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"Lethal Legacy" (reviewed by Guy Savage APR 14, 2009) “This library’s got more action than any crack den in Bed Stuy.” I’ll admit that I’d never heard of Linda Fairstein before picking up her latest thriller, Lethal Legacy featuring Assistant District Attorney Alex Cooper. So I was stunned (not to mention nonplussed) to discover that Fairstein is the author of no less than 11 thrillers featuring Cooper. It’s at times like these I thank this review site for introducing me to writers I would otherwise miss. Fairstein, by the way, has a great website, and you can go there and watch a video clip of the author touring The New York Public library, and you can also read the first chapter of Lethal Legacy while you are at it. For those of you out there who don’t know how Mostlyfiction "works," we volunteer reviewers sort out--amongst ourselves and with remarkably little fighting--just who is going to review what. I like to take chances with new names, so when I saw Lethal Legacy --a thriller that includes the hunt for a priceless copy of Alice in Wonderland , well…I knew I had to read it. After all, as a bookworm, I am attracted to tales featuring people who also make books a large part of their lives. Lethal Legacy is a terrific thriller that begins with a terrified young girl holed up in her apartment. The girl, Tina, has apparently been assaulted by a man posing as a fireman who gained entry to her apartment by feigning a fire outside of her door. Even though the intruder is long gone, Tina refuses to leave her apartment, and what is so bizarre is that she refuses to press charges. Alex Cooper, in charge of the DA’s Sex Crimes Prosecution Unit, is on the scene to gain Tina’s trust and cooperation. When Cooper fails on both counts, there’s no case to pursue--just the lingering taste that somehow they’ve missed something essential about the situation. Cooper’s instincts are right, and her boss, Paul Battaglia, soon pressures her to dig into the non-existent case a bit more. It seems that Tina, a conservator of rare maps may be a suspect in the theft of a number of rare books looted from the New York Public Library. But before Cooper can find Tina and question her again, another crime takes place in Tina’s apartment. This time it’s murder, and a priceless, jeweled encrusted book is found underneath the corpse. This valuable book is Cooper’s introduction to the wealthy, idiosyncratic Hunt family. While the Hunts are benefactors of the library, there are disputes within the family as to the future of the library’s Hunt Collection. When the body count rises, and some of the Hunt Collection appears to be the target of thieves, Cooper becomes caught up in the world of rare books, priceless maps, “thefts to order” and people who are willing to kill to secure a fortune. A great deal of the action centers on the New York Public Library--a fantastic institution that houses so many books that it seems some have unaccountability gone missing without a soul noticing. Cooper acculturates herself to the world of rare books, book theft and nasty family squabbles as she gets a crash course in the political workings on the Library’s inner sanctum controlled by some of the "finer" New York families. Fairstein convinces the reader that a creepy atmosphere exists within the New York Public Library, and it’s easy to believe that those who fervently protect books could so easily morph into killing for them. In spite of the fact that I have not (yet) read the previous 10 Alex Cooper novels, I did not feel out of my depth with the character’s past cases. Wisely, the author includes a little catch-up info with the introduction of familiar characters (Cooper’s romantically-inclined French beau, for example). The novel is also written in the first person, and so we are privy to Cooper’s thoughts, dislikes and suspicions and can keep in step with Cooper’s intuition about some of the odd (and unlikable) people she meets. Loaded with fascinating information about the theft and sale of valuable books, and some of the political issues regarding some of the library’s “sacred cows” (the sale of the painting Kindred Sprits to the Wal-Mart heiress, for example), the book introduces some fascinating information regarding the elite, inner sanctum of the valuable book world. The author’s legal background also comes into play in the novel with detailed information about forensics and cases in which suspects were nailed thanks to advancement in forensics. Ultimately this is a meaty thriller that educates as well as entertains. This is an author who interests me because I do like to learn from the books I read, and I would certainly not hesitate to pick up another Alex Cooper novel. Amazon readers rating: from 66 reviews. Read a chapter excerpt from Lethal Legacy at Random House. "Death Dance" (reviewed by Peggy Lindsey JAN 29, 2006) I'm a huge fan of Law and Order in all its various incarnations (well, okay, Trial by Jury was a bit of a dud), so I was