The Kills

Rating:
Summary: Well-constructed Suspenseful Read
Review: Fairstein's heroine, Alex Cooper, prosecutor in charge of Manhattan's Sex Crimes Unit, returns once again with sidekicks Detective Mike Chapman and Detective Mercer Wallace. With a rape prosecution against defendant Andrew Tripping on her plate, Alex becomes concerned when she feels that the victim, Paige Vallis, a thirty-six-year-old investment banker, hasn't been entirely forthcoming. Frustration becomes Alex's constant companion, as she seems unable to interview Andrew's young son, Dulles, who was present during the alleged rape.

With her own decades of experience in the position held by protagonist Alex, Fairstein enlivens this novel with a sense of realism compounded with both the difficulties and triumphs of the career of a prosecutor, as well as the close relationships formed with the police detectives, a prosecutor's closest allies.

And when Alex begins investigating the murder of a poverty-stricken McQueen Ransome, an elderly woman in Harlem, she learns that McQueen had led quite a fascinating life, dancing around the world and later becoming mistress of the infamous King Farouk of Egypt. And according to Spike Logan, a graduate student interviewing her about her life experiences, Queenie helped herself to some of Farouk's rare collection of valuables when she left his palatial home.

As the crimes against Paige Vallis and McQueen begin to form a connection, Alex encounters some frightening moments of her own, as she is stalked in Manhattan and at her home on Martha's Vineyard. With clues mounting in the continuous investigations of these two crimes, Alex begins to fear for her life in this craftily constructed novel replete with mystery and suspense.

Rating:
Summary: the Kills--great story but missing character interaction
Review: I thought this was Fairstein's best story yet. The plot line was excellent and very interesting. Fairstein was very skillful in bringing together several different sub-stories that seemed unrelated at first, but all came together at the end.

The reason I gave this book only 4 instead of 5 stars was because I really missed the character interaction between Alex, Mike Chapman, and Mercer. In past books there was more interaction among them with the characters spending more personal time together, and that was always a very enjoyable extra for me in Fairstein's books. For those of us who always look forward to the unresolved sexual tension between Alex and Mike, that was missing for the most part. But then again.....maybe that's the point for now since both characters have their own personal relationships.

All in all, I definitely recommend this book as it's a great read....I just caution that the interpersonal dynamics are not as much a focus as usual, if that's one of the main reasons for reading the Alex Cooper stories.

Rating:
Summary: Tsk, tsk, Harriet
Review: I was surprised to see Harriet Klauser, the doyen of Amazon book reviews, refer to "The Kills" as character Alexandra Cooper's "third" starring role in a Linda Fairstein novel. Actually, it's her sixth. You're slipping, Harriet,