30. 1/24/10 The Alienist by Caleb Carr (498 pages)

Well written and tense, but not emotionally engaging for me. It was written like a modern psychological thriller, but still respectful of all of the historical details. I think the alienist himself invented criminal profiling in this book- tv needs to thank him. What would we be watching if he hadn't come up with the idea of recreating the killer's mind and personality? The actual killer-tracking story didn't do too much for me, although it felt suitably urgent when I was reading it, but I really like how the narrator was the reprobate rather than the quiet, sober one. Usually the rowdy character is the friend that seems glamorous, but who's life is less satisfying than it seems, and the narrator is the dull one who thinks things through. This time the other main characters were smarter, duller and more diligent. This also made me like Theodore Roosevelt. Most of the things I've heard about him make him seem irritating: he was good at everything, and annoyingly chipper. Carr makes his enthusiasm seem endearing. Yay Teddy! Oh, and I thought that Sara Howard the lady detective was a nice, feminist touch. I do, however, wish that I hadn't read the afterward- it didn't make me like the author any, and I would much rather his presence stayed invisible.