Deadfall

The only thing that saves this from a 2 star review is the NYC history that is generously shared. Alex Cooper has become a whiny, clingy person and it is grating. I miss the strong and independent Alex. I thought I would like the relationship between Alex and Mike, however it's more of a distraction than an enhancement to the story. I hate how condescending Mike is to Alex. I probably will not be reading any more of this series.

A wild heart beats within New York City. Amid concrete and skyscrapers, the Wildlife Conservation Society works to preserve and protect the animal kingdom both within and beyond the borders of the five boroughs. But dangerous creatures don't always have claws and fangs, as Assistant DA Alexandra Cooper and NYPD detectives Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace know all too well. Predators lurk close to home, and in the aftermath of the shocking assassination of an iconic public figure--someone Alex has worked with for years--the trio must unravel the motive behind the shooting to discover who is the bigger snake: the killer or the victim.

The murder investigation provides more questions than answers, as a tangled mess of secrets slowly comes to show more light. From street gangs to secret societies, from big-game hunting to the illegal animal trade, from New York City zoos to the highest offices in city government, Alex has her work cut out for her--especially since the task force handling the investigation, led by the US Attorney, seems to be more against her than with her. As tensions rise between Alex and the feds, she must determine just how far she is willing to go to uncover the truth--and uphold the integrity of the office she has so proudly served. show less

Readers of Linda Fairstein’s previous books are well aware of NY assistant DA Alexandra Cooper’s mixed relationship with her boss, Paul Battaglia. What started off as a close one with her regarding him as a mentor, had deteriorated as his ambition and ego increased. The situation definitely changes in the first page of DEADFALL when she is with his body in the autopsy room of the morgue. He was shot as he rushed up the stairs of the Metropolitan Museum of Art to speak to her. As he collapsed, he fell on her and they became entangled.
Because of Alex’s position in the department, Jaxon Stern, a new policeman from a different area, is put in charge of the investigation. Very quickly, Alex realizes that he considers her to be not show more only a witness but the prime suspect and treats her accordingly. Despite her many years experience, she reacts as many other people do when being questioned by the authorities. Soon, US attorney for the Southern District of New York, James Prescott, takes over the investigation.
There is motive. Alex is supposed to be off-duty while she recuperates from being kidnaped for five days. Battaglia had specifically ordered her to stay away from the investigation into the murder of Wolf Savage, a garment district designer, CEO, and father of one of her friends. The show she was attending at the museum was a fashion show.
Alex, her partner Mike Chapman, and their friend Mercer Wallace realize in order to clear her, they should try to find those responsible for the killing.
First, they decide they should find out why Battaglia was so anxious to speak to Alex that he rushed to the Museum to catch her there. They discover that even though he was honored as a wildlife protector, he also might have been a member of The Order of St. Hubertus, a group that indulges in sport killing of rare animals. One of their hunting spots is Cobolo Creek in Texas. That is where Justice Antonin Scalia died. Fairstein provides the details of his death that raised questions about whether it was natural or murder: The person who signed the death certificate did so over the telephone, never having actually seen the body. (Legal in Texas). There was no autopsy and his family had his body cremated immediately. She wrote that he was found with a pillow over his head. While many reports said that, a witness said it was not over his face but above the top of his head. Battaglia might have been there at the time.
Their investigation leads them into learning about the trafficking of animals, especially animal parts, such as ivory and rhinoceros horns. They learn that many of them are hidden among heroin and shipped by boat from Africa and Asia to other parts of the world.
Fairstein’s books always focus in on one location in New York City and provide a great deal of information about it. After reading her description of the Bronx Zoo, the largest in the US, where the animals run free in areas specific to their natural habitats but are limited by natural barriers (ravines, creeks, walls), I would like to visit it. One negative comment: She mentions Ernie, a silver-backed gorilla whose parents were captured in the wild and brought to the Cleveland zoo as part of its animal conservancy program, she wrote “He survived Cleveland.” In actuality, Cleveland rocks! It’s a great place to visit. Lots to do and see and not as expensive to do so than in NYC.
The story is gripping and informative. Unfortunately, she refers back to her kidnaping and the murder of Wolf Savage, both important parts of previous books, far too often. While the DEADFALL can be read and understood without having read the previous books, the references are far too frequent. It was not necessary to keep reminding the reader that Alex was kidnaped or that she was told to stay away from the Savage murder investigation.
In addition, Fairchild shows a disrespect for her reader’s intelligence by using unnecessarily short chapters. A scene with the same characters in the same location during a constant time span and covering the same subject should be contained in one chapter, not two, three, or more. As usual, I drop my rating one star for that. show less

OBS this review spoilers the ending of the previous book!

