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Alexandra Cooper #4
The Deadhouse
Assistant D.A. Alexandra Cooper returns in this page-turning New York Times bestseller from legendary Manhattan sex-crimes prosecutor Linda Fairstein.On Roosevelt Island, a strip of land in New York City's East River, stands an abandoned 19th century smallpox asylum, "The Deadhouse," where the afflicted were shipped off to die. It's a gruesome bit of history perhaps best forgotten. But for Alexandra Cooper, it may be the key to a shocking murder that cuts deeper than the arctic cold front gripping the city. A respected university professor is dead -- strangled and dumped in an elevator shaft. And while the school does damage control for anxious parents, Cooper and her close detective friend Mike Chapman scramble for answers, fueled by the most daunting a piece of paper, found on the lifeless body of Professor Lola Dakota, that reads The Deadhouse....
416 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 30, 2001
204 people are currently reading
1606 people want to read
About the author
Linda Fairstein
101 books1,603 followersLinda Fairstein (born 1947) is one of America's foremost legal experts on crimes of violence against women and children. She served as head of the sex crimes unit of the Manhattan District Attorney's office from 1976 until 2002 and is the author of a series of novels featuring Manhattan prosecutor Alexandra Cooper.
Like Fairstein, Alex ('Coop') Cooper is in charge of the Special Victims Unit of the Office. She works closely with NYPD detectives Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace. The 17th book in her best-selling series - DEVIL'S BRIDGE - launches in paperback in June, 2016. The 18th novel - KILLER LOOK - debuts on July 26th.
This year, Fairstein will debut a new series for Middle Grade readers - 8-12 years old. Her kid sleuth, Devlin Quick, appears in INTO THE LION'S DEN in November, 2016. The series is an homage to Nancy Drew, whose books inspired Linda's two careers - in crime fiction and in the law.
Ms. Fairstein is an honors graduate of Vassar College (1969) and the University of Virginia School of Law (1972). She joined the Manhattan District Attorney's office in 1972 as an Assistant District Attorney. She was promoted to the head of the sex crimes unit in 1976. During her tenure, she prosecuted several highly publicized cases, including the "Preppy Murder" case against Robert Chambers in 1986.
Linda Fairstein left the District Attorney's office in 2002, and has continued to consult, write, lecture and serve as a sex crimes expert for a wide variety of print and television media outlets, including the major networks, CNN, MSNBC among others. Ms. Fairstein is often called to provide her opinion on high profile prosecutions including: Michael Jackson's molestation charges in 2004, Kobe Bryant's sexual assault charges, and Scott Peterson's trial. She is also a frequent speaker on issues surrounding domestic abuse.
Ms. Fairstein lives in Manhattan and on Martha's Vineyard with her husband, Michael Goldberg. Her novels draw on Ms. Fairstein's legal expertise as well as her knowledge of and affection for the rich history of the city of New York.
Series:
* Alexandra Cooper Mystery
Like Fairstein, Alex ('Coop') Cooper is in charge of the Special Victims Unit of the Office. She works closely with NYPD detectives Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace. The 17th book in her best-selling series - DEVIL'S BRIDGE - launches in paperback in June, 2016. The 18th novel - KILLER LOOK - debuts on July 26th.
This year, Fairstein will debut a new series for Middle Grade readers - 8-12 years old. Her kid sleuth, Devlin Quick, appears in INTO THE LION'S DEN in November, 2016. The series is an homage to Nancy Drew, whose books inspired Linda's two careers - in crime fiction and in the law.
Ms. Fairstein is an honors graduate of Vassar College (1969) and the University of Virginia School of Law (1972). She joined the Manhattan District Attorney's office in 1972 as an Assistant District Attorney. She was promoted to the head of the sex crimes unit in 1976. During her tenure, she prosecuted several highly publicized cases, including the "Preppy Murder" case against Robert Chambers in 1986.
Linda Fairstein left the District Attorney's office in 2002, and has continued to consult, write, lecture and serve as a sex crimes expert for a wide variety of print and television media outlets, including the major networks, CNN, MSNBC among others. Ms. Fairstein is often called to provide her opinion on high profile prosecutions including: Michael Jackson's molestation charges in 2004, Kobe Bryant's sexual assault charges, and Scott Peterson's trial. She is also a frequent speaker on issues surrounding domestic abuse.
Ms. Fairstein lives in Manhattan and on Martha's Vineyard with her husband, Michael Goldberg. Her novels draw on Ms. Fairstein's legal expertise as well as her knowledge of and affection for the rich history of the city of New York.
