Customer Reviews

Cold Hit (Alexandra Cooper Mysteries)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Linda Fairstein's third book in the Alex Cooper series is a sophisticated foray into the high-stakes international world of art. It is markedly different than her first two books--one expects Cary Grant to saunter onto the pages at any minute, resplendent in tuxedo and sporting his usual savoir faire.

Instead, we have hardboiled street cop/renaissance man Mike Chapman, Alex's fast-talking, down-to-earth and impossibly endearing sidekick. Whether it's questioning a recalcitrant sidekick, stuffing his mouth at a resplendent Italian-food restaurant, or betting Alex on the nightly Final Jeopardy question, Mike is always in top form. But this time, he may be in over his head.

When Deni Caxton, the estranged wife of an internationally renowned art dealer, is found raped and murdered, Alex, as New York's Assistant District Attorney for the Sex Crimes Unit (as is Linda Fairstein in real life), is called onto the case. Almost immediately, she, Mike, and Mike's able partner Mercer are caught in a confusing whirlpool of events that pulls them ever deeper into a well of murder. In short succession, several other bodies are found, and each seems to tie in some way with Deni Caxton's demise.

The more Alex and her friends try to unravel the clues, the more they are drawn into a seemingly endless web of shady art dealers, mysterious Mata-Hari-type women, jailhouse thugs, antique dealers, and a cast of characters that would put Hitchcock to shame. It's obvious that Fairstein had a lot of fun with this novel, and it shows. Over and above the very real and perplexing mystery is the author's own unique view of the art world her fictional characters are exploring. The result is suspenseful, fun, and easy to read.

The only negative to be said about this book is that there are so many characters, one almost needs a cast sheet to keep them straight. Several times, I found myself looking back 100 pages or so to verify who was whom. This slowed me down, but was certainly not annoying enough to stop reading.

There is enough suspense in this book, including the near-murder of a cop near and dear to Alex's heart and a chilling encounter with the man who may be the perpetrator, to keep the reader turning the pages. This time I did guess the murderer, but not until near the end of the book. Like Final Jeopardy, it was good to be right for once!

This is a fun and well-written series, and Linda Fairstein has joined my list of favorite writers. I look forward to reading her next book, "The Deadhouse," with pleasure.

Linda Fairstein's 3rd novel in the Alexandra Cooper mystery series, "Cold Hit," follows Alex and her team as they track the killer of a victim who washed ashore in Northern Manhatten, strapped to a ladder. Her connections to the flashy art world add plenty of glitz and suspects for Alex, Mike Chapman, and Mercer Wallace to investigate before the killer strikes again.

I used to read alot of Patricia Cornwell and I had to stop because I realized I was reading the same novel over and over again. Now, you can say that of pretty much any mystery author, I realize. Most of them do a really good job of masking it though. I am hoping that Fairstein is able to do the same. Cornwell's character Kay Scarpetta is not likeable and always is attacked by the vicious killer. Fairstein's Cooper is likeable, but the reader sorta has to work at it and she is always attacked by the vicious killer. Authors need to realize that readers catch on to these sort of canned plots. We're not stupid, dearest authors, really we're not.

I did find the plot of "Cold Hit" to be a bit tedious. Fairstein can be overly wordy sometimes. 50 pages could easily be shaved off of each of her books and they wouldn't be any different.

Eight o'clock at the end of a long August day and the corpse of a woman tied to a ladder washed up on the Hudsen river. Who is she, once so elegant and clearly well cared for, who had so prematurely, met a violent end.

So opens Linda Fairstein latest book 'Cold Hit'. This is a brilliant piece of writing. It is tight and exciting. I love mystery fiction, but what a bonus when I learn something. In both the earlier books 'Final Jeopardy' and 'Likely To Die' I was enthalled, not just by the mysteries that Linda wove, but by the fascinating insights into Alex Cooper's job as the Assistant District Attorney, prosecuting sex crimes, which Linda Fairstein seemlessly interlaces into her plots, and which again is in evidence in this lattest offering.

In 'Cold Hit' we are introduced additionally into the Art World. An unknown area to me, I found the experience added yet another dimension of interest and intrigue.

We meet again Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace. Although, in this book Alex has a new man in her life, it seems to have little effect on the chemistry that sparks between Alex and Mike Chapman and which they both seem oblivious to. But we all know that's how it sneaks up on one:-)

Cold Hit is the luck that will match DNA from a crime scene with a DNA profile in the police database. Is it ever that simple?