Entombed, book seven in the Alexandra Cooper series was the first book I read by Fairstein and I loved it. Since then have I read two other books in the series before I read this one. One of them was the book previous (and the other is the first book in the series) and that one ended with a cliffhanger, which I remembered when I started this book. And, the beginning was very strong, with Alex saying goodbye to Paul Battaglia, her mentor who in her eyes has lately fallen from the pedestal, but he had such a great impact on her life that it's still hard to grasp for her that he has been murdered. It doesn't get better when she starts to be seen as a suspect, despite being the one show more that was with him as he was shot. The question is, who really shot Battaglia and why?

The Alexandra Cooper series is one of my favorites. I have a couple of unread books waiting to be read at home and I was thrilled to get the chance to read this book. Now, you don't have had to read the previous book to read this book. The events that happened in the last book is mentioned, but it will not make this story confusing, despite the fact that Battaglia was killed in the end of the last book.

What this book, unfortunately, lack that the previous books I have read are an interesting villain and a thrilling plot. Don't take me wrong, the beginning was strong and I liked reading the book. But, the plot ended to be a lot wordier than I liked, the kind of book when one tends to zone out a bit while reading. As much as I like to read Fairstein's usual history lesson about New York, this time Bronx Zoo and its past were there just so much dialog that I found myself a bit bored, to be honest. And, the whom the villain turned out to be, well that was hardly a surprise.

So, Deadfall was not as engrossing as the previous books I have read, it's still a good book, but not the one I would recommend starting with if you want to read the series (go for Entombed, they find a body entombed in a house where Edgar Allan Poe once lived).

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review. show less

Alexandra Cooper is beginning to recover from her own experience as a victim when Paul Batlaglia, her mentor and boss, is shot down and he falls literally into her arms. Unable to officially be involved with the assassination investigation because she is a witness, Alex works behind the scenes to get to the bottom of the reason for his death. Mike and Mercer work with Alex as she digs deeper into the people that the DA was investigating on his own..

This newest of Linda Fairstein's mysteries with Alexandra Cooper as the Assistant DA goes deeply into the world of the illegal trafficking of ivory and Rhino horns and various other "big game" animals that are nearing extinction because of hunters that believe they are above the law. The show more details of how these animals are hunted and why was horrendous.

I love how detailed the research is into the NY city landmark spotlighted in each book.. The special Landmark spotlight is a trademark of Ms. Fairstein's novels and one I have grown to love. show less

Many series grow old and readers get tired of the same old formula but I can guarantee you that after 18 previous book, Alexandra Cooper has not gotten old and her character and the plot are as fresh as book 1. Thanks to First to Read for an early copy of this book to read and review.

One of the things that I've liked most about the series is that the author picks a landmark in NYC and along with setting the story there, she shares a lot of information about that location. In this book, the landmark is the Bronx Zoo. As usual, Cooper is investigating a case that she's been told to stay away from. When the DA is killed on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he has come to confront Alex and falls into her after he is shot, show more she becomes one of the main suspects in the case. Her two good friends from previous books, Mike and Mercer help investigate the case even though they've been told to stay away from it because of their involvement with Alex. As the three of them try to untangle the secrets surrounding the DA's shooting, they get deeper into the case. It's a real page turner until the end to find out the answer to all that has caused the shooting.

Note -- this is a series that really should be read in order because there's a lot in each book that refers back to the previous book. That is especially true with this book because it happens right after book #18.

This is a great fun roller coaster of a read and it's a fantastic series. show less

Fans of Linda Fairstein’s Alexandra Cooper series will be pleased that Alex is back and starting to heal emotionally from the damage inflected after being abducted in an earlier novel. It’s been a year since the last Alex Cooper novel which had a twist at the end leaving readers hungry for Deadfall, the 19th in this series.

Deadfall picks up where the last one, Killer Look, left off, with the shooting of long time New York City DA Paul Battaglia. Alex, still on leave as a prosecutor in the DAs office, finds herself in the crosshairs of both the investigation and the killer. Even though she shouldn’t be involved in the case, she can’t stop herself and teams up with her usual cohorts to find the truth.

One of the things I like show more about Fairstein’s books is that you always pick up new knowledge about some New York City landmark. In Deadfall it is the Bronx Zoological Park, along with insight into the criminal world of animal trafficking and a brief history of subway cars! And, of course, there are the Final Jeopardy questions, a hallmark of the Alex Cooper novels. As always with Fairstein’s books, this a quick and absorbing read.

This book can be read as a stand alone, but there are many references to actions that took place in the last novel, so anyone new to this series might consider reading it at the very least. Then there is the long history of the main characters and their many fascinating cases, so why not start the series from the beginning? show less