Series:
* Alexandra Cooper Mystery
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 257 reviews
July 23, 2018
And this is where I leave this character. This whole book made about zero sense, but seemed to just be there to push things to a head with Alex and Mike. They both suck in this one and Alex does a woe is me thing when she finally realizes that Mike is seeing someone and shockingly enough seems to be happy. It's also gross when Alex throws out that the woman that Mike is seeing is similar to her so that means he has feelings for her. Yeah I don't know I just rolled my eyes a million times while reading this. This series should just be called the Alexandra Cooper and Mike Chapman series at this point.
There is zero development of anyone in this series. We have Mercer still getting over being shot almost to death after the events in the last book. He is moving on with his life, but you barely see it being a blip on Alex's life. She gets mad at her boyfriend about something that really isn't her business and runs out into the night to make Mike do something about it. Bah.
Mercer seems to just be that magical negro that has barely anything to do in this series and he really deserves better.
I think I finally had enough when Alex gets judgmental about a potential rape victim (the young woman drank a lot and made out and had initial consensual contact with someone) and then we find out that she was lying. And the last book had another potential rape victim that lied too. Considering that I have read the stats about rapes and the small number of women and men who lie about being sexually assaulted I side-eyed the crap out of this whole book/series at this point. I will say that Fairstein at least acknowledges that most rapes are between two people who know each other.
The actual murder case makes zero sense that Alex is even involved. A woman whose husband tried to have her killed, who shows up murdered later was not raped. We hear that Alex is involved cause it was domestic, but that felt like a stretch.
Fairstein spends too much time on the history of every little thing and I didn't care.
Alex finds herself in danger a freaking gain and weeps because Mike must not be coming cause he's too busy with his new girlfriend.
There is zero development of anyone in this series. We have Mercer still getting over being shot almost to death after the events in the last book. He is moving on with his life, but you barely see it being a blip on Alex's life. She gets mad at her boyfriend about something that really isn't her business and runs out into the night to make Mike do something about it. Bah.
Mercer seems to just be that magical negro that has barely anything to do in this series and he really deserves better.
I think I finally had enough when Alex gets judgmental about a potential rape victim (the young woman drank a lot and made out and had initial consensual contact with someone) and then we find out that she was lying. And the last book had another potential rape victim that lied too. Considering that I have read the stats about rapes and the small number of women and men who lie about being sexually assaulted I side-eyed the crap out of this whole book/series at this point. I will say that Fairstein at least acknowledges that most rapes are between two people who know each other.
The actual murder case makes zero sense that Alex is even involved. A woman whose husband tried to have her killed, who shows up murdered later was not raped. We hear that Alex is involved cause it was domestic, but that felt like a stretch.
Fairstein spends too much time on the history of every little thing and I didn't care.
Alex finds herself in danger a freaking gain and weeps because Mike must not be coming cause he's too busy with his new girlfriend.
June 4, 2019
#whentheyseeus
April 3, 2023
Wieder ein an sich spannender Fall, der sich aber wieder total verrennt, zumindest fühlt es sich so an. Der Schreibstil hakte an einigen Stellen, aber insgesamt las es sich doch ganz gut und die Charaktere sind nach wie vor toll - auch wenn Alex in diesem Buch den ein oder anderen Trotzanfall schiebt. Die Insel fand ich auch total spannend, das war ein toller Schauplatz.
June 14, 2014
A strangely surreal murder-for-hire plan leads to a mysterious murder freighted with academic intrigue, sex, drugs, misappropriated government funds, and a treasure hunt in the ruins of a lunatic asylum on Roosevelt Island in NYC. What ties it all together is the character of Alexandra Cooper, a prosecutor in the DA's Office. Is that a photo of Miss Cooper on the back of the book? No, it isn't. Although the narrating attorney is indeed a tall, vivacious, well-dressed, very pretty blonde girl, the tall, vivacious, well-dressed, very pretty girl in the photograph is actually author Linda Fairstein, a former prosecutor in the DA's Office. Well, you should always write about what you know best, and of course always follow Socrates' advice.
A writer presenting a first-person story always plays a balancing act, making a character think and expound and interpret everything going on around her, advancing the story without giving too much away. The narrator has to solve the mystery through her own efforts, sorting out everything in her head, but without giving it all away too soon--she has to think about everything, but be selective about what she releases to the reader. At the same time, she has to remain baffled by events without seeming a dunce. In all of this, Linda Fairstein/Alexandra Cooper does an admirable job. The character is at the top of her game when observing suspects, winnowing the truth from the lies, interpreting clues, and evoking suspense and atmosphere through her own reactions; she's at her worst (at least for me) when she shares the gritty girlishness of her personal life.