swept in pretty quickly by Linda Fairstein's latest, Death Dance , with its cast of characters from both the law and the order side of crime investigation. Narrated by Alex Cooper, a young ADA working sex crimes, this murder mystery focuses on the death of a famous dancer backstage at the Met. That's the murder side of things. The book actually starts with another crime, the drugging and rape of two young Canadian women by their Turkish doctor host. Oh, and there's a sidebar trip to Martha's Vineyard with another death and a new character who might or might not be a stalker. Confusing? A bit. Because while the main story--the solving of the ballerina's murder--is suspenseful and entertaining, the rest of the book never quite meshes with the main plot. Why the guy at Martha's Vineyard? Is Fairstein setting the stage for new love interest for Alex in her next book? This is my first read of Fairstein, but Cooper and pals are clearly ongoing characters. As far as I can tell though, the book is supposed to stand on its own. But perhaps not. Otherwise, what was the point of the whole drug-and-rape plot line? Is there some requirement that Cooper's books always include a sex crime or is the deviant doctor a preview for a later work? And how about the inclusion of a stagehand named Ralph Harney, a Met employee who tries to avoid being questioned? To be fair, all those distractions probably add realism. I'm neither a cop nor a prosecutor, but I imagine most of their jobs involve working multiple cases that include lots of deadends and distractions. And in Fairstein's favor, the writing is consistently suspenseful. I was wondering who and why all the way through. In the end, I figured out whodunit about a dozen pages before Fairstein tells the reader, but I’m still not clear why I had to endure all the little subplots along the way. On the plus side, Fairstein does a great job integrating some fun trivia about New York history into the plot. That's trickier than it sounds. Lately, I’ve found a lot of writers who research their locales and then feel compelled to share every morsel in long, boring lectures by pompous characters. Fairstein blends her little lessons about how the big theatres were built by making sure the info appears when and only when it's relevant. So while Death Dance isn’t a flawless novel, it’s still one worth reading, particularly if you're a crime fiction buff. Fairstein’s allusions to her characters’ past adventures left me curious enough to find copies of her earlier works, generating a much-needed source of reads that are light without being fluffy. Death Dance is not great literature, but it's a smart book with smart characters that will keep you reading late into the night. Amazon readers rating: from 53 reviews. Bibliography: (with links to Amazon.com) (1996) (1997) (1999) (2001) (2003) (2004) (2005) (2006) (2007) (2008) (2009) (2010) (2011) (2012) (July 2013) Book Marks: The official Web site for Linda Fairstein Wikipedia page on Linda Fairstein MostlyFiction.com interview with Linda Fairstein The New York Times page on Linda Fairstein MostlyFiction.com review of Entombed, The Kills and Bone Vault Reader's Guide fore Lethal Legacy. About the Author: Linda Fairstein , one of America's foremost legal experts on crimes of sexual assault and domestic violence, ran the Sex Crimes Unit of the District Attorney's Office in Manhattan for more than two decades. Her first novel, Final Jeopardy , which introduced the character of Alexandra Cooper, was published in 1996 to critical and commercial acclaim. Her nonfiction book, Sexual Violence , was a New York Times Notable Book in 1994. She lives with her husband in New York and on Martha's Vineyard. Linda Fairstein. MostlyFiction.com links to Amazon.com, but we wholeheartedly encourage you to buy books from your local brick-n-mortar stores and to visit your library frequently. If you happen to click on one of links and make a purchase, we earn a commission and we always appreciate your support. Thank you. and don't forget to tell your friends about us. "Entombed" (reviewed by Eleanor Bukowsky JAN 29, 2006) In Entombed , Alex Cooper is on the trail of the so-called "Silk Stocking Rapist," a perp who has operated on the Upper East Side of Manhattan off and on for a number of years. This time, he tried to rape a Swedish exchange student and when she fought back, he brutally injured her. In another case, a crew at a construction site in Greenwich Village unearths the skeletal remains of a woman who was buried alive. It turns out that the killer may have had an obsessive interest in the works of the great American writer, Edgar Allan Poe. Alexandra Cooper's job is running the sex crimes prosecution unit of the Manhattan DA's office. She works with her good friend, Mercer Wallace, who is a member of the police department's Special Victims Squad. Alex and Mercer's colleague, Mike Chapman, is a sharp homicide detective who enjoys teasing Alex mercilessly. All three become embroiled in the case of the