Reviews

El ángel de la oscuridad by Caleb Carr

ultimatekate's review against another edition

4.0

This book is the follow up to Carr's "The Alienist." The team is trying to solve a different crime--the kidnapping of a little girl. All of the main characters are back, but this time around, the narrator this time around is Stevie, the teenager Lazlo took in to serve as his driver. Like the first book, we see the beginnings of forensic science, but in this book, we see a lot more about the role of women in society. Good stuff.

paocampo_21's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

victoriafrost1991's review against another edition

5.0

I loved the Angel of Darkness!! It had more action and a swifter tempo than the Alienist. Sort of wished more was done with the Dusters gang when the good doctor and his team had a chance.

mrsdryoder's review against another edition

4.0

The first 150 pages or so were slow going, but did serve to remind me of what happened in The Alienist. Long book, but good read overall. I love stories that involve shrinks. :)

jall_rym's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

jordan03's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• 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

kitdunsmore's review against another edition

5.0

Another page turner that I could not put down. Except for using the same characters and setting (and also being a good read), this story is really different from its predecessor. Again, a psychologist and his detective friends go after a serial killer, but this time they know exactly who they are after much earlier in the game. Result: a much scarier story in which we are constantly aware of the murderer and afraid for our heroes at every turn. As in the first book, the mystery is slowly unraveled over time and leads to a dramatic confrontation with lots of danger and violence along the way. Another 19th-century procedural, complete with courtroom drama, and just as satisfying as the first book was to read.
It's not however a perfect book. I got annoyed with the choice of narrator whose voice is uneven. Supposedly he grew up on the streets and got a good if informal education later, but there were plenty of times when paragraphs full of technical details and grammatically perfect first-person prose were followed by slangy and folksy language that was jarring. However, my desire to know what happens next overpowered my irritation. The level of intrusion of historical detail on the story was about the same as for The Alienist.
Overall, engrossing and well worth reading.

kathrynmoonchild's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

sarah_piette's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

ggregregregg's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5