The Angel of Darkness by Caleb Carr

The Angel of Darkness by Caleb Carr

I've had this book for years and it's just now that I chose to read it over the other literature on my shelf. I bought this because I really loved The Alienist also by Carr, which I read back in college.

This is the sequel to The Alienist and has the same main characters. The Angel of Darkness is written from the pov of Stevie Taggert, a former troubled street kid who was eventually employed by Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, the alienist. The crime-solving team also includes the Isaacson brothers who were pioneers of forensic science (before fingerprinting and ballistics became accepted as evidence), the journalist John Moore, Sara Howard and the Cyrus Montrose.

The book is set in 19th century New York. The team was asked by the wife of a Spanish diplomat to investigate the kidnapping of her baby daughter. The team takes on the case and unknowingly stepped into a web of murders, delusions, deception and gang violence surrounding the antagonist Libby Hatch. I have never felt so anxious over a book for a long time and the narrative is very well-written that I forget it's fiction. I had to force myself to stop reading so I can get some sleep. So thrilling!

This is also a psychological exploration into the psyche of a murderous woman and the lengths she will go to to find meaning, meet her needs, to be free. As far as endings go, I guess it's a happy one only in the sense that the case is solved, but not without senseless deaths and casualties...

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