The novel qualifies as a sequel to Carr's successful The Alienist, even if the story takes place a century later. The narrator, criminal psychologist Dr. Trajan Jones, is an expert on Laszlo Kreisler, the hero of the earlier novel, and along with his college, Dr. Michael Li, he follows Kreisler's crime-solving methods even though they often conflict with the forensic methods of modern police departments. Partly for this reason, Jones and Li have been exiled from New York City to the upstate town of Surrender, where a series of bodies of teenagers appear under unusual circumstances.
State and local police suspect a serial killer preying on runaway children, and they don't welcome interference from Jones and Li, who suspect the teens are actually throwaway children who killed themselves, but whose bodies were then moved and arranged into something like tableaus.
The difference between runaway and throwaway is significant. Throwaways are a political sensitive issue in the state. They are children and teenagers abandoned by their often drug-addled parents. These particular kids seem to have been funneled to wealthy people in New York City. Whether because of sexual exploitation or other reasons, the teens returned to Surrender, where they committed suicide.
This is a 600-page novel, so there is obviously much more going on. Both Jones and Li find romance. Jones has a pet cheetah, which figures prominently in the story. A bright teenage boy, himself a throwaway, becomes their assistant detective and an important character. A sniper in the hills around Surrender threatens Jones and his team, an apparent attempt to get them to back off.
The pair do not surrender, however, and all this buildup eventually powers into an exciting conclusion that proves rewarding, even if not entirely believable.
No comments:
Post a Comment