Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't relu get into it
Review: did you ever keep reading a book just because you had started it...I just couldn't relate to these people. Moderately interesting plot line; but I basixally didn;t CARE about tge protagonists. Sorry, won;t read the earlier ones.
Rating:
Summary: The Deadhouse
Review: Disappointing !! This book was a non starter. The few interesting plots were never resolved, ( maybe they will be in a future book) The main story line was just NOT interesting. I never cared about any of the characters and there was not enough of Alex's private life which I always enjoy. I could have put this book down and never come back to it. But I kept expecting it to get good, based on all of her previous books. It took me 9 weeks to read this book....need I say more.
Rating: 
Summary: Great story, would have liked more history in it!
Review: Fairstein is a new author for me. I actually spotted the view of the smallpox hospital and that's what made me pick the book up. I have been researching hospitals and institutions, any place where deaf people could have been sent just for being deaf in the U.S. (from about 1850 through the 1940's). So I often come across pictures, photographs, etc. of these haunting places. This was obviously a fiction, but I enjoyed the information concerning these islands and their institutions in New York. Incredibly amazing on several fronts. First off, we sure take our freedoms for granted now...back then, no one had freedoms except the very wealthy and powerful. Even if they committed heinous crimes, they could live in fairly splendiforous means with lower class criminals providing slave labor. Second, it's incredible that so many of these places were architecturally magnificent. Did their architects even consider what these places were going to be used for? What was the purpose of making a place that beautiful, where people were sent to die of infectious diseases? Kind of odd if you ask me!I enjoyed the books protoganist, Alex Cooper, though I get a bit uncomfortable with stories having to do with sexual crimes if it is overdone as a means to sell books. I don't think Fairstein is guilty of this and I will most probably pick up another one of her books, because I liked this one. I enjoyed the sense of friendship between Cooper and the cop...they truly enjoy one another's company purely as friends, and they complement each others strengths and weaknesses. I've had a couple of friends like that, both at work and in my interpreters, so I am pleased to see it written about well in a book. The story concerning a woman who dies, even after gaining protection from her abusive husband, is very complex. It got a little confusing trying to follow the threads of the story in some parts. But on the whole, an enjoyable mystery. Just would have liked a lot more historical information about that island and its hospitals...maybe the author would consider writing a nonfiction about that? Karen L. Sadler,
Science Education
Rating:
Summary: more heart, less description
Review: hmmmm have just finished it - started out promisingly, got a bit slow in the middle then went on to finish somewhat implausibly! having read all of fairstein's alex cooper series, i think there is something missing - perhaps it's heart. a strong female lead is great but alex just doesn't have enough frailties (that we're privvy to) to make her human and appealing. the strong woman character is (thank goodness) nothing new in this genre but she seems more of an imitation of tempe or kay. anyway, not a bad holiday read, but once i skimmed the descriptive passages of the island and its history there wasn't too much left to the actual plot.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I am a big fan of Linda Fairstein's Alex Cooper series, and I loved the first three books. The Deadhouse was a major disappointment, though. The plot was unbelievable, and it ended in a rather unsatisfying climax. One of my favourite parts of the previous books was the conversations between Alex, Mercer Wallace, and Mike Chapman. Even that was missing from this book, though, as Mercer was still recovering from being shot in the chest and Mike has fallen in love with an architect. That was the most disappointing part for me. I don't know if it was just me, but I always figured Alex would dump her annoying NBC boyfriend and end up with Mike. I'm still going to read The Bone Vault, because I liked the first books so much, but this book was a major disappointment.
Rating: 
Summary: Great addition to a great series
Review: I could not put this book down. Ms. Fairstein gets better with each book. I hope we don't have to wait too long for Alex and Mike's next case.
Rating: 
Summary: Not her best
Review: I have been anxiously awaiting the release of another book by Linda Fairstein and I was really disappointed. Working with crime victims myself and having worked in the criminal justice field for over 20 years, cops are some of my best friends. I particularly enjoyed the easy banter between Coop and Mike Chapman - including their Final Jeopardy bet. However, this book had little banter - only a hint at the chemistry that the two keeps buried just below the surface - and a story line that put me to sleep. I had to force myself to finish the book and normally I have to force myself to put Alex Cooper books down so that I can sleep or accomplish anything at all besides finishing the book. Hopefully this is not an example of things to come - only a lull that will result in the next book being spectacular.
Rating:
Summary: Linda's best yet!
Review: I just finished The Deadhouse and thought it was Fairstein's best yet! In The Deadhouse, Linda paints a beautiful picture to go with the historical facts in Alex Cooper's investigation into the death of Lola Dakota. Along with being a battered wife, the ingenious, albeit perfectionist, professor was a genius in her work--but obviously not in choosing a husband. Lola's work took her to a smallpox hospital outside of Manhattan for a dig along with a group of professor's from King's/Columbia Universities. I highly recommend this book if you're a Linda Fairstein fan. This is her best yet. She can't get them written fast enough for me! To read an interesting book related to Linda, please read A Tangled Web by Gregory Lions. This is based on a true story prosecuted by Linda back in the later 1996-97 relating to Madame X. It's a MUST read along and will give you a different look at the Prosecution!
Rating: 
Summary: silly & boring
Review: I love a good mystery...and when it is immersed with bits of history of New York City, I love it even more. Alex Cooper is now involved in the murder of a King's College professor, Lola Dakota (you gotta love that name!). A bit of paper with numbers on Lola's dead body sends Alex and Mike Chapman on a quest to Roosevelt Island, off the shore of Manhattan. We learn about the history of the island, including hospitals for the insane and small pox victims. Lola's colleagues become suspect for various reasons. Just another "can't put it down" book.
Rating:
Summary: New York history + mystery
Review: I love a good mystery...and when it is immersed with bits of history of New York City, I love it even more. Alex Cooper is now involved in the murder of a King's College professor, Lola Dakota (you gotta love that name!). A bit of paper with numbers on Lola's dead body sends Alex and Mike Chapman on a quest to Roosevelt Island, off the shore of Manhattan. We learn about the history of the island, including hospitals for the insane and small pox victims. Lola's colleagues become suspect for various reasons. Just another "can't put it down" book.
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