FROM THE PUBLISHER
The year is 1896, the place, New York City. On a cold March night New York Times crime reporter John Schuyler Moore is summoned to the East River by his friend and former Harvard classmate Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, a psychologist, or "alienist." On the unfinished Williamsburg Bridge, they view the horribly mutilated body of an adolescent boy, a prostitute from one of Manhattan's infamous brothels. The newly appointed police commissioner, Theodore Roosevelt, in a highly unorthodox move, enlists the two men in the murder investigation, counting on the reserved Kreizler's intellect and Moore's knowledge of New York's vast criminal underworld. They are joined by Sara Howard, a brave and determined woman who works as a secretary in the police department. Laboring in secret (for alienists, and the emerging discipline of psychology, are viewed by the public with skepticism at best), the unlikely team embarks on what is a revolutionary effort in criminology - amassing a psychological profile of the man they're looking for based on the details of his crimes. Their dangerous quest takes them into the tortured past and twisted mind of a murderer who has killed before . . . and will kill again before the hunt is over. Fast-paced and gripping, infused with a historian's exactitude, The Alienist conjures up the Gilded Age and its tarnished underside: verminous tenements and opulent mansions, corrupt cops and flamboyant gangsters, shining opera houses and seamy gin mills. Here is a New York during an age when questioning society's belief that all killers are born, not made, could have unexpected and mortal consequences.

9/15/04 Accepted on Bookrelay by lovemylife

Book arrived in the mail this morning. Thanks, lizabeth86.

Couldn't quite get into this book. I hope someone in New Zealand, where it is going now, will like it.

I got this box of books today. Since it was the last set I was waiting on, the Mbag (or perhaps a quicker method) will be going out to New Zealand on Monday.

RELEASE NOTES:

Sending in an M-bag to FutureCat for the New Zealand Convention.

A huge sack of books arrived today - too late for the convention, unfortunately, but they'll still be greatly appreciated by the Christchurch Bookcrossers, and a few might end up travelling over to Australia for the Brisbane convention in June.

Many thanks lovemylife, and nekki!

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Caught this one at a get-together of Dunedin bookcrossers where we met some Christchurch bookcrossers who were in town for the Regent 24 hour booksale.
I have been told this is a good book so will add it to my towering TBR pile.
Thanks for sharing everyone.

I really enjoyed this mystery which is set in New York. The year is 1896 and young boy prostitues have been found dead, not just murdered but mutilated as well. Enter our investigators; reporter John Moore his friend Dr Kriezler a psychologist aided by Sara Howard a police department secretary and two detectives. This team works together to build a psycholgical profile of the alleged killer and then work to find him before he kills again.
There were some memorable characters and a wonderfully atmospheric setting in the book and the ending didn't disappoint.
I shall keep my eye out for more by the same author, but shall pass this onto another NZ bookcrosser providing she hasn't already read it.

RELEASE NOTES:

Posted to Sherlockfan this afternoon. I do hope you enjoy it!

Thanks Boreal, it arrived today 14th October. I have read and enjoyed others by this author so I've no doubt I'll like this one which comes so highly recommended. I'm in the middle of Dan Brown's Deception Point which is so thoroughly modern the contrast will be very interesting.
Warm regards

Why does it take me so long to write journal entries? Am I the only BXer who does this?
I so thoroughly enjoyed this book and am really grateful to Boreal for sending it to me even though I initially declined her offer. I've loved the historical backgrounding of the developments in forensic science - this book is virtually a history textbook within its genre.
I've mentioned it to several friends who read this type of story only to find that 'everyone' has already read it - where was I in 1994 to have missed it?
In a historic first meeting with futurecat and other BXers in Wellington tomorrow I'll take the book and hope that someone will pick it up and enjoy it as much as I have. Thanks Boreal.

Picked up at a most enjoyable meetup with some of the Wellington bookcrossers. Great to meet you all!

Yes, I know this book has been through my hands before. I was tempted to add it to Mt TBR when the m-bag arrived, but I'd already snaffled more than my fair share of the books, so resisted the temptation to be even more greedy. But boreal and Sherlockfan's reviews made it sound so good that when I saw Sherlockfan had brought it to our meetup I just had to grab it!

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A fascinating glimpse into the beginnings of forensic psychology. To my untutored eye, the historical details seemed convincingly accurate - at least, there were none of the howling errors you so often come across in historical novels. The contemporary voice was a nice touch, although it does make the book a little harder work to read (or maybe that's just because I was trying to read it while utterly exhausted from escorting MrPloppy's parents on their whirlwind tour of NZ).

My one major quibble is with the physical book, rather than it's intellectual content: obviously something slipped in the printing/binding process, because the margins in this copy are all over the place, with many pages having virtually no outside margin - and it's amazing how an aesthetic thing like that can mar your enjoyment of a good book. And the text itself could have done with a proof-reader's eye cast over it - there were quite a few glaring errors.

But overall, a really good read, and worth putting up with its physical defects.

Now, I wonder how I go about changing my major to forensic psychology... :-)

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Picked up by someone at the Timaru meetup on Saturday.

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An enjoyable detective story. I wonder how they always seemed to have money... Great descriptive style of writing.

Picked up last week at meet up

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

This book was on my reading pile but I am unable to get it read before leaving the country and it is therefore being given to another bookcrosser.

The Christchurch bookcrossers meet up on a regular basis,the information is on BCNZ Yahoo NZ The main organizers are FutureCat and myself and we welcome new members to our very friendly group.

From a box of books from lytteltonwitch.

Left in a phonebox.