ornery_librarian's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent, I love these Kreizler books. I'm never a fan of a courtroom scene and even Carr couldn't get me into it. Otherwise a wonderful novel. Carr brings the 1890's to life.
daydreamangel18's review against another edition
4.0
Another adventure with the good doctor and his merry band of investigators and this time from the young man Stevie’s perspective. This plot deals with a female mass murderer who kills children even her own kids did not escape her cruel hands. I enjoyed the courtroom scenes and the excursions the team went on to prove Libby Hatch’s guilt. Like the first in the series, it was a fun ride.
blbstorey's review against another edition
4.0
I remember being a tad less impressed with this second book in his "series," but The Angel of Darkness is still an excellent period mystery/thriller, well-plotted, beautifully written, and a well-drawn villain. Highly recommended!
viktoriya's review against another edition
DNF'ing this about half way through. I just can't go on anymore. I absolutely loved [b:The Alienist|40024|The Alienist (Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, #1)|Caleb Carr|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388256626l/40024._SY75_.jpg|2266643] and read it twice already, but [b:The Angel of Darkness|767307|The Angel of Darkness (Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, #2)|Caleb Carr|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1433066571l/767307._SY75_.jpg|1441588] doesn't even feel like it was written by the same person. Where is the intensity, suspense, or the historical background that I loved so much in The Alienist?
buj's review against another edition
5.0
How Carr makes what should be a dense 600+ page book easy reading and consistently interesting is beyond me. Focusing on Stevie's POV was a very clever way to give readers another perspective on New York 1897 as well as characters like Laszlo, Sarah, Cyrus, and Moore. There's more forensic development, and you get insight into the workings of the court house in this one, which I found very captivating though very stressful. The psychological focus on a woman serial killer was refreshing as well, and I'm excited to see where the 3rd books goes.
Sidenote: after reading this book, I'm pretty disappointed in the second season of the show. Stevie is such a good character, and this narrative was well-plotted. Not sure why they had to reinvent it, though I do like the show's focus on Sarah (which I'm hoping will be in book 3).
Sidenote: after reading this book, I'm pretty disappointed in the second season of the show. Stevie is such a good character, and this narrative was well-plotted. Not sure why they had to reinvent it, though I do like the show's focus on Sarah (which I'm hoping will be in book 3).
mactammonty's review against another edition
3.0
The is book is long, a little too long. The historical detail without the glossing over of the ugly side of history was a great touch. It added to my enjoyment of the story.
The different twists and turns the story took, along with the court room drama was also very good.
Unfortunately it started to drag near the end.
The different twists and turns the story took, along with the court room drama was also very good.
Unfortunately it started to drag near the end.
amluchetti's review against another edition
3.0
I hate to give this one 3 stars, but the first one, The Alienist, was just so good and I couldn't give this close to the same rating.
While I enjoy having the story from a different perspective, this time Stevie instead of John. I don't like how Stevie viewed John so differently. While of course John will have a higher opinion of himself, Stevie made him seem utterly useless and a constant drunk. Probably true, but I would have liked him to give John some credit.
That said, the actual story and murderer was interesting. Worth reading, just hard to compare to the wonder of the first.
While I enjoy having the story from a different perspective, this time Stevie instead of John. I don't like how Stevie viewed John so differently. While of course John will have a higher opinion of himself, Stevie made him seem utterly useless and a constant drunk. Probably true, but I would have liked him to give John some credit.
That said, the actual story and murderer was interesting. Worth reading, just hard to compare to the wonder of the first.
mixxie67's review against another edition
1.0
This was a big disappointment. I should have listened to the bad reviews. I hated the narrator. I couldn't get past a few pages. It was just too annoying.
jennyboj's review against another edition
I dropped it and went to watch the series instead. The pov just isn't the same as John's...
restated's review against another edition
2.0
Spoiler
I really enjoyed the first book in the series, but the further I got into this one the messier and more disappointing it got. Part of that is personal preference - I have never met a tense courtroom scene I didn't find excruciating, no matter how well it's handled. The other part is trickier. While the first book did an ok job of portraying the attitudes of the time while also being extremely clear about addressing the damage they cause, the second book struggled hard. I do not understand why the author made one particular ongoing unexamined character choice - it came across as both uncomfortably comedic and tremeeeeendously outdated.The entire ending was baffling. And fridging one woman is a mistake, but twice is a pattern. UGH truly I am disappointed. There were moments when this had the same charm as the first but it couldn't make up for everything else.