Death Dance is the 8th book Linda Fairstein's series featuring Alexander Cooper. This was my third outing with Alex Cooper, having read a couple of the early books in the series sometime ago, and it was particularly interesting to see where the series had gone in the intervening years.Alex is an Assistant District Attorney, working in the sex crime division, passionately devoted to her job and to the victims she sees herself as representing. Teamed up firstly with long-time friend Mercer Wallace, they are investigating the drugging rape of two visiting Canadian girls, when called to a missing prima ballerina at the Metropolitan Opera House.Natalya Galinova after first being listed as officially missing, is eventually found brutally killed in the backstage area of the Opera House. Alex and Mercer team up with Mike Chapman, the third member of a group of long-time friends and colleagues, to investigate the murder. They do this in and around the backstage of the Opera House and amongst some powerful players in the New York theatre world.Along with these two major investigations, the NY Police are also trying to track down a serial rapist who is attacking women in local parks.The central plot regarding the death of the ballerina takes most of the focus in the book and, aside from Alex having a life long love of ballet, it was never really clear why a sex-crime prosecutor would be involved so closely in the non-sex related death of Galinova. The investigation of the death proceeds very slowly, intertwined with some interesting aspects of the Opera House, theatre venues in New York and with a cast of "theatre types" both management and talent. There is an unfortunate inconsistency in some of that follow-up which dragged me right out of the story and some fem-jep towards the end which really seemed too convenient. Meanwhile, the investigation into the rape of the two Canadian girls proceeds quickly and a suspect is easily identified. The resolution of that crime is less satisfactory from Alex's point of view, but could have struck a strong chord of reality if the final page dramatic climax had been avoided. The rapist in the park is also resolved but again, the methodology used is a little out of the blue and the plot line never really got much focus throughout the book.One of the strengths of this book is the long-term relationship between the three investigators. They know each other well and have been through a lot together. The references to previous events, presumably from earlier books, are quite easy to assimilate and give a real feeling for the long-term friendship.The rather crowded plot; the inexplicable actions in a sub-part of the ballerina's death; a glaring piece of fem-jep which seemed rather unnecessary, and a final "rapping up" of absolutely every loose end on all the sub-plots on the final pages of the book detracted. For me, this was an interesting read, but not one of my all-time favourites from this author.
Fans of Law and Order, SVU (Special Victims Unit) where cutting edge forensic tools are coupled with gritty detective work will definitely relish Death Dance. The book captures the reader's attention with a look into the personal and professional life of a New York criminal prosecutor and two of her colleagues. Her cases are varied and range from indicting a physician involved in drug facilitated sexual assaults to the murder of a prima ballerina at the Metropolitan Opera House. While I do not want to give away the complete plotline, let me just say that the book treats the reader to a descriptive behind a scenes tour of the Met as well as a couple of other famous New York theaters; gives us a history lesson about the famous and infamous residents of the city, both past and present, supplies lessons in forensics and police procedures and finally allows an exasperating glimpse at the practice of releasing non-citizens on their own recognizance with the naive expectation that they will return for trial and not flee the jurisdiction. (Are we stupid, or what??) This book captures the readers attention from page one, twists and turns its way through 482 undeniably intriguing pages and deposits us at the end of a devilishly good story, satiated for the moment but definitely looking forward to another delectable helping of Linda Fairstein. Take her along on your next lazy afternoon at the beach or better yet on a long, tedious plane ride. You won't regret allowing her to join you.....she makes flying fun.
What do You think about Death Dance (2007)?
As I read this book, I was SURE that I had already read it before, but it wasn't on the Goodreads list so... Reading a book like this, one realizes that you have to suspend disbelief, when it comes to all the adventures undergone by the heroine of the story. Alexandra Cooper--Alex--is an assistant district attorney in Manhattan. The setting for this book is mostly the theatrical district, except for a sojourn on Martha's Vineyard, where Alex has a vacation house. There is a lot of action. There is one brief section where Alex meets a nice man on the plane going North--and then nothing becomes of it. Mike, one of her good friends, is still grieving over the death of his fiancee. I do enjoy reading this series.
—Marti
#8 in the Alexandra Cooper series. Alex is a NYC ADA in charge of prosecuting sex crimes. As usual, the novels in the series feature an aspect of NYC geography; in this instance, the Metropolitan Opera House.Alexandra Cooper - looks for the killer of a ballerina at the Metropolitan Opera House. The case involves delving into the world of the theatre and is full of theatre history. She and Mercer try to engage Mike Chapman , who is still grieving after the death of his fiancée. Additional story line has doctor engaging in drug assisted rape.
—Ed
Linda Fairstein discusses her riveting new thriller, Death Dance, which takes readers behind the scenes of New York City's theater world - from Lincoln Center to the lights of Broadway.Rich with her trademark blend of cutting-edge legal issues, skillful detective work and heart-stopping suspense, Death Dance's shocking twists make this novel Fairstein's most chilling adventure yet.We met Linda Fairstein when she visited the Tattered Cover Bookstore in Denver. You can listen to her talk about Death Dance here:http://www.authorsontourlive.com/?p=49
—AuthorsOnTourLive!
