Product Description

Assistant D.A. Alexandra Cooper is deeply involved in a complicated, high-profile homicide case against defendant Brendan Quillian, a prominent young businessman charged with the brutal strangulation of his beautiful young wife. His conviction is not a certainty: Quillian was conveniently out of town on the day of the killing, and his defense attorney seems to be one step ahead of Cooper's effort to prove Quillian paid a hit man to commit the crime.

Halfway through the trial, a major catastrophe alters the course of Cooper's case. A cataclysmic explosion rips through New York City's Water Tunnel #3, a Spectacular feat of modern engineering that will be completed years in the future. Was the blast caused by terrorism? Political retribution? Or was it merely an accident? Cooper is quickly drawn into the tragedy when she discovers a strange connection linking Brendan Quillian to the tunnel workers killed in the explosion.

Told with Linda Fairstein's trademark blend of brilliant detective work, cutting-edge forensics, and electrifying courtroom drama, Bad Blood is packed with the twists and turns that never fail to thrill her legions of devoted fans.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #203164 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 416 pages

From Publishers Weekly
In the exciting ninth Alexandra Cooper legal thriller from bestseller Fairstein (after Death Dance), the Manhattan prosecutor is confronted with the trial lawyer's greatest fear—a witness who's destroyed on the stand. When the defense attorney shows that Kate Meade, the lead witness in Cooper's circumstantial case against Brendan Quillian for the murder of his wife, Amanda, has concealed her affair with the defendant, this revelation of Meade's potential bias has a devastating effect on the prosecution's case. As Cooper struggles to recover, the case takes a whole new twist when a fatal explosion in New York City's third water tunnel, which is under construction, suggests that Amanda's death is connected with other violent acts in the Quillian family's past. While Cooper may engage in a few too many action sequences for legal purists, the crisp writing and Fairstein's enviable capacity to translate her own experience as a prosecutor into an accessible plot puts this series a cut above most entries in this crowded subgenre. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Fairstein, former chief of the Sex Crimes Unit in the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, returns with her ninth legal thriller starring prosecutor Alexandra Cooper. The author's own expertise again adds to the credibility of her fiction, in terms of courtroom banter, pacing, and those small "you couldn't make this up" details, such as the fact that shopping carts are the current favored receptacles for attorneys' case files. Her plotting is steady if formulaic. The big flaw in Fairstein's writing is that she has a tin ear when it comes to how people talk; her dialogue, often progressing in parallel phrases and clauses that are highly unlikely to occur in normal speech, is weighed down with backstory. Because she wants dialogue to do the work of narrative, she puts all manner of improbable words in her characters' mouths, thereby revealing motive and emotions. This tale starts with the trial of an upscale Manhattanite accused of murdering his wife. An explosion in the tunnels underneath the city interrupts the trial. Not surprisingly, the defendant is connected to the disaster. Again not surprisingly, Cooper must search within the tunnel system to find the answers. What works about this overly manipulative plot device, however, is that it gives Fairstein the opportunity to present some genuinely fascinating historical and engineering facts about the "city of death" far below Manhattan. Clunky in style but strong on procedural detail and background material. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"FAIRSTEIN TELLS IT LIKE IT IS."

-- Michael Connelly

"A CHAMPION TELLER OF DETECTIVE TALES."

-- USA Today

"FAIRSTEIN REALLY KNOWS WHAT SHE'S WRITING ABOUT."

-- James Patterson

"A FUN READ FOR THE LAW & ORDER GENERATION."

--The Washington Post

Customer Reviews

Best yet- thrilling drama in the courtroom and under the streets.
This twisted tale of murder and revenge begins with a gripping courtroom scene, and if you've even been a trial lawyer, or a fan of Court TV, every word will ring true. Some scenes are set in the underworld of caverns, wells and tunnels of the "sandhogs" who built the NY water system, and the brotherhood which guards their secrets. The surprise ending involves a DNA twist that no one will ever guess!

A well-written book that leaves readers wanting more
The Hatfields and the McCoys have to take a backseat to the Quillians and the Hassetts, the two feuding families at the center of Linda Fairstein's latest novel. With her ensemble characters --- Assistant DA Alexandra "Alex" Cooper and NYPD detectives Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace --- working with their supporting coterie, BAD BLOOD is a riveting and truly interesting read.

When Amanda Quillian is found brutally murdered, the team quickly comes to the conclusion that Amanda's husband, Brendan, hired a hitman to do the dirty deed. Brendan is arrested, indicted and defended at his trial by smart, suave Lem Howell. Before becoming a defense attorney, he mentored Alex in the District Attorney's office where they developed an ongoing affection and mutual respect. But when the sparks start to fly in the courtroom, the gloves come off and each fights mercilessly for their side --- that is, until Brendan grabs a court officer's gun and shoots her in the head. For a few moments the chaos becomes the cover Brendan needs to make a clean escape.

Alex, Chapman and Mercer lead the complex investigation into Amanda's murder, discovering who Quillian really is, where he could be hiding and who might be helping him. Their queries take them from Manhattan to the Bronx and then to a "big dig" deep underground in the center of Manhattan, where an old murder surfaces that leads to another related killing --- both of which are the underlying events for the hatred between the families.

The third-generation Irish workers on site are the descendants of their immigrant grandfathers who first descended into the black hole that would take them 60 feet down to a dark and dangerous workplace. They burrowed their way through bedrock and mud to build the subway systems, "gas mains, housing for electrical wiring, sewers and shafts of every variety --- as well as the two antiquated tunnels that have carried billions of gallons of fresh water daily, for almost a century, from upstate to the five boroughs...all built by a small cadre of construction workers known as sandhogs. They have not only created this underground kingdom but they are the only men ever to see most of it."

Fairstein came to writing after 25 years as the founder and head of the Sex Crimes Unit, which is still a linchpin in the workings of the NYPD. (Olivia Benson, the female lead in the long-running television series "Law and Order," is based on the author.) And in the same way that viewers of the show are witnesses to sex crimes, readers are informed by Alexandra Cooper (Fairstein's alter ego) that "most people don't treat victims of domestic abuse in the same manner" as other victims --- even now, in the 21st century. As a matter of fact, the subject of "intimate-partner violence" is a running theme in all of Fairstein's books. But have no fear; she writes only to inform, not to preach.

The architecture that holds Fairstein's stories together lies in her plots, her gift for creating likable characters, her ability to keep them fresh each time they appear, and her habit of shaping her tales with heady historical "trivia," which imbues her work with fascinating authority.

BAD BLOOD is not a perfect book. It flags in some places and strains credulity in others, yet the reader is kept wanting more. Fairstein does not write noir nor does she indulge in rock 'em sock 'em antics and cozies; rather, she presents a mystery, plus a team to work together as colleagues and friends in order to solve it. Her audience can count on being firmly and fully satisfied. BAD BLOOD is no exception.

--- Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum.

Excellent suspense and storytelling
In my opinion, I thought "Bad Blood" was an excellent read, and it kept my interest as I followed Alex Cooper as she searched for answers to solve a tunnel explosion and a man on trial for the murder of his wife. The story moves along at a quick pace and I felt it was an interesting read. The reviews are numerous on this tale, so there's no need at this point to recap the story further, else I may give away more of the story for those folks that haven't read it. I will add that it was very educational to learn (which I always enjoy) about the water tunnels of New York City. It was very apparent that Ms. Fairstein did a considerable amount research into this subject and I appreciate her effort. Overall, if you enjoy a great mystery you won't be disappointed in "Bad Blood". I'd gladly recommend it to anyone.