'The Alienist' is an historical fiction novel placed in New York City in the late 1800's. An alienist is one that studies and anayzes the mentally ill who themselves were described as aliens who had diverted from the considered norms of behavior. The author has done an amazing job of describing the search for a serial killer by dissecting his behaviors and discovering his life's experiences to be able to project his next course of action and hopeful capture.
The characters that drive the story are superbly developed and comprise of a New York Times journalist and a doctor of psychology who together create the main protagonist. Closely bonded to them are 3 detectives that are assigned to assist them, one female and two male and several lesser characters that lend significant contributions in the search. This story through these characters fleshes out a complete and satisfying tale that you can't put down once started. Of course, New York City in its landmarks and layout plays a critical role as well.
I read this as a paperback but can imagine that an audiobook may be just as good. This book was originally published in 1996 and it is stated on the back cover of the book that 'this book serves as a touchstone of historical supense fiction for readers everywhere'. For those that find this intriguing, I would encourage you to find some time to put this on your TBR and let it offer you hours of wonderful entertainment when you choose to take it up.
The characters that drive the story are superbly developed and comprise of a New York Times journalist and a doctor of psychology who together create the main protagonist. Closely bonded to them are 3 detectives that are assigned to assist them, one female and two male and several lesser characters that lend significant contributions in the search. This story through these characters fleshes out a complete and satisfying tale that you can't put down once started. Of course, New York City in its landmarks and layout plays a critical role as well.
I read this as a paperback but can imagine that an audiobook may be just as good. This book was originally published in 1996 and it is stated on the back cover of the book that 'this book serves as a touchstone of historical supense fiction for readers everywhere'. For those that find this intriguing, I would encourage you to find some time to put this on your TBR and let it offer you hours of wonderful entertainment when you choose to take it up.