The Angel of Darkness [Import] [Hardcover]

Caleb Carr (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 560 pages
• Publisher: London Little, Brown 1998.; 1st UK edition edition (1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316643807
• ISBN-13: 978-0316643801
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (316 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,762,803 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well done!, October 27, 1997

By 

Leonard Fleisig "Len" (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Angel of Darkness (Hardcover)

Carr has done an excellent job. The story line and the characterizations were excellent.

To his credit, Carr manages to refer the reader to the protagonists' earlier adventure (see The Alienist) while at the same time providing enough information about the earlier adventure so that it stands alone. This serves both the reader familiar with the Alienist but who needs to have their recollections refreshed, and the first time Carr reader. (I am often frustrated and annoyed at authors who presume reader familiarity with their collected works.)

Carr also manages to portray early-day feminists and feminist theory in what I perceive to be an authentic fashion. In other words, I felt he accurately portrayed feminist thought in its incipient stages. Any so-called immaturity of thought on the parts of those characters seems, in historical context, appropriate.

My only complaint was the voice of the narrator, Stevie. The intonation, accent, and method of speaking may very well be accurate. However, I found it grating to see the obligatory "what" every few paragraphs. (E.G. The girl what had the burney.) I am both relieved and intrigued to hear that Carr plans to write additional Alienist volumes and put each one in a different voice. All in all, an excellent work.

60 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars s- l-o-w beginning followed by fast, exciting conclusion, July 6, 1998

By 

Patricia O'Tuama "rissa" (Illinois) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Angel of Darkness (Mass Market Paperback)

If you've already read "The Alienist" you can skip the first 100 pages of this book, it takes that long for Carr to settle into telling the story of Libby Hatch. Whereas "The Alienist" was told from the viewpoint of John Moore, a journalist for The New York Times, "The Angel of Darkness" is narrated by Stevie Taggart, one of the characters from that first book. Once the book actually gets going, however, it's first-rate, in particular the courtroom scenes with Clarence Darrow and the sections in which Stevie and Miss Howard (also from the first book) drive around upstate New York searching for information about the elusive Libby. Theodore Roosevelt makes a reappearance in this book as well although I thought his whole reason for getting involved in the case was a bit contrived. On the whole, however, it's a well-written and interesting book. Carr twice hints that the next book will be written from the perspective of the independent and energetic Sara Howard, which should be most interesting.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A worthy sequel, April 1, 2000

By 

New World Smurf "new_world_smurf" (Richmond, Virginia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Angel of Darkness (Mass Market Paperback)

"A sequel to 'The Alienist'? YES! " I actually shouted that out loud in a library when I was told about "The Angel of Darkness." Again, Caleb Carr paints an intricate portrait of Golden Age New York, and brings back all the great characters from "The Alienist," utilizing a unique twist in changing his narrator from society reporter John Moore to the street-smart Stevie Taggert, whose less-than-perfect grammar doesn't obscure his keen observations. Again, Carr utilizes real-life historical figures, most notably a young Clarence Darrow, to bring authenticity to the story of a female child-murderer and the investigation that brings her heinous crimes to light. So why only four stars? Those of you who have read Ann Rule's "Small Sacrifices" will see a lot of Diane Downs in murderer Libby Hatch--in fact, Carr cites Rule's book as an influence. Overall, though, a great sequel--can't wait for the next one!