THE ALIENIST

TITLE: THE ALIENIST
AUTHOR: CALEB CARR
Pages: 612
Date: 05/04/2008
Grade: 5
Details: 1st book featuring John Schuyler Moore
Own

New York, 1896, and Theodore Roosevelt is Police Commissioner when someone sets out on a gruesome killing spree aimed at young male prostitutes who dress up as women.
With the newspapers even refusing to report the murders, city officials determined to shove the crimes under the carpet and the old and corrupt police officers still a dangerous force and threat to deal with, Roosevelt appears stuck between a rock and a hard place.
In an attempt to have the case investigated and solved, he asks two friends of his, journalist John Schuyler Moore and psychiatrist (alienist) Lazlo Kreizler to assemble a team to do just that.
Using unproven, unorthodox and unaccepted methods like fingerprints and more importantly profiling, the team creates an impression of the murderer that eventually allows them to identify and stop him, all the while facing opposition from all directions.
Great mystery and fascinating read with all the historical detail and a look at the emergence of modern policing techniques.
I will be trying very hard to find the sequel to this book.