For me, there are two highlights in the book. The first is her navigating amongst the prickly personalities and hidden peccadilloes of the furtive and mendacious students and teachers of King's College that emerge after the murder of popular (and unpopular) teacher Lola Dakota. For various reasons (many having nothing to do with the murder) everyone lies, some much more convincingly than others. Fairstein's descriptions of collegiate corruption and academic internecine warfare are very convincing and help set up the climax of the novel. The other thing that Fairstein does excellently is making the history of Roosevelt Island (or Blackwell Island) come alive. The urban ruins of the penitentiary, the lunatic asylum, and New York's first pathology laboratory (and attendant deadhouses) make for an appropriately eerie backdrop.
What I did not enjoy about the novel was the character of Detective Mike Chapman, Cooper's foil and sidekick. It's not that he's a male chauvinist pig and totally un-PC (fortunately for me, neither of those are prosecutable crimes...yet), but that he's totally repulsive. Were we to take away Cooper's acceptance of the way he acts, no one would like him...well, I don't like him anyway, even with her inexplicable tolerance. He's cartoonish and brutal, shallow and mean-spirited; he's like a distillation of every bestial trait that women assume every man possesses (but which most men don't). His dialogue would have been considered offensive and dated even by the standards of the pulp magazine era, from which Fairstein seems to have time-napped him. For me, he's a definite detraction in this otherwise enjoyable and appealing series, but not enough of one to stop reading them.
This book, as well as others in the series, would appeal to both fans of the police procedural and the cozy mystery -- step-by-step investigation and the presentation of a limited set of suspects in a closed environment. Although there is some courtroom action, it occurs only because she has to show up for court from time to time as a practicing attorney, and does not have the same focus as in other books with lawyer protagonists. What also does not have much of a focus in the novel is the reason for the murders and all the intrigue; when revealed to the reader it assumes the character of a McGuffin, but its incongruous nature does nothing to detract from Fairstein's story. Well worth reading, and the readers who look up other books in the series will be rewarded for their efforts.
A writer presenting a first-person story always plays a balancing act, making a character think and expound and interpret everything going on around her, advancing the story without giving too much away. The narrator has to solve the mystery through her own efforts, sorting out everything in her head, but without giving it all away too soon--she has to think about everything, but be selective about what she releases to the reader. At the same time, she has to remain baffled by events without seeming a dunce. In all of this, Linda Fairstein/Alexandra Cooper does an admirable job. The character is at the top of her game when observing suspects, winnowing the truth from the lies, interpreting clues, and evoking suspense and atmosphere through her own reactions; she's at her worst (at least for me) when she shares the gritty girlishness of her personal life.
For me, there are two highlights in the book. The first is her navigating amongst the prickly personalities and hidden peccadilloes of the furtive and mendacious students and teachers of King's College that emerge after the murder of popular (and unpopular) teacher Lola Dakota. For various reasons (many having nothing to do with the murder) everyone lies, some much more convincingly than others. Fairstein's descriptions of collegiate corruption and academic internecine warfare are very convincing and help set up the climax of the novel. The other thing that Fairstein does excellently is making the history of Roosevelt Island (or Blackwell Island) come alive. The urban ruins of the penitentiary, the lunatic asylum, and New York's first pathology laboratory (and attendant deadhouses) make for an appropriately eerie backdrop.
What I did not enjoy about the novel was the character of Detective Mike Chapman, Cooper's foil and sidekick. It's not that he's a male chauvinist pig and totally un-PC (fortunately for me, neither of those are prosecutable crimes...yet), but that he's totally repulsive. Were we to take away Cooper's acceptance of the way he acts, no one would like him...well, I don't like him anyway, even with her inexplicable tolerance. He's cartoonish and brutal, shallow and mean-spirited; he's like a distillation of every bestial trait that women assume every man possesses (but which most men don't). His dialogue would have been considered offensive and dated even by the standards of the pulp magazine era, from which Fairstein seems to have time-napped him. For me, he's a definite detraction in this otherwise enjoyable and appealing series, but not enough of one to stop reading them.
