Killer Heat [Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Linda Fairstein (Author), Bernadette Dunne (Narrator)

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Books On Tape (2008)
• ISBN-10: 1415950202
• ISBN-13: 978-1415950203
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)

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

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars ONE MORE STERLING NARRATION FROM BLAIR BROWN, April 19, 2008

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Killer Heat (Alex Cooper) (Audio CD)

Those who want their heroines tough, strong, and super intelligent know they've found her in Alex Cooper. She's a D.A. in Manhattan and as we meet her again in the tenth offering by Linda Fairstein, she's enjoying victory. It was a tough rape case but Alex won it (and incurred the animus of Latin Princes gang members along the way).

Nonetheless, her winning feeling is soon lost as she is notified that the body of a young woman has been found in an abandoned building. Now, author Fairstein knows this territory well as she once headed the Sex Crimes Unit of the District Attorney's Office, and she minces no words.

After viewing the victim, Alex is offered a cigar by Mike, a detective with the Manhattan North Homicide Squad. Despite the oppressive August heat he puffs on a stogie and encourages her to take one with this advice, ""The stench from that corpse is going to stay in your brain for weeks unless you infuse it right away with something more powerful. Why do you think I've always got a couple of these in my pocket?"

As stated, Alex is tough and while she may be able to get over the sickening smell of death, what she cannot get over is another beaten woman's body found and then a third.

Being directed to catch the killer before the city is deadened by fear is one thing, trying to stay alive when those gang members want revenge is quite another.

Since the introduction of Alex Cooper in 1996 Ms. Fairstein has turned out nine additional thrillers, each more exciting than the last. Tony Award winner Blair Brown gives another sterling performance in her narration of this spine-tingling novel.

- Gail Cooke

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Perfect Ten, March 12, 2008

By 

Jake Demartini (New York City) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Killer Heat (Hardcover)

Killer Heat, prosecutor-turned-author Fairstein's 10th book, is by far her best. All of her mysteries feature little-known NYC locales (Poe's house, underground water tunnels) or a behind-the-scenes look at famous institutions (Natural History Museum, Metropolitan Opera House). This one doesn't disappoint, taking the reader from an abandoned ferry terminal downtown to a thrilling conclusion on Governor's Island. Fairstein deftly weaves courtroom drama, real-life cases and thrilling action into a seamless tapestry. Fabulous!! A perfect "10".

20 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars lifeless, March 23, 2008

By 

M. S. Butch (Katonah, New York USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Killer Heat (Hardcover)

I was surprised to see all of the 5-star reviews. I have been a big fan of Ms. Fairstein since the first book, but this one felt like a paint-by-numbers. For the first time with one of her books, instead of reading straight through, I put it down a few times and had to make myself keep going.

For me, none of the victims ever came alive, making it difficult to care for them. Similarly, the perpetrator never felt real. I felt as though Ms. Fairstein has completely lost interest.

The connection among the murders, while coherent, was supreficial enough that when Alex figured it out, the reader didn't have the sensation that lots was now explained.

Some of the other commentors said they enjoyed having less character development and conversation, fewer digressions into personal lives, and therefore more straightforward plot movement. To me, those are the sections that matter most, and without them, the story didn't pull me in.

Although the New York lore existed, it was a lot less integral to the story (although it was connected) and had a lot less depth.

In sum, a huge disappointment.