Rating: 
Summary: Just as engaging as The Alienist
Review: Carr has done it again, with another page-turning, psychological thriller pitting Moore, Sara Howard, Kriezler, and co. against the likes of the needy, psychopathic Libby Hatch. The story is fast and furious and the "chase" is once again unconventional and gripping. The narrative in the eyes of Stevie Taggert is convincingly different than The Alienist, from the eyes of John Moore. In fact, my only real complaint is how here, Moore seems to have turned into a whiny, complaining pain in the backside, which he did not seem to be in the first novel. (Of course, in the first person, perhaps we're to believe Moore himself painted a better picture of his behavior? Curious.) But it's a small complaint and I finished the book hoping there will be perhaps another tale to tell in the world of these wonderful characters.
Rating: 
Summary: SLOW START - FAST FINISH
Review: IT WAS ALMOST 200 PAGES BEFORE I FOUND MYSELF CAUGHT UP IN THE FLOW OF THE STORY. IT PROVED TO BE WORTH THE WAIT. CARR DOES A VERY GOOD JOB OF RECREATING TURN OF THE CENTURY NEW YORK. ACTION AT THE END IS THRILLING.
Rating: 
Summary: interesting casting along the way
Review: This book takes you on a fabulous journey through New York City and points north in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but Carr did lead the reader by the hand most of the way through the investigation and trial of Libby Hatch. I enjoyed his use of Stevie Taggert as protagonist, and his characters were well drawn. The casting of historical figures (Darrow, Vanderbilt, etc.) was interestingly done and made for a bit of fun. Overall, a good tale with plenty of intrigue.
Rating:
Summary: A (mostly) readable sequel...
Review: First of all, I like historical fiction when it's well done. Second, I like distinct authorial voices. Third, I *loathe* when the narrative tells you something is going to happen, describes it happening, and then talks about what just happened. This book could have been pared down by at least a hundred pages simply by dropping the super-annoying hints that things would get worse for the hardy band of investigators or describing how bad things just got for the hardy band of investigators. It's still a decent read, though. It's just not nearly as good as "The Alienist".
Rating:
Summary: Loved It!
Review: I loved the history and creative characters. The second novel is even better than the first and I hope there will be a third!
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't Put it Down
Review: This novel is a nicely written piece of work. Carr's use of naration is flawless. The flavor of The Angel of Darkness is something that anyone will want to savor. Again, as in The Alienist, Carr establishes a historical world that lives and breathes. Turn of the centruy New York is a place that both fasinates and frightens; in this novel one can visit and experience the fullness of both. Not only is this a mystery, or a historical thriller- Carr manages to make this a legal battle that John Grisham would not be able to come close to. Clarrence Darrow makes a well rounded appearance, which is only topped by Teddy R. later on. Carr knows how to tell a story like few other writers can.
Rating:
Summary: Who's next?
Review: Caleb Carr has brilliantly and successfully done what many writers could not. He has flowed from the mind of one of his characters into the mind of another. In The Alienest(precursor to The Angel of Darkness), the narator, John Moore, is a spoiled, upper class reporter for the New York Times who, along with six others, tracts down a serial killer in 19th century New York. In the sequel, The Angel of Darkness, Carr adds a new twist to his style by telling the story through the memories of a different one of the six, an abandoned lower class theif, Stevie Taggert. By changing the voice of the narator from John Moore to Stevie Taggert, Carr introduces a whole new perspective. While hunting an extremely deluted female killer, Stevie Taggert guides the reader through the sick and twisted world of child prostitution, murder, drugs, and danger in 19th century New York.
Rating:
Summary: WOW!
Review: This book was amazing. After reading the Alienist I had high expectaions for this book and they were met. The begining is slow and is really hard to get into but once you do get into it you are hooked. I spent hours on end reading it and was never bored. The characters are life-like and are beautifuly discribed. The plot is exciting and very well thought out. It combines a court-room drama with a real scary thriller. I would recomend this book to anybody who likes to read and who has a relatively open schedule because once you get into the book you will have some long stretches of reading ahead of you. Happy reading!
Rating: 
Summary: what's up with the pygmy?
Review: The portrayal of that Filipino pygmy assassin was, well, really racist
Rating:
Summary: Caleb's Cast
Review: Caleb Carr has brought together, in this novel, a motley organization of characters, some of whom represent people we know in everyday life, with the hopeful exceptions of Libby Hatch and, perhaps, the Dusters, and a few other folks. Not having read "The Alienist," as some other reviewers have, I am not in a position to compare this work against that one. And, rather than talking about the sultry conditions of parts of New York City at the last century's turn, or the plot line itself, or the emerging Spanish-American War, I prefer to focus on a couple of other issues that Carr asks us to consider. I think an important question this book raises is society's role in constructing an image of what a woman is "supposed to be" that, in reality, does not and may never have conformed with who women actually are, but which may make certain people feel more comfortable. If, further, society, which has been arguably more influenced by men than by women, creates an image that some women simply cannot fit into, who is to be held responsible for her transgression -- the woman or society? Both? Neither? Another issue is just as significant, I think, and revolves around whether it is more important to punish persons like Libby Hatch for their heinous behavior or to spend our energy trying to understand why they do such things as murder their own and other children, so we can possibly learn, from understanding them, how to avert future travesties. Carr may have overextended believability by including characters like Darrow and Roosevelt, and left some of us feeling bereft by not allowing us to get to know El Nino or Kat a bit better, but Darrow does play a central, if more psychological than legal, role in a singularly important part of the narrative. Darrow, after all, is the person who confronts the doctor with the question of the doctor's central motivation for his life's work: does the doctor do what he does -- not so much for the victims themselves, as the doctor would like to believe, and has possibly believed all of his professional life -- but, rather, to work through his own personal and deeply embedded psychological issues? Are the doctor's motives not as "pure" as he appears to think they are? I do not believe it is important to determine whether this was just another lawyer's trick; what is important here, I think, is that Carr brings to light exactly what was going on as clinical psychology was starting to develop its own understanding of itself as well as of psychopathology during the years in which his novel is set. In my view, Carr did a very good job of inserting these ideas into the novel without beating us over the head with them. Personally, while it is clearly important to engage in a debate about plot, character development, and other literary issues, about which I am certainly no expert, I think it is equally valid to congratulate Carr on his ability to powerfully interweave sociohistorical and psychological issues with an interesting, and even compelling, story. I plan to read "The Alienist" soon, since I want to know, among other things, whether Mr. Moore was always as "burned out" as he appeared to be in this work, and whether the doctor should have made a quick trip to Vienna for a consult with Dr. Freud about transference issues!
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