by Caleb Carr

With TNT’s eight episode adaptation of Caleb Carr’s bestseller set to premiere on January 22nd, now is the perfect time to pick up a copy of The Alienist. Set against the backdrop of corruption and scandal in 1896 New York City, the novel follows renowned and controversial “alienist” (an archaic term for a psychiatrist or psychologist) Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, who at the behest of then-Police Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt puts together a team to track down a particularly violent and dangerous serial killer stalking the Lower East Side. Inspired by real-life serial killer Albert Fish, the very human monster of The Alienist is one of the most unsettling in recent memory.