Product Description

Manhattan Assistant D.A. Alexandra Cooper is working feverishly on a tough trial, seeking justice for investment banker Paige Vallis. But in a heated "he said, she said" case, Alex learns that Paige herself has something to hide. Uptown, the murder of an elderly woman with an intriguing past has NYPD officer Mercer Wallace and detective Mike Chapman hunting for an item of stunning value that may have cost McQueen Ransome her life: a legendary Double Eagle gold coin. The twisting threads of the seemingly unrelated tragedies soon entangle Alex in a life-and-death struggle in the watery inlets of New Jersey known as the Kills...where a violent predator is determined to silence her forever.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #162539 in Books
• Published on: 2004-12-28
• Released on: 2004-12-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 512 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780743436687
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
The title of the newest installment in Fairstein's Alexandra Cooper crime series (The Bone Vault; The Deadhouse; Final Jeopardy) refers not only to the several bodies that turn up in the course of the novel but to the creeks and channels that crisscross the watery periphery of Lower Manhattan. From her downtown office-and with the aid of NYPD detectives Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace-the doughty assistant DA tackles a complicated case, the rape of 36-year-old Paige Vallis. Psychotic Andrew Tripping is accused of the rape as well as of the physical and mental abuse of his own 10-year-old son, Dulles. While trying to convince a jury of Tripping's guilt, Alex is handed another kill, this one the suffocation of elderly Harlem Renaissance dancer McQueen Ransome. Queenie turns out to have a fascinating history, having been both an espionage agent in WWII and the mistress of the legendary Night Crawler, King Farouk of Egypt. On her way out of the palace door, Queenie pocketed enough of the king's treasure to set her up for life, which finally gets her killed. There are complications in the form of CIA agents, crooked lawyers, smalltime hoods and a surrounding cast of friends, lovers and enemies, all adding texture and realism to the story. Alex survives several attempts on her life and sleuths her way to a solution of both murders while untangling the knotted history that connects them. Fairstein's style and skills have matured over the years, making this a consistently dependable series with a likable and intelligent heroine.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Name that plot: a woman in distress looks for help when she is pursued by shady characters on the hunt for an aviary treasure. The Maltese Falcon? No, try The Kills, a title carrying double meaning, as it refers both to the channels in between the islands off lower Manhattan, which were dredged by the Dutch to assist in merchant shipping, and to the murders taking place on the island proper. Once again Fairstein features Alexandra Cooper, sex crimes prosecutor, who finds that her latest case runs deeper than the kills themselves. The story starts out slow and then falls into a familiar legal-thriller track: the well-intentioned attorney at a disadvantage because she does not have the full story. But the plot picks up as Fairstein peels the layers of the onion, ladling out backstory to expose the connections between a date-rape case and the murder of a Harlem woman. Another solid addition to a popular series. Mary Frances Wilkens
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
John Sandford Linda Fairstein's knowledge of the criminal justice system explodes on these pages -- seamlessly plotted, spiked by razor-sharp dialogue and the knowledge of a lifelong insider. -- Review

Customer Reviews

Well-constructed Suspenseful Read
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.

A great read from Fairstein.
Manhattan sex-crimes prosecutor Alexandra Cooper knows her new case, one involving an attack on investment banker Paige Vallis, will be hard to prove as is, but things take a sharp turn when Alex learns her client has something to hide.

What really happened the night of the attack? Why didn't Paige leave the apartment after the date turned ugly? What happened to her attackers son? And who is the mysterious man whose appearance in the courtroom scares Paige?

As Alex receives help from her detective friends on the rape case another puzzling crime is committed this time an elderly woman is found murdered and her apartment turned upside down. Who would want this woman dead and why?

While both case take strange turns more murders occur and Alex is forced to question what connection these two seemingly different women had.

`The Kills' is another great read from Linda Fairstein. The two story lines move fast combining shocking twists with courtroom thrills until a powerful climax ties together all the loose ends. Fans of Fairstein's previous novels will lap this up in one sitting for this may be her best page-turner yet.

Expect to see `The Kills' on the top of all the bestseller lists.

Nick Gonnella

Fabulous Fairstein
Okay, I admit it, I'm already a fan. But Ms. Fairstein has even more surprises in store for Alexandra Cooper in this book and I just loved the all the history and intrigue. She taps into the imagination with a golden key -- I won't give it away. A marvelous book.