The Alienist

“We don't need to know everything about psychology, or alienism, or the history of all similar cases to finish this job. All we need to know is this man, his particular case...”

If only this quote had been said much earlier in the book, perhaps my rating would've been higher.

I'm not into criminal studies, I don't watch excessive amounts of true crime shows, I'm not obsessed with the era, the setting, the aesthetic, and I especially don't care for detailed depictions of horrific crime scenes. Perhaps this book wasn't for me. If any of that appeals to you, please do give this book a shot! I read this book as part of my book club, and while it did absolutely nothing for me, several of my friends really enjoyed this book.

I thought the book was slow and plodding, particularly the first 60% of it. I think I would've had a much better time of it if the discussions of criminal psychology (of which there are so many) were integrated a bit better. Instead it felt like we get a chapter about an actual crime being committed, four to six chapters with the characters sitting/standing around various tables/desks/breakfasts/lunches/dinners/hansoms talking about what it means to be or not to be crazy or schizophrenic, and a chapter or two of our insert character, Moore, going on a crazy adventure that doesn't go as it should but still results in valuable investigation information. It feels like this repeats two or three times, and then you're in the endgame. It also doesn't feel like the discussions about the criminal mind actually go anywhere. They were interesting in the beginning, but very soon it felt like they repeatedly rehashed the same material in different ways, and it started feeling very repetitive.

The last 40% picked up the pace from plodding to what felt like an actual story with direction. I enjoyed this part mostly, although I will say that the ending didn't feel like enough to make up for the work it felt like it took to get there. Perhaps if I had enjoyed the rest more, the ending would've felt satisfying, but I was left wanting more. There's a chapter of wrapup after the climax which I appreciated, though by that point I really wasn't connected enough to any of the characters to really be eager to see where they ended up.

I also would've greatly appreciated the author deciding on whether to call the main character “Laszlo” or “Kreizler”. Switching back and forth repeatedly within the same scene/paragraph was extremely distracting to read. I'll even say that it took me a few chapters in the beginning to actually realize they were the same person.

There's something here for people who are fans of the genre, but I found myself bored and unsatisfied. Maybe skip if you aren't big into criminal studies.