This book, as well as others in the series, would appeal to both fans of the police procedural and the cozy mystery -- step-by-step investigation and the presentation of a limited set of suspects in a closed environment. Although there is some courtroom action, it occurs only because she has to show up for court from time to time as a practicing attorney, and does not have the same focus as in other books with lawyer protagonists. What also does not have much of a focus in the novel is the reason for the murders and all the intrigue; when revealed to the reader it assumes the character of a McGuffin, but its incongruous nature does nothing to detract from Fairstein's story. Well worth reading, and the readers who look up other books in the series will be rewarded for their efforts.
March 1, 2011
One of the best books I have read. Didn't know who did it till the very end. I also love the detail description of all the NY sites. Also the history background. One of my new Fav. authors.
October 15, 2021
Best one yet. It read less like someone reading off her day runner. Excellent mystery and super job creating the visuals of the locations, especially what Roosevelt Island looks like -- or looked like in 2001. I grew up near there and had no idea about its history.
February 1, 2020
The mystery here is pretty good, the perp was not easily detected. The characters are okay, sometimes interesting, sometimes annoying. What I really like about Fairstein's Alexandra Cooper series is the incorporation of pieces of New York City history, and especially the architecture. This time a building on Roosevelt Island is featured, one described as beautiful architecture, but long abandoned. Once used as a mental asylum, as well as housing for criminals, this structure is now decrepit and falling down, and extremely isolated, just the place to possibly hide a body, or commit a murder. Fairstein does do a good job of creating a feeling of isolation, darkness, and creepiness about the island and it's long deserted structures.
June 28, 2015
I actually finished a book! Shock! Horror! Hope this reading slump ends soon.
November 13, 2018
Authentic detective/legal thriller, as told through the eyes of a real life prosecutor, and an in-depth look at the history of New York City. While I liked the characters and the plot, it was much too long, bordering on tedious at times.
July 12, 2020
3.75
A little longer than needed - so much detail.
I enjoy this series - I love Alex though sometimes super annoying.
Great read. Twists and suspense great.
A little longer than needed - so much detail.
I enjoy this series - I love Alex though sometimes super annoying.
Great read. Twists and suspense great.
January 31, 2016
#4 in the Alexandra Cooper series. "2002 Nero Award; Finalist 2002 Macavity Award for Best Novel". Author Fairstein's novels about NYC ADA Alex Cooper always focus on a piece of NYC. This time it's Roosevelt Island, an East River site with an abandoned smallpox asylum.
NYC ADA Alexandra Cooper series - When archeologist Lola Dakota is found dead at the bottom of an elevator shaft in her apartment building on Manhattan's Upper West Side, assistant D.A. Alexandra Cooper takes on one of her darkest cases yet. Alexandra, aided by homicide detective Mike Chapman, must sift through the testimonies of Dakota's close-mouthed colleagues at small, experimental King's College. Despite bitter December weather, the professor was engaged in an archaeological dig on the city's Roosevelt Island for clues about the criminals and mental patients shipped there a hundred years ago and left to die. Cooper, who had been working with Dakota to apprehend her abusive husband, now reaches out to Lola's resistant family and legal counsel in New Jersey, where she has been hiding out. And what of Charlotte Voight, a young woman who disappeared several months ago? The city is ablaze with holiday lights and cheer, Mike is acting peculiarly, team member Mercer Wallace injured in Final Jeopardy (1996) rejoins them late in the game, and Alex and new love Jake, a news correspondent, might be breaking up.
NYC ADA Alexandra Cooper series - When archeologist Lola Dakota is found dead at the bottom of an elevator shaft in her apartment building on Manhattan's Upper West Side, assistant D.A. Alexandra Cooper takes on one of her darkest cases yet. Alexandra, aided by homicide detective Mike Chapman, must sift through the testimonies of Dakota's close-mouthed colleagues at small, experimental King's College. Despite bitter December weather, the professor was engaged in an archaeological dig on the city's Roosevelt Island for clues about the criminals and mental patients shipped there a hundred years ago and left to die. Cooper, who had been working with Dakota to apprehend her abusive husband, now reaches out to Lola's resistant family and legal counsel in New Jersey, where she has been hiding out. And what of Charlotte Voight, a young woman who disappeared several months ago? The city is ablaze with holiday lights and cheer, Mike is acting peculiarly, team member Mercer Wallace injured in Final Jeopardy (1996) rejoins them late in the game, and Alex and new love Jake, a news correspondent, might be breaking up.
April 24, 2008
This is another intense thriller from Linda Fairstein in this series. Great drama with some historical background and good suspense.
August 24, 2014
I wish Ms. Fairstein could write a strong, independent main character who didn't whimper when the going gets tough...but still a great mystery and love the location.
