The Angel of Darkness: Book 2 of the Alienist - (Dr. Laszlo Kreizler) by Caleb Carr (Paperback)

About the Book

A Spanish diplomat's wife has her baby snatched in 1890s New York and the case is given to psychiatrist Dr. Laszlo Kreizler and his young assistant who narrates the tale. The probe leads them to a nurse turned serial killer of children, including her own.

Book Synopsis

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - THE BOOK BEHIND SEASON TWO OF TNT'S THE ALIENIST - Dr. Laszlo Kreizler returns in a "whopping thriller" (The Washington Post) that showcases Caleb Carr "at his strongest" (USA Today).

June 1897. A year has passed since Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, a pioneer in forensic psychiatry, tracked down the brutal serial killer John Beecham with the help of a team of trusted companions and a revolutionary application of the principles of his discipline. Kreizler and his friends--high-living crime reporter John Schuyler Moore; indomitable, derringer-toting Sara Howard; the brilliant (and bickering) detective brothers Marcus and Lucius Isaacson; powerful and compassionate Cyrus Montrose; and Stevie Taggert, the boy Kreizler saved from a life of street crime--have returned to their former pursuits and tried to forget the horror of the Beecham case.

But when the distraught wife of a Spanish diplomat begs Sara's aid, the team reunites to help find her kidnapped infant daughter. It is a case fraught with danger, since Spain and the United States are on the verge of war. Their investigation leads the team to a shocking suspect: a woman who appears to the world to be a heroic nurse and a loving mother, but who may in reality be a ruthless murderer of children.

Once again, Caleb Carr proves his brilliant ability to re-create the past, both high life and low. Fast-paced and chilling, The Angel of Darkness is a tour de force, a novel of modern evil in old New York.

Praise for The Angel of Darkness

"A ripping yarn told with verve, intensity, and a feel for historical detail . . . Once again we are careening around the gaslighted New York that Carr knows, and depicts, so well."--The New York Times Book Review

"Gripping . . . Carr is at his strongest, exploring the dark underside of the human psyche and ferreting out the terrors and tragedies that drive men--and women--to kill. . . . In Libby Hatch, Carr has created a villain whose cunning is nearly equal to his detectives' crime-solving prowess. . . . The mystery is plotted with military precision."--USA Today

"[A] whopping thriller . . . Carr keeps us racing along with him to the very end."--The Washington Post Book World

"Fascinating . . . In a brilliant bit of historical casting, Clarence Darrow, a rising courtroom wizard from Chicago, turns up to defend the villain at a tense upstate New York murder trial."--Time

Review Quotes

"As winning a historical thriller as The Alienist . . . The reader keeps right on turning the pages."--The New York Times

"A ripping yarn told with verve, intensity, and a feel for historical detail . . . Once again we are careening around the gaslighted New York that [Caleb] Carr knows, and depicts, so well."--The New York Times Book Review

"Gripping . . . Carr is at his strongest, exploring the dark underside of the human psyche and ferreting out the terrors and tragedies that drive men--and women--to kill. . . . In Libby Hatch, Carr has created a villain whose cunning is nearly equal to his detectives' crime-solving prowess. . . . The mystery is plotted with military precision."--USA Today

"[A] whopping thriller . . . Carr keeps us racing along with him to the very end."--The Washington Post Book World

"Fascinating . . . In a brilliant bit of historical casting, Clarence Darrow, a rising courtroom wizard from Chicago, turns up to defend the villain at a tense upstate New York murder trial."--Time

"Darkly compelling . . . vivid and enthralling."--Entertainment Weekly

"Suspenseful . . . Through the observations, discoveries, and confusions of his idiosyncratic detective squad, Carr deftly scrutinizes 'the secret sins of American society' and the perpetual proposition that the greatest mystery is the human mind."--Los Angeles Times

"[An] adept mixture of period detail and psychological sleuthing . . . Filled with enough outsized personalities and sensational events to keep the most jaded tabloid reader eagerly turning its pages."--The Wall Street Journal

"Here's New York circa 1897, city of unparalleled corruption and splendor, city of fine dining and seedy taverns. . . . Few writers are as adept [as Carr] at fashioning revelations that detonate, chapter by chapter, like carefully positioned explosions."--Chicago Tribune

"Penetrating . . . an entertainingly convincing read."--People

"Solidly scary . . . a terrific sequel . . . better and more suspenseful than its pulse-pounding predecessor."--The Plain Dealer

"[A] labyrinth of crime and psychology . . . What worked so well in the first book--late-nineteenth-century New York City with all its splendor and warts--is just as engaging in the second. . . . Is The Angel of Darkness as good as its predecessor? No. It's better."--The San Diego Union-Tribune

"Another crowd-pleaser . . . Before it's over, readers will be treated to some chilling insights from one of the earliest practitioners in psychology; plunge into a courtroom battle pitted against none other than Clarence Darrow; and follow Teddy Roosevelt with a handpicked batch of sailors through the gang-infested streets of lower Manhattan."--Minneapolis Star Tribune

"A spirited yarn . . . both a tale of serial murder and an argument for understanding the criminal mind."--Boston Herald

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, and The Wall Street Journal. He lives in upstate New York.