The Kills

The title of Linda Fairstein's newest Alexandra Cooper novel, THE KILLS, has more than one meaning. To Detective Mike Chapman the kills are homicides: "Hunters used that word to describe the slaughter of their prey, and fighter pilots spoke the same language when referring to the downing of enemy planes --- the unnatural termination of lives." And in this thriller we are told that "once [there] were 'kills' all over Lower Manhattan, a vestige from the Dutch colonization that meant 'channels' or 'creeks' ... [and one of them] was obviously a viaduct to the shipyards along the Jersey shore."Complementing this bit of New York City's history and the different ways the word 'kills' is used are the events that surround a deadly hunt for "a legal form, signed by the secretary of the treasury more than half a century ago, that monetized one Double Eagle for King Farouk. That one sheet of paper, smuggled out of Egypt ... perhaps after King Farouk was deposed, is necessary if ... together with [a coin found in a dead woman's closet] would make [the] possessor a multimillionaire."King Farouk's obsession for collecting the most unique items in the world is well documented. But rumors surface about whether or not he left the American Double Eagle coin behind when he was deposed. And is it possible that an American CIA agent whose assignment kept him in Cairo somehow stole the treasure? This agent turns out to be related to one of the women in this labyrinthine tale.But let's start at the beginning of Fairstein's suspenseful and complex mystery. The case begins with Paige Vallis, a rape victim and hopeful rescuer of a little boy. While Ms. Vallis is adamant in her accusation against Andrew Tripping, the crime solving team of Cooper, Chapman and Mercer Wallace, the series' regulars, knows she is holding back vital information: "It's going to be a tough trial," muses one of the characters as testimony begins and just before Vallis turns up dead.Unfortunately Vallis is not the only rape victim who is murdered; the other is a seemingly indigent eighty-two-year-old woman who appeared to have been raped and then smothered to death with her own pillow. Chapman takes Coop to the scene in the Harlem apartment because he is outraged and wants answers he hopes she can give him. Alexandra understands his frustration but admits she can't tell him precisely what is behind this kind of assault.As the investigation moves on, the identity of the Harlem victim is uncovered. She is McQueen "Queenie" Ransome, a fan dancer who didn't always use a fan: "In most of the images, there was nothing between the body of McQueen Ransome and the lens of the camera." Deeper digging is rewarded with the information that Queenie had spent time in Egypt. She knew the king. Could she in some way be connected to the Double Eagle?The third case is that of Tiffany Gatts. "Statutory rape, [l]ittle Tiffany only just turned sweet sixteen," said Chapman. But more than that, her coat belongs to the dead

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.

WHAT DID PAIGE VALLIS KNOW, AND WHEN DID SHE KNOW IT? WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT TO KILL PAIGE VALLIS? WHY WAS SHE GOING TO TESTIFY? AGAINST WHOM? A.D.A. ALEX COOPER AND HER TEAM OF DETECTIVES HAVE TO FIND OUT THE ANSWERS TO THOSE QUESTIONS, AND FAST. OTHERWISE, SHE MAY BE THE NEXT VICTIM. IS THE HOMICIDE OF MS. VALLIS IN ANY WAY CONNECTED TO THE UNTIMELY DEATH OF McQUEEN RANSOME? IF SO, HOW? IS MS. RANSOME'S SON ACTUALLY A PRINCE? WHO HAD THE BEST MOTIVE AND THE MEANS TO WANT BOTH MS. VALLIS & MS. RANSOME DEAD, AND WHY? WAS IT ANDREW TRIPPING, THE DEFENDANT ON TRIAL, OR HIS ATTORNEY, PETER ROBELON? CIA AGENT HARRY STRAIT, JIMMY LISI, SPIKE LOGAN, KEVIN BESSEMER & TIFFANY GATTS? WHAT ABOUT CLAIR CHESTNUTT OR BERNARD STARK? WHAT ABOUT JUDGE HYLAN MOFFETT? OR COULD IT HAVE BEEN .........?THIS IS THE BEST ALEX COOPER MYSTERY SO FAR. THERE IS NO SHORTAGE OF SUSPECTS, OR MOTIVES. IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT CLOSING THE BOOK. LINDA, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.

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

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.