entombed skeleton, and when more bodies pile up, they realize that the killer is still at large and eager to cover his tracks. Fairstein's knowledge of police procedure and the criminal justice system lends a touch of realism to the proceedings. She effectively describes the emotional and physical torment that the victims of sex crimes suffer, as well as the difficulties facing the prosecutors who try to bring the offenders to justice. Cooper's handling of the "Silk Stocking Rapist" case is well done and makes for compelling reading. The second case, which deals with the madman who buried a woman alive, is not as tight or as realistic. This case leads Alex and her colleagues to learn quite a bit about Edgar Allan Poe's life and works, including the fact that he once lived in New York City. This plot, however, has a number of holes and far too many coincidences to be convincing. The large cast of characters, including a randy professor, a disgraced policeman, a venal psychiatrist, and a frightened businessman, are one-dimensional and underdeveloped. In spite of its flaws, however, Entombed is fast-paced and filled with enough action and excitement to satisfy most thriller junkies. Fairstein's fans won't want to miss this one. Amazon readers rating: from 51 reviews. Read a chapter excerpt from Entombed at SimonSays.com. "The Kills " (reviewed by Cindy Lynn Speer MAR 9, 2004) The trial is already promising to be a near impossible fight for Manhattan sex crimes prosecutor Alex Cooper. Paige Vallis has accused Andrew Tripping of raping her in front of his own son, intimating that if she didn't have sex with him, he'd hurt the boy. It's the worst kind of "he said-she said" mess, DNA doesn't much matter because he admits to having sex with her, the child's testimony is impossible to get, and worse, the main surprise witness, Kevin Bessemer, has escaped from police custody. It soon becomes a moot point. during the trial a mysterious man enters the court, and Paige is forced to reveal some secrets from her past. secrets that may be the reason she ends up being murdered. She's not the only murder victim. Queenie Ransome, an elderly black lady, is found murdered in her apartment; the sexual pose she's found in is a mimic of a sensual picture of her hanging over her bed from her younger days. She has nothing. she's been living in a shabby apartment, everything about her bespeaks of poverty, so why was she killed? Her exciting and glamorous past as mistress of King Farouk of Egypt may hold the key. But what do these two cases have to do with one another? Harry Strait, the man who scared Paige to silence, might know. but he's not telling. This is my first Fairstein book. I was interested because she's lived much of what she writes. her character is based on the same position that she held, that of district attorney. Thus, you can assume that the various aspects of procedural (which are too complicated and too bullheaded to be made up) and the court room are all correct. Not only does she write of these situations in a very realistic way, but also she manages to make it interesting, with good characters (Judge Moffett is fun to read, but would be a pain to work with, I think, in real life) and twists that seem reasonable. She's a very business like writer in that she sticks to the story. Any forays into the personal life are brief, neat interludes such as Alex stopping to play final Jeopardy with her two main men, Mercer Wallace and Mike Chapman, or when she tries to figure out her failing relationship with reporter Jack Tyler. I liked how this worked out because you get enough emotional background to care about the people, yet the story, with its well done turns, is allowed to shine on its own. As it should be. The historical details, especially that of Egyptian King Farouk, help make Queenie's story fascinating. Fairstein adds in just the right amount of details to make Queenie's past sound exciting and exotic, if, in the end, tragic. (Did you know Farouk loved red cars. he collected them, and wouldn't allow anyone else in his country to own one?) The killers aren't after just any old bit of loot, either, and what it turns out to be, and the connections it creates, is a real surprise. Amazon readers rating: from 33 reviews. Read a chapter excerpt from The Kills at MostlyFiction.com. "The Bone Vault" (reviewed by Hagen Baye MAY 28, 2003) "You didn't know how dangerous museum work could be, did you?" Former sex crime prosecutor, Linda Fairstein, shows just how dangerous museum work could be in her fifth crime fiction novel of the Alexandra Cooper series, The Bone Vault . The dead body discovered in an Egyptian sarcophagus en route somewhere abroad from the Metropolitan Museum of Art is found to be that of Katrina Grooten, a former curator at The Cloisters. She was part of the team of curators from The Met, its subsidiary Cloisters and The American Museum of Natural History preparing for the first ever joint exhibition of these world-renowned cultural institutions. She is