Killer Heat (Alexandra Cooper Series #10)

Bad series, bad book

I hadn't read a Fairstein in a few years and needed a book to kill the time while traveling so I thought I'd give her latest a try. Big mistake.
This author writes a dreadful book. Plastic characters, improbable plot, pointless name dropping of New York eateries. The dialog is actually painful to read. Listening to the hyperactive kid sitting near me proved to be more entertaining and less annoying than reading this novel. The book ended up, half read, in the library box. Mebbe they can use it to prop open a door or something.

No brain strain

Killer Heat is a good book for relaxing when one does not want to think too much. I have read several books in this series and find Ms. Fairstein's writing better than the average author of this genre. However, the constant juvenile insults by the character Mike are tiresome and does little to endear the character to the reader especially since it seems to be one-sided. Perhaps if Alexandra matched insult for insult, Mike would not come off as an obnoxious 11-year-old boy making armpit noises to get a girl's attention.

Other readers may enjoy the story always ending up with life threatening situations for Alexandra but since the character is a D.A. and not a cop, I find the inevitable physical danger not believable. Maybe I watch too much Law & Order: SVU but the D.A.'s contribution should be limited to "those who prosecute the offenders" not tagging along with detectives. When does Alexandra have time to prepare her cases for court?

Another Winner for Fairstein

This is another in the series of books involving Alexandra Cooper, special prosecutor for sex crimes of the New York District Attorney's office. As usual, the highlight of the book is the interactions between Cooper and the police detectives with whom she regularly works, especially Mike Chapman, the crusty military history buff. Fairstein manages repeatedly in her books to generate lively dialogue between Chapman and Cooper. This is one of the major appeals of her books. This particular book is a bit slower getting started than some, but the effort is rewarded as the plot becomes more convoluted. As usual, this installment in the Alex Cooper series is fun.

Another great Fairstein

Another great read by Linda Fairstein. The Alex Cooper series is always riveting and this one does not let the reader down. I am always captivated by the characters. I only wish the books were more frequent.

Linda Fairstein is one of the best women mystery writers out there today.

I have read all of the A. Cooper series and i loved them all. I would recommend any or all of them to serious mystery lovers!!!!

The book that turns up the heat to keep you reading and on the edge of your seat.

The story is so exciting that it keeps the reader on the edge of their seats.Once you pick up the book you don't want to stop reading until you finish the book.The story has so many twists and turns that the reader just can't wait to find out how the story ends.

Bow Wowwer!

I liked Linda Fairstein's first two books. I feel her latest endeavor is just plain lousy. I stopped at page 184 and that was after forcing myself to read that far. The book is formulistic and thin. I had no desire to become familiar with a coastline history of New York. The book was touted as a crime novel not a history lesson, but it seems she could not find enough of a story to write, so she used history trivia as a filler. Uninspired. A waste of money. For something entertaining try 'Hold Tight' by Harlan Coben.

A Most Read.

One of her best from beginning to end.

I tried...I really did

This just didn't seem up to par for the Alex Cooper series. I kept getting bogged down in all the pages and pages of history lessons, and an interesting subplot got lost somewhere in the middle (muddle?). Frankly, I found myself skipping pages...something I NEVER do in a mystery!

ANOTHER STERLING NARRATION BY BLAIR BROWN

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

Kitchen Sink

I like Linda Fairstein's stories, and I especially appreciate the way she incorporates a New York scene into them. Killer Heat, however, needs a lot of streamlining. Either Fairstein tried too hard, or she just tossed in a lot to make it look like a good effort. For me, it was just hard to follow. There was no real tension, especially since the story line kept getting interrupted with subplots, history lessons, and thin characters. Maybe a little criticsm will make the next novel a real thriller.

A reviewer

Normally I would read something along the romance department, but i got this book as a gift. Now that I have read this book, I find this to be one of the best on my list. I could not put this book down. Fantastic characters and a real intense story line with suspense. Definately check this one out.

I am an Alex Cooper fan . . .

I always throughly enjoy Linda Fairstein's Alex Cooper novels. These are well written, expertly developed stories where not a word has been wasted. The author always seems to know what to say in whatever situation her characters find themselves in, and I respect her ability of developing a plot without having the need to include cheaply written, vulgar sexual scenes between her main players. This book was a page turner from beginning to end.

Not my normal genre, but I loved it.

I am not generally drawn to suspense/thriller books, but a very close friend recommended Killer Heat to me and she has yet to recommend a bad book. I would suggest this book to anyone I know. Another great book my friend recently suggested is A Year Since Yesterday, and I was equally as pleased. I had not previously heard of either author, but I will be reading more from both of them.

A reviewer

The latest Alex Cooper crime novel has it all: exciting police procedural as authorities chase an apparent serial killer in and around Manhattan during an hellacious heatwave, compelling legal thriller with Cooper prosecuting a difficult rape case. And the little-known historical and geographical tidbits sprinkled throughout, along with a healthy dose of forensics, add color to the plot - author Fairstein's multi-faceted talent is truly on display here. My only problem with 'Killer Heat' is that the two main storylines never seem to connect, which would have made the suspense all the more compelling. But that is a small complaint, and I'd highly recommend this to Grisham, Patterson and Cornwell fans.

Gripping thriller

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. The 'Killer Heat' of NYC in the dead of summer provides the steady bass beat to Fairstein's plot. Fabulous!! A perfect '10'.

Excellent legal thriller

Killer Heat Linda A. Fairstein Doubleday, Mar 2008, $26.00 ISBN: 9780385523974 At the sight of a badly decomposed body in which the stench is so overwhelming, it will psychologically linger for weeks, NYPD Detective Mike Chapman lights up a Cohiba he hands the cigar to Manhattan ADA Alex Cooper to take a ¿few hits¿ in order to give the brain a different olfactory memory. The tortured dead woman is the first homicide of a serial killer. Six more females with apparent military connections will soon die while Mike, Alex and others hunt the predator. At the same time, Cooper argues with defense attorney Gene Grassley in front of Judge Lamont over the retrial of sixty-one years old Floyd Warren accused of rape three decades ago, but the jury was hung and he skipped town before the second trial. Grassley says his client is too old to commit a violent crime while Cooper points out that does not matter as he should do the time even though he will probably die behind bars. Cooper contends he became a serial rapist while Greeley insists he was never arrested. Adding to the circus of the Judge having to apply the ridiculous 1973 statute is cronies of violent convicted rapist Pablo Pasano sit in the courtroom to harass Cooper, who put him behind bars. --- The serial killer investigation is a terrific subplot that would normally carry a novel however, it is the legal issues involving the Warren trial complicated by the Pasano presence that makes the latest Cooper thriller one of the best sub-genre entries of the year so far. The story line is action-packed from the cigar onset and never slows down as the audience feels they are traipsing around the Big Apple during a sever heat wave. --- Harriet Klausner

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