October 15, 2015
Seriously... she (Fairstein) makes it look so easy to write a crime/murder mystery novel. I feel like these are so quick and snappy and easy to read and understand.
June 28, 2020
I was going to give this book two stars but after having sat on it a couple of days I realised that I was still raging about the concepts in the book, the storyline being immaterial to this, since honestly there wasn't one.
There was literally nothing I liked about it at all... and then to find out what a horrendous person the author is just synched it for me; one star I shouldn't have picked this up.
I paid next to nothing for this book, got it in a bag of second hand books for five bucks total, picking this book because I love asylum stuff and because I share the same first name as the author.
It was a waste of money. This book was not about asylums, or any of the cool creepy stuff that usually comes with that, no it was about the two main characters being in love with the other and getting wikipedia info dumped into your lap; seriously the murder scenes could have been set anywhere it made no difference the location or to the story, rather all it would have changed would have been whatever wikipedia information you were told.
But my biggest complaint, how can a district attorney have a book that stars a district attorney that reads so damn fake?
The main character is pathetic, a whiny bitch of a thing but there was one scene in particular that just pissed me right off and that is as follows.
So Alex (our hot, smart, perfect main character with the social decorum/maturity of a two year old chucking a tantrum) argued with her boyfriend over literally nothing (it was a work call, for goodness sake, I also take work calls privately, it's what you do) ran out in the snow to spite him without dressing for warmth, after said spouse just spent hours making her dinner. Also, as a side note, dinner isn't ruined if you eat it five minutes late, that was also stupid. Side note the second, Alex (our wonderful heroine, who wouldn't 'let people in' yet expected the world to revolve around her) held an ex dead spouse over her current spouse's head like it was his fault dude died; super annoying.
Ok, so Alex (our everything of a main character, who done nothing other than get kidnapped and flirted) ran out in the snow to go to another guy in her life expecting him to fix things for her; a work colleague that was supposed to be at her beck and call at midnight or whatever because she wasn't mature enough to have a conversation with her boyfriend. Rather than be sensible when finding the work colleague was in bed with his girlfriend in his own home, rather than have a different conversation she once more ran out into the snow wearing nothing appropriate, in a crappy neighbourhood with a rapist on the loose and having a creepo stalker.
Super sensible actions, no?
But what really made me rage were the false accusations of rape where alcohol was involved,
The sexists jokes- no literally everything, the whole book was sexist jokes and women bashing, not what you'd expect from a female author,
That the ending didn't make a lick of sense since seriously none of the evidence pointed to the killer, they having apparently been that useless as detectives,
And especially, especially, the joke that Alex wasn't pretty enough to be raped at the end. Are you actually serious right now? Seriously fuck off.
Hated this book, hated everything about it. It is literally offensive.
There was literally nothing I liked about it at all... and then to find out what a horrendous person the author is just synched it for me; one star I shouldn't have picked this up.
I paid next to nothing for this book, got it in a bag of second hand books for five bucks total, picking this book because I love asylum stuff and because I share the same first name as the author.
It was a waste of money. This book was not about asylums, or any of the cool creepy stuff that usually comes with that, no it was about the two main characters being in love with the other and getting wikipedia info dumped into your lap; seriously the murder scenes could have been set anywhere it made no difference the location or to the story, rather all it would have changed would have been whatever wikipedia information you were told.
But my biggest complaint, how can a district attorney have a book that stars a district attorney that reads so damn fake?
The main character is pathetic, a whiny bitch of a thing but there was one scene in particular that just pissed me right off and that is as follows.
So Alex (our hot, smart, perfect main character with the social decorum/maturity of a two year old chucking a tantrum) argued with her boyfriend over literally nothing (it was a work call, for goodness sake, I also take work calls privately, it's what you do) ran out in the snow to spite him without dressing for warmth, after said spouse just spent hours making her dinner. Also, as a side note, dinner isn't ruined if you eat it five minutes late, that was also stupid. Side note the second, Alex (our wonderful heroine, who wouldn't 'let people in' yet expected the world to revolve around her) held an ex dead spouse over her current spouse's head like it was his fault dude died; super annoying.
Ok, so Alex (our everything of a main character, who done nothing other than get kidnapped and flirted) ran out in the snow to go to another guy in her life expecting him to fix things for her; a work colleague that was supposed to be at her beck and call at midnight or whatever because she wasn't mature enough to have a conversation with her boyfriend. Rather than be sensible when finding the work colleague was in bed with his girlfriend in his own home, rather than have a different conversation she once more ran out into the snow wearing nothing appropriate, in a crappy neighbourhood with a rapist on the loose and having a creepo stalker.
