Cold Hit [Hardcover]

Linda Fairstein (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Book Club Associates (2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671042122
• ISBN-13: 978-0671042127
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,727,707 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Linda Fairstein was chief of the Sex Crimes Unit of the district attorney's office in Manhattan for more than two decades and is America's foremost legal expert on sexual assault and domestic violence. Her Alexandra Cooper novels are international bestsellers and have been translated into more than a dozen languages. She lives with her husband in Manhattan and on Martha's Vineyard.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Less Grit, More Elegance, January 26, 2002

By 

Wendy Kaplan (Houston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cold Hit (Alexandra Cooper Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not an Enjoyable Read, June 19, 2005

By 

Kelly Houser (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cold Hit (Alexandra Cooper Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A well constructed, absorbing, first class mystery., June 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Cold Hit (Alexandra Cooper Mysteries) (Paperback)

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.