Death Dance: A Novel (Alexandra Cooper Mysteries) [Paperback]

Linda Fairstein (Author)

Book Description

Series: Alexandra Cooper Mysteries | Publication Date: January 23, 2007

Murder at the Metropolitan Opera House pulls Alexandra Cooper behind the scenes at Lincoln Center -- and into the cutthroat conglomerate that controls the city's theaters. Joe Berk, the powerful head of The Berk Organization, was the lover of world-class ballerina Natalya Galinova; was he tied to her disappearance and untimely death after a performance at the Met? Shooting in the dark along with her colleagues Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace, Alex juggles a case on the cutting edge of forensic technology: she's about to nab a physician accused of drug-facilitated sexual assaults. But legal entanglements over DNA databanking may prevent Alex from stopping the predator. Cracking open a hidden history of the New York few others see, Alex must deliver a bravura performance -- or prepare to sing her swan song.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The dramatic talents of Blair Brown, widely displayed on stage, film and television, add some important depth and energy to this generally shrewdly abridged audio version of Fairstein's latest. Brown catches the feisty wisdom of Alexandra Cooper, Manhattan's assistant DA in charge of the sex crimes prosecution unit (a job Fairstein herself had for 25 years before turning to writing full time), and also brings to sharply edged life Cooper's old colleagues, crime scene investigators Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace. Particularly interesting are Brown's takes on denizens of New York's Metropolitan Opera—a manipulative agent, a strange producer and his troubled niece, an ambiguously motivated artistic director—as Cooper and her team investigate the murder of a leading Russian ballerina found dead in one of the Met's cooling units. Other plots (a rape involving an elusive Turkish doctor and an unsolved urban assault case) sometimes seem a bit tacked on and confusing—perhaps a result of the abridgment. But bestseller Fairstein's growing band of enthusiasts should have few complaints—especially if they love opera as much as the law.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Fairstein brings her considerable experience in the law--she served as the chief prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney's Office Sex Crimes Unit for 25 years--to her richly detailed legal thrillers. Her series heroine, Alexandra Cooper, is a clone of Fairstein, an assistant district attorney and sex crimes prosecutor with the Manhattan DA's Office. The closeness of character to author works superbly in this series, as it does in Dick Francis' horse-racing thrillers. In this eighth outing for Cooper, Fairstein gives readers insiders' access to two worlds: the pretrial investigations of prosecutors working with homicide detectives and the inner workings of New York's theater world, especially the backstage area of Lincoln Center. A world-famous ballerina has disappeared from Lincoln Center's Metropolitan Opera House during a performance. Cooper teams up with two homicide detectives, laying bare the rough world of professional theater--not everything is beautiful at the ballet. At the same time, Fairstein investigates a sexual-assault case in which a doctor drugs his victims, using a particularly chilling MO. Fairstein's exploration of contemporary DFSA (drug-facilitated sexual assault) and the legal intricacies of DNA data banks proves fascinating. The latest Cooper delivers what has made this series so good: solid legal, procedural, and forensic detail surrounding an intriguing case. The book's added punch comes from Fairstein's Phantom of the Opera-like re-creations of the labyrinthine environs of the Met, beneath and behind the stage. A great read. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books (January 23, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 074348228X
• ISBN-13: 978-0743482288
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 4.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #124,928 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #41 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Thrillers > Legal

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

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Won't Make You Dance, January 23, 2006

By 

Wantz Upon A Time Reviews (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death Dance: A Novel (Alexandra Cooper Mysteries) (Hardcover)

In a voice as dry as her protagonist's, Fairstein offers a gritty view of New York stage life. The stop and go action would have been more interesting had the author provided juicier transitions. Detailed event sequences-such as a point by point telling of how Alex went up to her apartment, turned on the lights, took a bath, etc-allow the energy of the story to leech away, until the reader is jolted awake by a sudden action. A good novel has scenes that allow readers to catch their breath, but they should not be put to sleep.

A series of minor problems plagued the plot, as well. The tension between Alex and Mike had unrealized potential, which may or may not be explored in future installments of Alex Cooper stories. Furthermore, two other cases Alex worked on throughout the novel barely related to the major investigation in the book. Some readers will notice other, smaller sticking points in the plot.

As the protagonist, Alex was weakened by her perpetual fly-on-the-wall status. Her lack of action in response to a judge's blatant sexism, other than to get her case before another judge, made her look whiny and ineffectual. Reinforcing the image are the many scenes during the investigation where Alex does little more than observe, while the detectives do most of the talking.

One redeeming factor is Fairstein's in-depth look at life on New York stages, and her knowledge of architectural history. The other redeeming factor is that, in the end, the reader has most of their questions answered.

If you enjoyed Fairstein's previous work, it's worth a read. Otherwise, you may prefer another title.

-C.W.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Weak Entrant in Otherwise Interesting Series, February 22, 2006

By 

T. Dunn "hhislandmom" (Hilton Head, SC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Death Dance: A Novel (Alexandra Cooper Mysteries) (Hardcover)

If you are a fan of the Alexandra Cooper Series, you will moderately enjoy this new addition. However, if this is your first read in this crime series, don't start with this one.

The pros:
- Interesting insight into the current and past history of the NY theater world
- A relatively fast paced story
- A quick read

The cons:
- Too many characters, some of which are not well detailed. You may lose tract of who's who
- Weak murder mystery. The central plot of the story appeared to be completely secondary to the exploration of the NY theater scene.
- Too much detail on Mike Chapman's mourning his dead love. His extended period of public despair seems inconsistent with the character developed in earlier books.
- Why is Mercer socializing with Mike and Alex late at night after work when he has a new baby at home? His wife should kill him! Oh, that may be the next version in the series.
- Weird ending. 'nuf said.

I did give it three stars because overall, it was a quick bit of entertainment, and to give it fewer stars would be unfair. It was average.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars My first Fairstein novel., March 24, 2007

By 

frumiousb "frumiousb" (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Death Dance: A Novel (Alexandra Cooper Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Somehow in all my years of airplane travel, I have managed to miss the Alexandra Cooper mysteries. I picked Death Dance up in Schiphol for my flight to South Africa.

I was moderately impressed. I really enjoyed the procedural aspects of the novel, despite the hand-of-author evident in a few of the moments. (Would a prosecutor in one unit really get to so easily handle a case from another?) Fairstein's love of New York is evident. Detective novel as an exploration of place works well enough for me, and I enjoyed the tour of the theater world. The weakest area for me, sadly, was the characters. Their conversations felt stilted and unrealistic, and I never had the feeling that I had a good grip on who they were as people.

Three star reviews are funny. In some cases, it means that I will never pick the book up again. In some cases, it means that even though I had issues with the book I still plan to find more by the same author. This three star review is in the latter category. The book was entertaining enough that I am curious to read more in the Cooper series to see if the issues that I had with the writing improve or stay the same.