Rating: 
Summary: What Happened?
Review: What a disappointment! I loved the previous three Alex Cooper mysteries, finding them smart and compelling. I grabbed this next in the series in hardback and settled in for a great read. It read as though she knew her fans were waiting (we were), but she really didn't have the time to carefully develop the story or characters. Unlike her other works, I not only felt no connection to the characters, but none to Alex. Her relationship did not ring true with Jake, either. Bits and pieces, but nothing to hold on to....I'll be back, but please give us what the first three did! A "can't put it down"!!
Rating:
Summary: hard and uncharming style
Review: Despite Linda Fairstein's attempts to feminize her leading character, Alexandra Cooper (interestingly enough, the name is taken from a male friend of Fairstein's, Alex), by relating details like high heels and Caleche and fingernail polish, this book is generally written in tough, masculine prose. It also has that creaky, formulaic thriller style. If it were only 200 pages long, the book would be more palatable, but over 400 pages of male-style detachment and plain delivery? Female readers will find it tough to identify with Alex, with her lack of connectedness, her attitude toward (or should I say, against) children, her heroine who, at "five feet ten inches tall and a hundred and ten pounds" , must be skin and bones, as that weight is normal for a healthy woman of 5'2"! The demands of her career as a prosecutor, her ever-vibrating beeper, her interrupted holidays, only serve to emphasize the emptiness of her life as a woman. Some of the narration made me laugh, as when Alex and her lover, Jake, spent a brief part of a holiday season morning "calling family and friends." (Was each call allotted maybe three minutes?) One minor editing error: A male friend has a new girlfriend whose last name is Jacobsen. "Jewish," Alex tells him. Well, if Farstein wishes to make the girlfriend Jewish, she needs to use Jacobson as the spelling, as only Danish and Norwegian non-Jews use the "sen" suffix! Such an error, in a novel meant to be worldly, is jarring. In summary, Alex Cooper is not an appealing heroine, nor is Farstein an appealing writer, as both seem to subscribe to a very dated "either/or" formula of feminism. It is possible "to learn to make her grandma's recipe for blueberry pie" without "marrying at age 20 and having six kids quickly." It is possible to marry, to bear children, to share in the female-connectedness orientation to life, and, at the same time,to be an intelligent and sophisticated person! Characters like Alex unfortunately only add to the hostilities between hard-driving career women and those who opt for some kind of balance between motherhood and self-expression.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing!
Review: Did Linda Fairstein all of a sudden realize she had written the required number of pages for her latest book? The ending certainly feels like that. Totally unsatisfying, with lots of open ends. A start for the next book? Sorry - I really liked Ms Fairstein's books, and the characters in those books, but - I won't buy the next book. I really felt like I wasted my money this time.
Rating: 
Summary: Alex and Mike investigate the death of a college professor.
Review: In "The Deadhouse," Assistant DA Alexandra Cooper and Detective Mike Chapman once again team up to solve a homicide. Lola Dakota (an unfortunate choice of name) is the victim. Dakota was a distinguished professor of political science and an acknowledged expert on the history and politics of New York City. Someone strangled Lola and pushed her down an elevator shaft in the apartment building where she lived. Who had reason to want Lola dead? Certainly her husband, Ivan Kralovic, is a suspect, since he had been abusing and stalking Lola for years. Lola's colleagues at King's College are suspects, since she had clashed with some of them. Alex and Mike interview many of Lola's friends and acquaintances in an effort to find a motive for murder. Complicating the case is the fact that Lola was working on a historical project, an architectural dig on Roosevelt Island (formerly called Blackwells Island), in Manhattan. It seems that many years ago, the island was used to keep New York's undesirables away from the rest of the city's population. At one time or another, prisoners, people who were destitute and insane, or victims of contagious diseases such as smallpox, were confined to institutions on this island. Lola and her colleagues are using the tools of urban archaeology to uncover some of the island's secrets. Could this work somehow be connected to Lola's death? I like the characters of Alex Cooper and Mike Chapman. Alex is beautiful, smart, sophisticated and dedicated to her job. Mike is irreverent, politically incorrect and a great detective. Although Mike and Alex are seeing other people, it is obvious that they care for one another deeply, and their attraction to one another is a recurring theme in this series. Another positive aspect of this book is the background information about Roosevelt Island that Fairstein provides. Fairstein obviously researched the island's history thoroughly and I found this aspect of the novel fascinating. Unfortunately, the mystery of Lola's murder is handled very badly. The suspects are not compelling characters and the solution to the mystery is incoherent and implausible. The ending of the novel falls flat and is extremely unsatisfying. I am tired of killers who endlessly explain why they committed murder to their captives. This device is used once again here and it detracts from the ending, which is devoid of excitement and suspense. As much as I like the the main characters of Alex and Mike, I give "The Deadhouse" low marks as a mystery and suspense novel.
