Death Dance

NYPD cops Chapman and Mercer come to New York Assistant DA Alexandra (Alex) Cooper, wanting her help in the investigation of the disappearance of ballet dancer Natalya Galinova, who went missing during a Lincoln Center performance. The cops, long time associates of Alex's, believe she can help because not only is she a dancer too, but because she's been to too many performances at the Center to count. They want her inside take on the ballet scene, plus she knows the Lincoln Center inside out, so her aide on the case would be invaluable. The case of the missing ballerina is no locked room mystery. The Lincoln Center is a huge place, with zillions of performers, craftsmen, artisans and various other employees as possible suspects. Plus, there is the audience to consider. Alex and her cop pals really have their job cut out for them. But the vanishing dancer isn't the only crime on Alex's plate, because as usual crime never stops in the City. Two girls, grad students, from Canada believe they might have been molested by a man (a doctor) who let them use his apartment while they were in New York. On their last night in town he made them a drink and the next day neither of them can remember what happened. Alex is in her element when she is on the trail of a sexual predator and she's pretty sure she can nail this guy. How Alex gets from point A to point B and the subsequent letters in the alphabet when she works on a case is why readers come to Linda Fairstein in the first place. She really knows her stuff, knows her characters, knows how to put the reader right in the story. If you're into cop talk, cop procedure or just want to see how it's really done, well this book is for you. Not only is it a first rate novel, but you'll get a bit of an education here. It's kind of scary how good Fairstein is. Check out this book, you'll see.

I will admit that the cover of the book was slightly off-putting and since I have never heard of Linda Fairstein, I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy this book, especially with a title of Death Dance. However, I was in a mood for a new book by a new author and I picked this up ~~ and couldn't put it down! Like the old saying, you can't judge a book by its cover ~~ this fits for this one!! This book is well-written. It is intriguing. It is NOT predictable. It is suspenseful and the characters are wonderfully developed. It makes me want to go back and find more of her books and read them. Alex Cooper is a wonderful DA and I love the relationship between her and Mike and Mercer. In spite of thinking it's something like Law & Order (my favorite series, btw) ~~ I wasn't able to put the characters in the L & O roles as Fairstein refused to allow me to do that. They are characters in their own right and wonderful ones too! If I had a bookclub ~~ this would be one book I'd present to them! It does provoke thoughts in a discussion, especially the history of the theater districts in NYC. In fact, because of her intricate detail to their histories, I would like to visit NYC and see the performances there and look at all these buildings. It is one of the best suspense novels I have read in ages! She never is predictable and I wasn't able to really figure it out till the end. 5/4/06

Alexandra Cooper never seems to stay out of trouble. That could be a job hazard, though, since she is the Assistant DA in charge of Sex Crimes in New York City. Together with Mercer & Chapman, they investigate the mysterious death of a famous Russian ballerina in the Metropolitan Opera House. Snooping into the world of the arts is a bit eye-opening for all of them, and deadly for some. As a sub-plot, Cooper is also pursuing the arrest of a date-rape drug dealing/using doctor - another present-day legal snafu. Once again, we follow the three through the bowels of New York and its many denizens to the culmination of the mysteries. Although it is the 8th in the series, it still seems to be going strong. I still like the series, although I wonder how long the three will feasibly be working together.

Dance of Death is the eighth thriller from Linda Fairstein featuring her crusading Assistant DA for the sex crimes unit Alexandra Cooper. In this latest novel, a world famous ballerina named Natalya Galinova goes missing right in the middle of a performance at the Metropolitan Opera House. Cooper's investigations along with her NYPD partners Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace, leads them into a much seedier world than one would think of the elegant opera life. The dancers broken body is soon found in an air shaft and while there is no evidence of sexual assault, Cooper isn't convinced. Producer Joe Berk is immediately considered a suspect. An investigation of Berk's home turns up some rather shocking evidence that Berk was using hidden cameras to spy on the dressing rooms of the dancers. But there are other suspects besides Berk including a rival dancer named Lucy DeVore. The Story is loosely based on a real case from 1980 involving the murder of a Metropolitan Opera violinist. Fairstein is very deft at throwing curves at the readers and just when you think you might have the case figured out, you're hit square in the face with a new plot twist. It's densely plotted but not overblown. At 416 pages it packs a lot of punch without being excessively long. The characters are lively, well-written and researched. This is truly a remarkably realistic thriller that reads like a great Hollywood movie. One of Fairstein's best!

This is the best Alex Cooper book yet and that's really saying something. With her usual flair and meticulous research, Fairstein combines a slice of New York history with a cool New York mystery. The result is as entertaining as a great Broadway show. Brava, Ms. Fairstein!