Super sensible actions, no?
But what really made me rage were the false accusations of rape where alcohol was involved,
The sexists jokes- no literally everything, the whole book was sexist jokes and women bashing, not what you'd expect from a female author,
That the ending didn't make a lick of sense since seriously none of the evidence pointed to the killer, they having apparently been that useless as detectives,
And especially, especially, the joke that Alex wasn't pretty enough to be raped at the end. Are you actually serious right now? Seriously fuck off.
Hated this book, hated everything about it. It is literally offensive.
March 18, 2025
Academic interest surrounding the Roosevelt Island abandoned smallpox asylum, the deadhouse, where the afflicted were shipped off to die during the 19th century, is intermingled with the murder of one of the researchers in this tale by Linda Fairstein.
New York Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Cooper had been working with domestic violence victim Lola Dakota for a couple of years and could never get her to take her husband to trial for his violent actions. Then Cooper and the public watched the evening news to discover that New Jersey police had pretended to be assassinations hired by Dakota's husband and in a video 'killed her.'
He was arrested for the attempted murder but hours later, Dakota turned up really dead - at her apartment complex.
Now part of the real murder investigation, Cooper is in the midst of interviewing Dakota's family, co-workers and students; looking for evidence in the deceased's home and office; and finding some interesting things, like shoe boxes of money and a photo of a missing student. And over all the academics, is their involvement in a multi-disciplinary project of researching the history of Roosevelt Island and the ruins of the smallpox hospital, where in the 1800s a huge number of rich and poor alike were sent, often to their deaths.
In addition, it's New York during the December holidays and a large, very cold winter storm. It's a perfect storm of emotional issues and circumstances adding layers to the murder case, and it makes for a complex mystery and thriller. It was certainly interesting and I couldn't wait to discover the solution.
But — after reading three previous books and liking the Cooper character, I found her a bit annoying in this book. While she continues to be tenacious about her case, she seems to lose all perspective about those closest around her. And her histrionics with her journalist boyfriend toward the end of the book was absurd, costly (in police time) and potentially deadly. Surely she understands confidential sources and private conversations, yet she reacts in a totally unrealistic manner.
And then there is Cooper's co-investigator, Detective Mike Chapman is way over annoying — he is incredibly rude to every person he questions (how I missed this in earlier books, I don't know, but it really bugged me this time out). It's hard to believe that he hasn't been called on the carpet by his superiors for his jackass way of questioning sources. In reality, he definitely would be.
So instead of a 4-star rating, I reconsidered my rating in view of my frustration that once again, a smart character is made to do something juvenile and silly, just for the dramatics.
New York Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Cooper had been working with domestic violence victim Lola Dakota for a couple of years and could never get her to take her husband to trial for his violent actions. Then Cooper and the public watched the evening news to discover that New Jersey police had pretended to be assassinations hired by Dakota's husband and in a video 'killed her.'
He was arrested for the attempted murder but hours later, Dakota turned up really dead - at her apartment complex.
Now part of the real murder investigation, Cooper is in the midst of interviewing Dakota's family, co-workers and students; looking for evidence in the deceased's home and office; and finding some interesting things, like shoe boxes of money and a photo of a missing student. And over all the academics, is their involvement in a multi-disciplinary project of researching the history of Roosevelt Island and the ruins of the smallpox hospital, where in the 1800s a huge number of rich and poor alike were sent, often to their deaths.
In addition, it's New York during the December holidays and a large, very cold winter storm. It's a perfect storm of emotional issues and circumstances adding layers to the murder case, and it makes for a complex mystery and thriller. It was certainly interesting and I couldn't wait to discover the solution.
But — after reading three previous books and liking the Cooper character, I found her a bit annoying in this book. While she continues to be tenacious about her case, she seems to lose all perspective about those closest around her. And her histrionics with her journalist boyfriend toward the end of the book was absurd, costly (in police time) and potentially deadly. Surely she understands confidential sources and private conversations, yet she reacts in a totally unrealistic manner.
And then there is Cooper's co-investigator, Detective Mike Chapman is way over annoying — he is incredibly rude to every person he questions (how I missed this in earlier books, I don't know, but it really bugged me this time out). It's hard to believe that he hasn't been called on the carpet by his superiors for his jackass way of questioning sources. In reality, he definitely would be.
So instead of a 4-star rating, I reconsidered my rating in view of my frustration that once again, a smart character is made to do something juvenile and silly, just for the dramatics.