Rating: 
Summary: A+ AGAIN
Review: LINDA FAIRSTEIN IS GREAT WRITER.
I ENJOY HER STYLE OF WRITING,FAST PACED AND OVERALL WELL DONE.
HAVING WORKED HER DAD(AN ANESTHESIA ATTENDING AT MOUNT VERNON HOSPITAL) IN THE 1960'S HE WOULD HAVE BEEN PROUD OF HER ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
I HAVE READ MOST OF HER BOOKS AND IS A GREAT RESPITE TO READ THIS AUTHOR.
Rating:
Summary: Rivetting!
Review: When Professor Lola Dakota finally had enough of her husband's abuse she agreed to work with the New Jersey District Attorney's office to put him behind bars. They set up a sting operation using undercover police officers masquerading as hitman. When they show Lola's husband Ivan on a videotape of them "killing" her, he pays them their fee. The police arrest him.
Unfortunately, later that day Lola's body is found in the elevator shaft of her Manhattan apartment building. The police declare it a homicide. Alex Cooper, New York's assistant district attorney is handling this homicide in conjunction with the police. With so many suspects and so little hard evidence, Alex has to work doubly hard to solve the case while avoid getting killed by some people who want to see her dead.
THE DEADHOUSE shows how the district attorney's office and the police department work closely together while trying to find the perpetrator of a homicide. Familiar characters from previous books in this series give the audience a feeling of being reunited with dear and cherished friends. Linda Fairstein is a talented writer who sets up a story line with so many twists and red herrings that the reader won't be able to rest until they find out who the culprit is. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Deadhouse is Dead-On
Review: Linda Fairstein offers a wry insider's view of the criminal justice system in NYC, with the names changed to protect the guilty. "Deadhouse" provides a fascinating glimpse into the macabre history of Blackwell's Island-- that slice of land in the middle of the East River containing the skeletons of hospitals NYC provided for the criminals, the insane,and the immigrant poor. If you've driven the FDR Drive, you've seen them. And the sexual tension between Chapman and Cooper vibrates-- maybe they'll finally get it together in the NEXT book.
Rating:
Summary: not her best
Review: I normally do not review books that I do not think deserve 5 stars, you know, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.My sister and brother-in-law think I should review other books, not just ones I love. They say,"that's why people look at the reviews, I could be helping someone else." So...okay, here goes. This is not Ms. Fairstein's best work. I am an avid fan, and I rush out to buy her books as soon as they hit the shelves. This one I could have waited for the paper. I felt like she was telling two or three stories at once wihout doing justice to any of them. Although the information on New York history was interesting, I never connected with the story, didn't know or care about the victims and had the culprit picked out after Alex's (the main character), first interview with him or her.(Even though I didn't like it, I don't want to give it away to someone else!!!!) Anyway, sorry Ms. Fairstein, not my favorite of yours, although I will still run out and buy your next one I'm sure. I have never had will power in a book store, especially for a favorite author.
Rating:
Summary: A great read
Review: In The Deadhouse, Linda Fairstein not only tells a good tale, she unearths a fascinating corner of New York history. I didn't think anything could distract me in this moment of national tragedy, but this book did. Fairstein captures the complexity of one of America's greatest cities from both a modern and historical perspective. Her writing is brisk, her characters appealing, and the story is terrific. I couldn't put it down. Though a mystery fan, I'm new to the Alex Cooper series. I intend to read all of them now.
Rating:
Summary: Law Mystery
Review: The author and her protagonist, Alexandra Cooper, have some things in common - same job (head of the Sex Crimes Prosecution Unit of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office), same looks (blond curls) and I wouldn't be surprised if they both bet on a US television game show. And let's not forget that both have property in Martha's Vineyard. See what I'm getting at? I don't think this series is creative - I think it's real life fictionalised, and in this case, I don't like it. (B)
|
