Those Bones Are Not My Child

By Caleb Carr

Book Overview

ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S 100 BEST MYSTERY AND THRILLER BOOKS OF ALL TIME - This suspenseful novel portrays a community--and a family--under siege, during the shocking string of murders of black children in Atlanta in the early 1980s.

Written over a span of twelve years, and edited by Toni Morrison, who calls Those Bones Are Not My Child the author's magnum opus, Toni Cade Bambara's last novel leaves us with an enduring and revelatory chronicle of an American nightmare.

Having elected its first black mayor in 1980, Atlanta projected an image of political progressiveness and prosperity. But between September 1979 and June 1981, more than forty black children were kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and brutally murdered throughout "The City Too Busy to Hate." Zala Spencer, a mother of three, is barely surviving on the margins of a flourishing economy when she awakens on July 20, 1980 to find her teenage son Sonny missing. As hours turn into days, Zala realizes that Sonny is among the many cases of missing children just beginning to attract national attention. Growing increasingly disillusioned with the authorities, who respond to Sonny's disappearance with cold indifference, Zala and her estranged husband embark on a desperate search. Through the eyes of a family seized by anguish and terror, we watch a city roiling with political, racial, and class tensions.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679774084
• ISBN13: 9780679774082
• Release Date: October 2000
• Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
• Length: 689 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.7" x 5.2" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Highly satisfying!

Caleb Carr does it again! I immensely enjoyed his first book, The Alienist. This one started out a little slow, but then it picked up. It was enjoyable reading the story from Stevies point of view. All of the main characters were back, with a compelling story line. Carr's historical writing takes you to the seedy side of New York, feeling like you are really there. The characters feel the same, like you are old friends with them. The details from the rich side, to the poor is just beautifully done. What a historical writer, that can pull you into his work! Have to say though, I did cry in the last chapters. Never thought I would cry ,that shows what an amazing writer he is!

A Masterful Thriller

A bit of a slow start, but wonderfly written; both structurally and plot wise.

WOW!

This book was amazing. After reading the Alienist I had high expectaions for this book and they were met. The begining is slow and is really hard to get into but once you do get into it you are hooked. I spent hours on end reading it and was never bored. The characters are life-like and are beautifuly discribed. The plot is exciting and very well thought out. It combines a court-room drama with a real scary thriller. I would recomend this book to anybody who likes to read and who has a relatively open schedule because once you get into the book you will have some long stretches of reading ahead of you. Happy reading!

EXQUISITE!!

Caleb Carr has done what is only rarely accomplished: Written a sequel worthy of its predecessor. Angel of Darkness is every bit as good as the ALIENIST and has the same rich characters to populate it: The Doctor (of course), Sarah, John, Cyrus, The Issacson's, (and in the end) Teddy. And it is told by Stevie this time. This was an interesting change, having the story told from Stevie's pointof view instead of Mr.Moore's (John). I note one other reviewer appreciated this and hoped for still another from Sarah's viewpoint. I agree. Mr. Carr's books are rich in history and detail of history to the point where you feel that you are really there with the characters. The pace is unrelenting, the plot is absolutely unpredictable. And you learn to care for these people that he creates with ink and paper. There are some books that stand outside the mainstream by themselves because of their nature and quality. They are timeless and will be as rich a reading experience 25 years from now as they are today. Mr. Carr has written two in this category: ALIENIST and ANGEL OF DARKNESS.

The Angel of Darkness.

I found this second fiction of Mr. Carr's to be very engaging. It is written in a style that I believe is meant to feel like a story, or memoir, passed between friends. The 'listner' is drawn in and experiences the story as the teller has, with his eyes and understanding, both as a child, and as an adult. I believe Mr. Carr succeded admirably in his purpose and has produced another quality book. Any particular portion that seemed suggestive or exagerated, I took as embelishment on the part of the narrating character, Stevie Taggert. (He is, after all, telling the story with the advantage of twenty-odd years hindsight). The book is a fascinating window on life in the time period, and offers a riveting story about a tormented murderess and crime and punishment in the late nineteenth century. Throughout the book are examples of the darkness that society unfortunately contains. Be it those who slip into drugs and poverty, the people who ignore them, or the mind that is twisted into crime and murder, we are shown them all. An excellent, poignant, disturbing, and even humorous, drama. The likable characters once again take up the gauntlet to see that cunning, money, and societal predjudices do not undermine justice. This book is a delight! Good show Mr. Carr! I hope to be reading your novels for another twenty years!