Synopses & Reviews
From "New York Times" bestselling author and former top prosecutor Linda Fairstein comes an electrifying new thriller rich with the riveting behind-the-scenes authenticity that only she can offer....
It's going to be a tough trial. Manhattan sex-crimes prosecutor Alexandra Cooper's case, involving an attack on investment banker Paige Vallis, would be difficult to prove even without the latest development -- it seems that Paige has something to hide.
Most of her story is clear. She'd had dinner with New York consultant Andrew Tripping three times before the March evening when she accepted his invitation to accompany him to his apartment. But what occurred that night? Why didn't she leave the apartment when he started to act strangely? What about Tripping's little boy, Dulles? What happened to the child that fateful evening? And who is the strange man whose appearance in the courtroom seems to terrify Paige?
While Alex's police detective friend Mercer Wallace helps her learn more of the sad details behind the increasingly puzzling rape case, colleague Mike Chapman is uptown in a decaying Harlem brownstone where eighty-two-year-old McQueen Ransome has been murdered, her apartment ransacked.
What could this impoverished, elderly woman have possessed that could have inspired such violence? Photographs on the wall suggest that "Queenie" was once a beautiful and voluptuous young woman who traveled to faraway places. Could there be a clue to her murder in her exotic background?
Her murder will be only the first. Others follow, as the tragic strands of the Paige Vallis and McQueen Ransome cases begin to converge in a poignant alliance of two women from very different worlds.
Faced with formidable personal and professional choices, Alex must learn the old lesson that appearances can deceive, even as she heads for a showdown in which her wits and her courage will be tested as never before.
With its winning combination of courtroom drama, historical detail, and the intriguing lore of a rare object whose fabled provenance provides a glistening thread through the story, "The Kills" is powerful, stylish writing from a hugely appealing crime-writing star.
Review
"[G]ripping details....Fairstein...makes the legal issues more exciting than any high-speed chase." Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review
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"Fairstein's style and skills have matured over the years, making this a consistently dependable series with a likable and intelligent heroine." Publishers Weekly
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"A no-holds-barred adventure populated with enough high-livers and lowlifes to keep its corps of cops, Feds, and counselors busy for months." Kirkus Reviews
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"[T]he 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, Booklist
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"This is a typical Alex Cooper thriller: fast-paced, with lots of New York City detail and a nice, twisted plot....Recommended." Library Journal
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"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." John Sandford, New York Times-bestselling author of Naked Prey
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"What separates Linda Fairstein's The Kills from the pack is her keen eye for authenticity. She smoothly blends her vast courtroom and police procedural knowledge with flat-out great storytelling and poignant insights into the history of the city she so clearly loves. Can't wait for another visit with Alex Cooper." Harlan Coben, New York Times-bestselling author of No Second Chance
Review
"Knowledge is power, and nothing proves that better than The Kills, which showcases Linda Fairstein's insider view of New York, in and out of the courtroom. Add her consummate storytelling skills and you have an unbeatable combination a propulsive, can't-put-down read, a fine addition to a top-notch series." Laura Lippman, author of Every Secret Thing
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"Linda Fairstein is quite simply one of the best crime fiction writers in America today. Ms. Fairstein has that rare gift of writing extremely well about what she knows best. The Kills is a richly composed novel of suspense, with intricate plotting and hold-your-breath courtroom drama. Fairstein should be required reading for law schools and police academies all over the country. Fairstein is fantastic!" Nelson DeMille
Review
"Fairstein has the expertise and the experience, and it shows. The Kills is a white-knuckle ride through the back roads of history, the sidestreets of New York, and the chilling world of unbounded greed." Kathy Reichs
Synopsis
Following the enormous success of The Deadhouse and Cold Hit, bestselling author and former Manhattan prosecutor Linda Fairstein stuns audiences yet again with The Kills, another thrilling tale of suspense based on New York City's fabled past. At the opening of The Kills, readers find Manhattan Sex Crimes Prosecutor Alexandra Cooper hard at work on a tough date rape case. But date rape is one of the most difficult crimes to prove, and it seems that Alex's client has something to hide. Meanwhile, Alex's colleague Mike Chapman is in Harlem, where an eighty-two-year-old woman has been murdered, and her apartment torn apart. What could this poor woman have had that would have been worth the risk for the killer? Alex and Mike uncover that years ago she was the mistress of King Farouk of Egypt. Could he have given her something of value such as the legendary seven-million-dollar Double Eagle gold coin? As the two cases unfold and converge, danger follows. Alex finds that appearances can deceive, even as she heads for a life-and-death struggle in the dramatic setting of the watery inlet of the Kills in New Jersey. Rich with courtroom drama, fascinating New York City history, and the lore of the fabulously valuable gold coin, The Kills is powerful, stylish crime writing from an enormously talented author.
Synopsis
Manhattan sex crimes prosecutor Alexandra Cooper is hard at work on a difficult case, and her client has something to hide. Meanwhile, Alex's colleague, Detective Mike Chapman, is in Harlem where an 82-year-old woman with a mysterious past has been murdered. What could she have possibly owned that was worth the killer's risk?
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 District Attorney's Office in Manhattan. A Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, she is a graduate of Vassar College and the University of Virginia School of Law. Her first novel, Final Jeopardy, which introduced the character Alexandra Cooper, was published in 1996 to critical and commercial acclaim and was made into an ABC Movie of the Week. Likely to Die and Cold Hit followed, all three novels achieving international bestseller status. The Deadhouse, winner of the prestigious Nero Wolfe Award as best crime novel of 2001, and The Bone Vault both debuted on the New York Times and London Times bestseller lists. 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.