Alan Parks was born in Scotland and attended The University of Glasgow where he was awarded a M.A. in Moral Philosophy. Bloody January is his debut novel.
At CrimeReads he tagged six crime "books that have nothing in common but the huge part the cities in which they are set play," including:
Caleb Carr, The AlienistRead about the other entries on the list.
The Alienist is a historical mystery set in turn of the century New York. Lazlo Kreizler is The Alienist of the title. An alienist being the word used at the time for a sort of proto-psychiatrist. Against general opposition and suspicion, Kreizler uses his unusual talents to solve a series of murders with the help of his staff and pal John Moore, a wealthy newspaper reporter. The book was so successful when it waspublished in 1994 that it spawned its own mini-genre in which the crimes are solved by the first psychiatrists or even Sigmund Freud himself.
What’s so astonishing about the book is the insight into ‘Gilded Age’ New York. Carr was a historian before he wrote the book, and it certainly shows. But the research doesn’t lie heavy or stop the forward movement of the narrative, He manages to use his historical research to enlighten and add to the page-turning aspect of the novel. Like Luc Sante’s Low Life the book introduces us to a New York that is wonderfully strange.
It features Theodore Roosevelt and dive bars, unimaginable wealth and child prostitutes. It’s a portrait of New York full of industrial fortunes and immigrants fresh off the boat struggling to survive. It’s a remarkable achievement, huge in scope and narrative drive. If you haven’t read do yourself a favor and get a copy.
The Alienist is among Rosemary Simpson's six historical crime novels set during The Gilded Age.
--Marshal Zeringue
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