This review originally appeared on Goodreads on March 9, 2021.

The Angel of Darkness

By Caleb Carr – Ballantine Books – March 25, 2010

Review by Robin Marx

The second Dr. Laszlo Kreizler story, this one involves a kidnapped baby and a disturbed nurse whose youthful charges tend to end up dead.

While this was an enjoyable read, it didn’t equal or surpass The Alienist. The pacing felt a bit off in several sections, with strange detours and an occasional lack of urgency despite the core conflict. While it’s not really a complaint for me, there are a number of action sequences (and one particular supporting character) that cross a bit into pulp territory, which is not something I remember from the first book. Also, Dr. Kreizler seemed to take a back seat to much of the proceedings. Perhaps it was due to the new choice in narrator, but Kreizler spent much of the story off-screen, doing vague psychology stuff while the scrappy kid narrator got into punch-ups with juvenile gang members.

That being said, this book offers an opportunity to spend more time with Carr’s appealing characters, which is what I (and probably many readers) wanted most. There’s not as much mystery or investigation as the previous book, but the characters are solid and the historical figure cameos are fun, if a bit forced at times.

The first thing I did after finishing this book was check when the next book in the series is expected to arrive. I think that can be taken as a solid recommendation.

★★★☆☆

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