October 3, 2023
Lola Dakota, an esteemed professor in New York City, has died. In fact, she died twice. The first time was a sham, a ruse set up by the police to catch her husband in a murder-for-hire plot. It went perfectly and her violent ex-husband is arrested and charged. But later that same day, Lola's body is found, this time really dead, at the bottom of an elevator shaft in her apartment building, which she had just returned to after weeks of staying with a friend.
This time, the crime occurs in assistant DA Alexandra Cooper's jurisdiction. She had tried to help Lola before the ruse but Lola had dropped charges several times. Now she is dead and it is up to Alexandra along with NYPD detective Mike Chapman, to find the murderer and bring him or her to justice.
There are plenty of candidates. There is, of course, her ex-husband, Ivan. He was safely in jail when the murder occurred but someone as obsessed and rich as he was could have hired someone. There is the professor who lives in Lola's apartment house who is under suspension at the university, suspected of fraud and unsure who turned him in. There is Lola's work at the archeological and social digs of the ruins on an island where those sick of various diseases were kept; the nicknamed structure The Deadhouse. Lola had been found with a note with those words on her body. She was involved in the dig with several other professors and there's talk of dissension on the site. Who killed Lola Dakota?
This is the fourth novel in the Alexandra Cooper series. She is a woman obsessed with her work and career, dedicated to helping other women escape the violence of men. Her work obsession leaves little time for romance although she has a man very interested in her. Alex is suspicious of getting close to anyone and romance has never been her forte. Her joking relationship with Mike Chapman is about as much as she really wants and there are restrained sparks between those two. The novel has lots of murder suspects and most readers will be surprised to learn the identity of the person who committed the crime. This book is recommended for mystery readers.
This time, the crime occurs in assistant DA Alexandra Cooper's jurisdiction. She had tried to help Lola before the ruse but Lola had dropped charges several times. Now she is dead and it is up to Alexandra along with NYPD detective Mike Chapman, to find the murderer and bring him or her to justice.
There are plenty of candidates. There is, of course, her ex-husband, Ivan. He was safely in jail when the murder occurred but someone as obsessed and rich as he was could have hired someone. There is the professor who lives in Lola's apartment house who is under suspension at the university, suspected of fraud and unsure who turned him in. There is Lola's work at the archeological and social digs of the ruins on an island where those sick of various diseases were kept; the nicknamed structure The Deadhouse. Lola had been found with a note with those words on her body. She was involved in the dig with several other professors and there's talk of dissension on the site. Who killed Lola Dakota?
This is the fourth novel in the Alexandra Cooper series. She is a woman obsessed with her work and career, dedicated to helping other women escape the violence of men. Her work obsession leaves little time for romance although she has a man very interested in her. Alex is suspicious of getting close to anyone and romance has never been her forte. Her joking relationship with Mike Chapman is about as much as she really wants and there are restrained sparks between those two. The novel has lots of murder suspects and most readers will be surprised to learn the identity of the person who committed the crime. This book is recommended for mystery readers.
August 24, 2024
Evidently this is a series. This is my first read of it. It is about Alexandra Cooper, a DA with the Sexual crimes unit for NYC, her lead detective, Mike Chapman have a very unusual friendship. They both date others but seem to be attracted to each other. At first I just thought they had an awesome friendship but it got really strange towards the end.
It is a story of a college professor who dies after faking her own death with the NJ team because her husband was abusive and they got him in a sting to hire people ( the police ) to kill his wife and then she actually ends up dead while he is in prison. It is a very long and confusing murder mystery with plenty of suspects. It winds around the archeological dig site of Blackwell island that many professors were involved in. Blackwell Island was where NYC sent all of is plague patients at the turn of the 20 th century and there was also a prison where if you were rich you could still have all your riches around you while the poor prisoners waited on you hand and foot.
I enjoyed the history lesson of Blackwell Island but it was too much. There was the plagues and the prisons and the hidden gems and the hidden garden, the missing students
I was not impressed with Alexandra... she did not act very smart nor emotionally mature thru most of the book. She was clueless and I even thought they spent way too much money on presents in their little friend group for co workers. I kept reading to figure out the mystery and then it was over and done and she is in the hospital and the men are all out side her room but nothing is solved in her life nor how much of the mystery was true and can they find the diamonds.