This is a well constructed, absorbing, first class mystery that keeps one guessing. I heartily recommend that none of you miss this one. It is a terrific book.

Linda Fairstein's latest is another Alex Cross, excuse me, Alex Cooper mystery with the protagonist working more closely with police than any DA unit chief ever would, especially in a city like New York. This time Cooper is involved in a high-stakes art caper that leads to a woman's dead body washing up at the end of Manhattan.
Fairstein knows her subject, and the grittiness of the police detail and dialogue reflect it. But she also falls all over herself to give Fairstein a wonderfully glamorous lifestyle which has her casually dining in the finest Manhattan restaurants and whisking off for a weekend at "the Cape" with her globetrotting TV News boyfriend. I'm not certain if this is the way that Fairstein really lived while on the job, but if it was, she shouldn't have traded it in for the typewriter.
Still, Cooper's relationship with her cop friends, especially wisecracking Mike Chapman and standup guy Mercer Wallace is interesting, especially when Jeopardy is on the tube. Otherwise, COLD HIT is a slow-paced mystery story with no more plot twists than your average episode of Law and Order. The book left me, well, cold.

I just happened upon Linda Fairstein's first book, tore through it and her second. I waited, impatiently for another. Cold Hit was a great read. Alex is a great character, a real leading lady with class, style and smarts. Fairstein's books have great suspence with a quick pace. I've shared them with family and we all are addicted! I had given up on Mystery's other leading lady, Kay Scarpetta, but Fairstein's main character fills the shoes and then some. So when's the next one, is all I want to know!

I listened to Cold Hit from the abridged commercial audiobook, so I won't comment on the writing style, as what I heard may not be representative of the original written prose. I strongly suggest, though, that if you want to learn this story you read the book rather than listening to the tape. Without a doubt, this is the most poorly produced/edited commercial audio book I've listened to. The reader is bad enough, starting out on the first tape at such a rapid pace that I repeatedly had to rewind and replay portions to make out what she had said. The editing makes things even worse. Throughout the story there is background noise discernable, very noticeable session breaks, and there are multiple instances when the reader flubbed a sentence, stopped, and started reading again back at the beginning of the sentence, and the entire error is left on the tape with no effort made to edit it out.

Too many characters. It soon becomes more of a chore than a pleasure. Left it half way.

A COLD HIT occurs when a crime scene DNA matches that stored in a centralized data base. This new technique leads the Manhattan District Attorney's office to conclude a serial rapist operates on the Upper West Side. When the police catch the perpetrator, Assistant DA Alexandre Cooper will prosecute the case as she handles the Sex Crime Unit.

The corpse of Denise Canton tied to a ladder floating down the river becomes a case for Alex and her team because the assailant also raped the deceased. Denise, a major player in the art world, and her spouse were undergoing an acrimonious divorce with ownership of several paintings being the prime issue preventing a peaceful settlement. Alex quickly learned that the victim dabbled in black market purchases and fixed auction sales. As they dig deeper into the world of Denise Canton, Alex and her team become targets for a culprit who plans to make sure their investigation fails.

COLD HIT is a thoroughly tense-filled and pulse-pounding police procedural that never slows down for the reader to catch their breath. Best selling author Linda Fairstein escorts her audience inside the environs of art collectors. This tour includes a glimpse at the ugly crimes committed just to own a masterpiece. Alex is a strong female who serves as a capable leader, not afraid to participate in power games with her male counterparts. She cares for the victims of sex crimes, which adds a vulnerability that makes her a better character. Anyone who enjoys Cornwell or Rosenberg, will gain much entertainment from this novel and Ms. Fairstein's previous work, FINAL JEOPARDY.

Harriet Klausner

This was a good read. I love this book. She is a great author. The Alexandra Cooper series is my favorit from Ms. Fairstein. This is great.

Didn't like this too much. A lot of the book was filler -- conversations that weren't really related to the plot at all, or interesting in and of themselves, but clearly intended to fill up space so she could turn the book in to her publisher. I had a hard time finishing it because what action there was in the book ended about halfway through. These are things that her editor should have made her correct because they are very obvious. So to that extent I blame the editor.

Also, I found the author's description on the dust cover as "America's foremost prosecutor of crimes of sexual assault and domestic violence" to be objectionable -- she runs the sexual assault bureau for a single city, which should be credentials enough. Mr. Fairstein, sometimes you are allowed to tell the publicity department, 'No.' This excessive tooting of your own horn makes you look bad.

I don't think I will buy this author's books again in hardcover.