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katielizroy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Ableism, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Stalking, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail
meowster18's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Misogyny, Racism, Trafficking, and Kidnapping
anhedonia2's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? No
Graphic: Child death, Gore, and Murder
Moderate: Pedophilia and Transphobia
Minor: Ableism and Racial slurs
alih's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
sarah_ann_roth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Sexism, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation
lilifane's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
You definitely need at least some interest in the following, though: New York City (preferably it's history) and CSI/Criminal Minds (crime scene investigations and criminal profiling). Because there is a lot and I mean A LOT of words dedicated to these topics. Which means I loved it.
The story takes place in 1896 New York City and is a about an alienist (duh) trying to catch a serial killer. But it's not really a who done it, it focuses more on the psychological factor of such a crime, on the obsacles during that time to pursue such a goal and on all the methods of forensic science and criminal profiling that we take for granted now but that didn't really exist back then or were just being discovered.
I needed some time to get into the writing style and setting but once I was used to it, I really enjoyed it. To discover one of my favourite cities in such a historical setting was really cool and I appreciated how much time Carr spend on describing it in such a detailed and intimate way. (I wasn't that much interested in the political aspects though.)
The whole investigation process was amazing. Yes, it was very detailed and slow paced sometimes but... I didn't know that a whole chapter about the analysis of one letter could be this exciting. And discovering all those details with the protagonists little by little was absolutely rewarding.
Fell in love with the protagonists very quickly btw. The way they interacted with each other was just beautiful.
But... there are some things that bothered me, although most be attributed to the time the book was placed in. Sooo few women for example (although a very very cool one among the protagonists). And the way mentally ill people, queer people, sex worker were talked about even by some of the progressive protagonists (although one aspect of the book is to accept/respect these margialised groups more). I'm conflicted. Some deaths and the purpose they had make me angry. And this has nothing to do with the time period, this I just didn't like.
But as a whole I was really impressed by the book and how smart the plot was. And the author's note in my edition was hilatious. The story with the fake photo is my new fav thing.
Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Murder