all.

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Summary: Interesting but way too long
Review: Being interested in the history of New York City the details of this book were fascinating. I have no doubt there was horse dung exactly where Carr said it was. Remove this part of the book and the story was much too dragged-out, the characters were not established in depth, actions by them were at times confusing and many plot lines seemed to peter out. It is not a very well-written story. The historical detail was what kept me reading.

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Summary: An Exellent Adventure
Review: Like The Alienist, an excellent adventure into another time. Tightly written drama, plays out in your mind so that late at night you almost wake up in another time when you fall asleep with this book in your hands. I can't wait to read the next in this series, and between Caleb Carr in New York and Mark Graham's Philadelphia historical mysteries, I can spend more time in the past in print than I'd ever want to in real life.

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Summary: Great characters, super story, terrific history lesson!
Review: A novel like this one will spoil a reader. It raises your level of expectations and demands more from other authors. As in The Alienist, the story is developed patiently. This gives the reader a true feeling for both the characters and the settings. I can't say enough about how well Carr brings out his characters and makes it possible to actually believe the decisions made by each of the characters in the novel.

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Summary: For every lover of well-written fiction
Review: Caleb Carr has the ability to make all of his extremely diverse set of investigators believable and to portray the grisliest of crimes without needing to get overly graphic. Since readers will empathize with all of the good guys, their shock and dismay is enough to convince us of the horror of the crimes without a lot of body parts being flung about. Fairly early on in the book we find out who the perpetrator is and one wonders what is going to fill the next five hundred pages. Ah, but the criminal has been damned clever at covering tracks and intimidating anyone who would provide information to the police or other investigators, even years down the road. How to catch and convict this person, particularly when you're up against Vanderbilt and a rising courtroom star, Clarence Darrow? That's the question which is answered in the rest of the book, and a complicated trail to the end it is. Even Teddy Roosevelt turns up, though he's no longer police commissioner. Though I am suitably impressed by Carr's extensive research and ability to make New York City and small towns upstate at the end of the last century come alive, I occasionally felt some details were included for the sake of demonstrating the impressive research. I wasn't always satisfied they were necessary to the progress of the story, so I liked "The Alienist" a tad better. Still, I found the book convincing overall. The path to the successful completion of the task at hand is full of sadness, silliness, fear, bravado, teamwork, compassion, guesswork, and cool-headed calculation, just like real life. Should be near the top of any serious fiction reader's "To Do" list.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing compared to "The Alienist".
Review: I read "The Alienist" and could hardly put it down. That is why I expected much more of Carr's sequel. Although I was interested enough in the story to read on, there were almost no surprises, very little psychological analysis, which was so successfully incorporated into "The Alienist", and only a modicum of suspense. Stevie's running narrative - with its odd mixture of the word "what" and terms that few former street urchins would have used - was also unconvincing. Finally, after the 700+ page build-up, the ending was a complete let down. In all, had the story been paired down to maybe 300-400 pages, maybe I would have enjoyed it more.

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Summary: Captivating at least, intriguing at best!
Review: The Angel of Darkness occupied a spot on a bookshelf, and would have gone unnoticed, but its title, somewhat enigmatic, slowly enticed me to follow the mystery entwined with the search of a young child. Although the author presents characters of questionnable substance,and the descriptions of Balston Spa today can only loosely find their identity in the Balson Spa of the novel, the action of its characters keeps one engrossed in its plot. The array characters, however fantastic, provide the catalyst for the action. The historical background enhances the mood and helps propel the reader through the darkness of human capabilities into the light of human compassion. A good read for a rainy weekend.

Rating:
Summary: Tough to get started, but then hard to put down
Review: The first 50 pages were tough to read. Once I forced my way through the book turned out to be a unexpected joy. Carr does an excellent job of building up his characters. I felt like I knew each one on a personal level. The historical references to New York City were also very interesting.

Rating:
Summary: Caution: Read 'Angel of Darkness' with all of the lights on!
Review: Angel of Darkness will scare even the most hardened horror fan. It's gloomy and brooding, and is one of Carr's best works. My only complaint is the slow start, but after things start rolling, you'll find yourself staying up all hours of the night to finish it. It's one of those books that will continue to affect you, long after you have finished reading.

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Summary: The most envigorating book ever!!
Review: I totally adore Caleb Carr's The Angel of Darkness! Its a great book that kept me riveted to my seat in fear and anticipation! An immensely enjoyable book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading! Carr's potrayal of Manhattan in those many years ago through a young boy's eyes is totally captivating! I loved every moment! I've never read anything like this before, original and very very exciting! Read it!!