found to have been poisoned by arsenic, and, almost miraculously, her body showed no sign of decomposition. Alexandra Cooper and the NYPD detectives assigned to assist the Sex Crimes Unit she supervises -- Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace -- soon realize that solving the murder will be a daunting task, given the immense size and labyrinthine nature of the spaces within these museums and the pervasive availability of arsenic for legitimate museum purposes; as well as the existence of conditions within their massive subterranean spaces conducive to the preservation of a dead body. There is also any number of suspects, ranging from the very head of the Met to the lowlife who had attempted to rape Katrina several months before she was killed. With The Bone Vault , Fairstein offers more than a suspenseful, well-plotted crime mystery. The book is infused with much information about the origins and history of the American Museum of Natural History and the Met, along with the Cloisters, which houses the Met's medieval collection. As is the case with the better mysteries, the reader is also treated with an education about the subject matter that is at the heart of the story. In The Bone Vault , we learn about the historic development of these great institutions, including, quite literally, the skeletons in their closets, as truly, at the heart of the murder under investigation is the raging modern debate over what to do about the previous generations' abominable desecration of the graves of aboriginal peoples to retrieve their bones for the sake of scientific research. Until last year, Linda Fairstein served for some thirty-years as an assistant district attorney to Robert Morgenthau, the District Attorney for the borough of Manhattan of the City of New York. The last twenty-five years of her stint were spent heading up that office's Sex Crimes Unit, where she not only personally prosecuted some of the better well-known sex crime cases, such as the Central Park jogger and the "preppie-murder" cases, but she was in the center of significant advances in this field of law, such as the greater protection given to victims' rights and technological advances in legal research and investigation (e.g., DNA, the use of the computer and the internet). Fairstein has acknowledged that her Alexandra Cooper character is modeled after herself with respect to the way Cooper conducts herself as a prosecutor. The reader gets to see a prosecutor in action, is given an insider's view of how she deals with the legal issues that confront her and how she goes about investigating her cases. Like the previous Alexandra Cooper books, The Bone Vault demonstrates how a prosecutor has to balance a number of cases that land in her lap at any particular time. Cooper does not have the luxury of being able to concentrate on the Grooten murder alone; she also has to handle cases involving statutory rape, an attorney into S&M and an internet pedophile, as well as worry about some crazy who is stalking her. The Bone Vault also furthers Fairstein's other acknowledged purpose of showing how closely she as prosecutor fashioned a unique working relationship with the police assigned to her unit's cases. The characters of Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace in particular belie the dumb-cop image and provide examples of how intelligent, dedicated and decent the police conduct themselves in their work. Some may question Fairstein's objectivity in her treatment of prosecutors and the police. However, she does present a balanced view of law enforcement. For example, the victim in the statutory rape case claimed that the accused raped her at knifepoint. Rather than being satisfied with unquestionably throwing the book at this mutt who happily engaged in sex with underage girls, Cooper sensed that the girl was lying and cleverly got her to admit that she had invited the guy into her bedroom and made the accusations only after he made her jealous and angry by saying that he had better sex with her girlfriend. In summary, the reader of The Bone Vault is treated to a fine crime mystery, an interesting lesson in museums, and an authentic (albeit fictional) account of how law enforcement goes about investigating and solving crimes. Amazon readers rating: from 47 reviews. Read a chapter excerpt from The Bone Vault at MostlyFiction.com. Bibliography: (with links to Amazon.com) (1996) (1997) (1999) (2001) (2003) (2004) (2005) (2006) (2007) (2008) (2009) (2010) (2011) (2012) (July 2013) Book Marks: The official Web site for Linda Fairstein MostlyFiction.com interview with Linda Fairstein MostlyFiction.com review of Death Dance MostlyFiction.com review of Lethal Legacy. About the Author: Linda Fairstein was for twenty-five years America's foremost prosecutor of crimes of sexual assault and domestic violence as head of the Sex Crimes Unit of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. A Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, she is a graduate of Vassar