Title: EntombedAuthor: Linda FairsteinSeries: Alexandra Cooper #7Synopsis (from bn.com): From New York Times bestselling author and famed former Manhattan prosecutor Linda Fairstein comes a chilling new Alexandra Cooper novel, Entombed, in which Alex matches wits with the master of detective fiction himself-Edgar Allan Poe…Workers demolishing a nineteenth-century brownstone where Edgar Allan Poe once lived discover a human skeleton entombed — standing — behind a brick wall. When sex crimes prosecutor Alexandra Cooper hears about the case, it strikes her as a classic Poe scene…except that forensic evidence shows that this young woman died within the last twenty-five years. Meanwhile, Alex’s old nemesis the Silk Stocking Rapist is once again terrorizing Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The attacks soon escalate to murder, and the search leads Alex and detectives Mercer Wallace and Mike Chapman to the city’s stunning Bronx Botanical Gardens. There, an enigmatic librarian presides over the Raven Society, a group devoted to the work of Poe. In exploring the fabled writer’s tormented life for clues, Alex will cross paths with a cunning killer and face some of the greatest challenges of her career. Entombed is masterful, exhilarating crime fiction from one of crime writing’s most dazzling stars.My thoughts: I really, really want to love this series, and I just can’t identify exactly what about it I don’t fully like!Overall, I enjoyed this book. The overall storyline, detective piece, investigation and all were enjoyable, however I did find the book a bit sluggish, slow paced, repetitive, and long at times. Granted, I read the book on a long plane ride which can be quite distracting, but there were times that I just couldn’t follow the storyline and it felt disjointed to me.As any good series reader, I will keep up with the series though – I am not a quitter!Overall, a decent mystery series with great characters and police work, just not a series that I run right to.
EntombedLinda FairsteinSimon & Schuster Audio, 2005ISBN 0743538455Abridged Audio BookRead by Blair BrownManhattan sex crimes prosecutor Alexandra Cooper and her detective partners, Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace, are involved in the case of the Silk Stocking serial rapist. At the same time, workers have uncovered a body entombed behind a wall of a brownstone being torn down and Alex is drawn into the dark world of Edgar Allan Poe, who once lived in the house. This particular body, that of a young woman, has apparently been behind the wall for 25 years but seems to have a connection to a more recent murder. During their investigation, the team begins to think these two murders might have some relationship to the Silk Stocking rapist, who has reappeared after four years of inactivity.EntombedRich in atmosphere, this novel takes us to the Bronx Botanical Gardens. A wild landscape, it’s the perfect place for a deadly chase and the author writes about it in such a way as to make me want to see it someday. The descriptions of this and other less-than-famous New York City landmarks are the heart of this entry in the Alex Cooper series and they overshadow a bit the actual mysteries but not too much. Ms. Fairstein also offers a great deal of history of Poe which I thoroughly enjoyed.A particular episode of the investigation involving Alex is especially Poe-worthy and chilling (although an inexplicably dumb move on her part helps put her in the situation) but it is a tragic event at the end that elevates Ms. Fairstein. Many mystery writers would never have the nerve to take such a step.I listened to an abridged version but never felt there were scenes missing that were needed to carry the story. Actress Blair Brown is a good narrator with enough intensity as well as restraint to seem as though she really is Alex Cooper. I will be glad to try more books read by her.Great cover, too!Highly recommended.Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, December 2009.
What do You think about Entombed (2006)?
Edgar Allen Poe has played a prominent role in several recent mysteries, and he inspires a murderer in Entombed. The Silk Stocking Strangler, who terrorized NYC four years ago but was never caught, returns to the scene of his crimes, and this time around, ADA Alex Cooper is determined to collar him. On the heels of the new strangling, the skeleton of a young woman is discovered bricked up in the basement of a house once occupied by Poe. The body count increases, and it's soon apparent that there are two murderers on the loose. The investigations take Alex and her colorful team to the Bronx, where the Botanic Gardens and Poe Cottage provide the atmosphere for the chase, and Ms Fairstein does her usual dexterous job in weaving factual and forensic information into her plot. The Alexandra Cooper novels are smart, fast paced, and skillfully written, and Entombed is no exception; following her cases always presents an interesting and satisfying challenge.
—Linda
It is probably hard to believe that as someone who often enjoys a good mystery/suspense novel that this is the first novel by former DA Linda Fairstein that I have read. Fortunately I was not at all disappointed with this engrossing novel. Entombed features attorney Alexandra Cooper who is the heroine in all of Fairstein's novels to date, yet in this tale while trying to find a serial rapist who has eluded her partner Mike Chapman and herself for years Alex also finds herself trying to find a murderer who quite obviously was trying to frame this serial rapist. Now finding this copycat has become a priority for Alex as she learns of its connection to a murder committed twenty-five years ago in the former home of poet Edgar Allen Poe. The investigation leads Alex and the detectives to a group of Poe enthusiasts known as the Raven Society who seem to have many secrets that they do not wish to have unearthed.This novel takes many twists and turns as Alex searches not only for a murderer but a serial rapist as well. However, the chemistry between Alex and detective Chapman, as well as the slight cliffhanger between the two, is what will keep me reading more of these Alex Cooper novels as well as searching out Fairstein's previous novels!
—Devon
This book wasn't as good as the others. The Edgar Allan Poe parts were interesting but that's not why I bought the book. I bought it because of the way Ms. Fairstein puts together mysteries and her leads solve them. I loved how she usually has them interact both professionally and personally. But in this book it felt stilted and forced. I felt she had so many mysteries going on at once that she had to tie together that she didn't really do any of them justice. I was just disappointed in this book. Granted I haven't read all her books but the ones I have read are better than this. This one was jumbled up and wasn't logical. Alex Cooper has usually held her own but in this book, it was like she was a bumbling idiot. Just sad for this strong, smart character. I hope the series get better than this. Can't wait to give another a try.
—Samantha