College and the University of Virginia School of Law. Recipient of the prestigious Nero Wolfe Award for "literary excellence in the mystery genre" for The Deadhouse , a New York Times bestseller, she is also the author of Final Jeopardy (an ABC Movie of the Week starring Dana Delaney), Likely to Die , and Cold Hit , all international bestsellers. Her nonfiction book Sexual Violence was a New York Times notable book in 1994. She lives with her husband in Manhattan and on Martha's Vineyard. Death Dance. New York Times bestselling author Linda Fairstein takes readers behind the scenes of New York City's theater world — from Lincoln Center to the lights of Broadway — in a riveting new novel, rich with her trademark blend of cutting-edge legal issues, skillful detective work, and heart- stopping suspense. Teaming up with longtime friends — NYPD's Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace — Assistant DA Alex Cooper investigates the disappearance of world-famous dancer Natalya Galinova, who has suddenly vanished backstage at Lincoln Center's Metropolitan Opera House — during a performance. The three colleagues are soon drawn into the machinations of New York City's secretive theatrical community, where ambition takes many forms, including those most deadly. Among Galinova's lovers is Joe Berk, the colorful, strong-willed boss of the Berk Organization, one of four family companies that own all the legitimate theaters on Broadway. The aging ballerina was using Berk to help revive her career at the time of her disappearance. Cooper, Chapman, and Wallace go underground and backstage at the Met, explore Berk's unusual apartment on top of the Belasco Theatre with its rumored ghostly resident, and then discover bizarre circumstances at City Center, which has a peculiar history not one of them knew about until now. Within the glamorous but sordid inner sanctums of the Broadway elite, the team confronts the ruthless power brokers who control both the stars and the stages where they appear. They meet Joe's niece Mona Berk, who is mounting a vicious campaign to extract her share of the family fortune, and stunning starlet Lucy DeVore, whose beauty may be her fatal undoing. Chet Dobbis is the artistic director of the Metropolitan Opera, and therefore privy to the most scandalous exploits among its famous inhabitants. He also knows every inch of the labyrinthine building into which the ballerina disappeared. Meanwhile, Alex is working on a very different case, using a creative technique to nab a physician who has been drugging women in order to assault them. As Dr. Selim Sengor eludes capture, Alex must navigate the new investigative world of DFSA — drug-facilitated sexual assault — intent on proving him guilty. Complicating her quest is the explosive legal and ethical dilemma of using the existing DNA databank to solve new cases. Can Alex convince a judge to let her prosecute a man for a violent crime using DNA that was collected for a prior case in which he was never charged? Or do the suspect's civil rights prevent law enforcement from keeping his DNA on file to be used against him at any future time? Death Dance is a spellbinding thriller combining a former prosecutor's fresh insight into hot-button legal issues with the unique history and spectacle of New York theater, and its shocking twists make this novel Linda Fairstein's most chilling adventure yet. Death Dance : Book summary and reviews of Death Dance by Linda Fairstein. Teaming up with longtime friends -- NYPD's Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace -- Assistant DA Alex Cooper investigates the disappearance of world-famous dancer Natalya Galinova, who has suddenly vanished backstage at Lincoln Center's Metropolitan Opera House -- during a performance. Reviews "Beyond the Book" articles Free books to read and review (US only) Find books by time period, setting & theme Read-alike suggestions by book and author Book club discussions and much more! Just $12 for 3 months or $39 for a year. Reviews. Media Reviews. "Fairstein, perhaps because she's following the outline of an actual case, manages to make the proceedings both muddled and shrill. Don't weep for Alex. She's done better work and is sure to do so again." - Kirkus. "A real winner." - Library Journal. "Starred Review. The book's added punch comes from Fairstein's Phantom of the Opera -like re-creations of the labyrinthine environs of the Met, beneath and behind the stage. A great read." - Booklist. "Despite the overcrowded plot, this whodunit manages to pirouette to a satisfying climax just as the curtain drops." - Publishers Weekly. This information about Death Dance shown above was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. In most cases, the reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that the reviews shown do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, please send us a message with the mainstream media reviews that you would like to see added. Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.