It is a story of a college professor who dies after faking her own death with the NJ team because her husband was abusive and they got him in a sting to hire people ( the police ) to kill his wife and then she actually ends up dead while he is in prison. It is a very long and confusing murder mystery with plenty of suspects. It winds around the archeological dig site of Blackwell island that many professors were involved in. Blackwell Island was where NYC sent all of is plague patients at the turn of the 20 th century and there was also a prison where if you were rich you could still have all your riches around you while the poor prisoners waited on you hand and foot.
I enjoyed the history lesson of Blackwell Island but it was too much. There was the plagues and the prisons and the hidden gems and the hidden garden, the missing students
I was not impressed with Alexandra... she did not act very smart nor emotionally mature thru most of the book. She was clueless and I even thought they spent way too much money on presents in their little friend group for co workers. I kept reading to figure out the mystery and then it was over and done and she is in the hospital and the men are all out side her room but nothing is solved in her life nor how much of the mystery was true and can they find the diamonds.
August 19, 2023
4th book in the Alex Cooper series. Alex Cooper (Alex is short for Alexandra) is lead prosecutor in the Manhattan Sex Crimes Unit of the District Attorney's office. In this book, the Christmas holidays are nearing and Alex is overwhelmed by the death of one of her old clients, Lola Dakota, who Alex had been trying for two years to persuade to prosecute her husband who has been physically abusing her.
Lola had wound up filing charges against her husband in New Jersey where the police instigated a sting operation against her husband where he hired two assassins (undercover cops) to kill her. Lola's husband is arrested. Lola is killed in her apartment building in New York the same day.
Lola is on the faculty of King's College, an off-shoot of Columbia University and her fellow faculty all had reasons to dislike her. Her husband is first on the list of suspects, followed by the heads of the anthropology, American history, and biology departments at King's College and the temporary president of the college.
Alex and her boyfriend, Jake Tyler, substitute anchor for a network news program, are talking about raising their relationship level,
Mike Chapman, an NYPD detective with whom Alex has worked for ten years, is as protective as he can be of Alex or as protective as she'll allow him to be.
Well written. Several places where the action won't let you put the book down.
Lola had wound up filing charges against her husband in New Jersey where the police instigated a sting operation against her husband where he hired two assassins (undercover cops) to kill her. Lola's husband is arrested. Lola is killed in her apartment building in New York the same day.
Lola is on the faculty of King's College, an off-shoot of Columbia University and her fellow faculty all had reasons to dislike her. Her husband is first on the list of suspects, followed by the heads of the anthropology, American history, and biology departments at King's College and the temporary president of the college.
Alex and her boyfriend, Jake Tyler, substitute anchor for a network news program, are talking about raising their relationship level,
Mike Chapman, an NYPD detective with whom Alex has worked for ten years, is as protective as he can be of Alex or as protective as she'll allow him to be.
Well written. Several places where the action won't let you put the book down.
May 7, 2019
The thing that Fairstein does particularly well is telling the story of real elements within the mystery. In this case, an island on which the mentally ill, those who spoke a language no one understood, a family member others wanted to get quickly hide away, etc,. where sent. When a character does a telling of its history, it's captivating. Often more than the overall story.
One of the things that is difficult in the series is how annoying Alex's piques can be. She gets completely unhinged that her significant other, who is a fairly high level journalist, doesn't want to divulge to her the tip he has on a murder. He even tells her that his information is third hand, but she's still outraged. Really, Alex? You never anticipated this and lack any patience to give him a chance to get the information that's needed not only for a story but for any luck in verifying the truth of the report.
Another frustration is that there's various loose ends left over when the story ends. I figured ones like Alex and her boyfriend working out this major rub would be dealt with in the next book. But no, it's just skipped over and we're left to understand they must of resolved it, but not at all how.
One of the things that is difficult in the series is how annoying Alex's piques can be. She gets completely unhinged that her significant other, who is a fairly high level journalist, doesn't want to divulge to her the tip he has on a murder. He even tells her that his information is third hand, but she's still outraged. Really, Alex? You never anticipated this and lack any patience to give him a chance to get the information that's needed not only for a story but for any luck in verifying the truth of the report.
Another frustration is that there's various loose ends left over when the story ends. I figured ones like Alex and her boyfriend working out this major rub would be dealt with in the next book. But no, it's just skipped over and we're left to understand they must of resolved it, but not at all how.
June 17, 2025
The students where Lola Dakota taught anthropology hated her. Many of them freely admitted that to Alexandra Cooper and her detectives when they investigated Dakota’s death.
Someone folded the slender but busty professor and stuffed her into an elevator shaft on campus. She was dead before the elevator car could do further damage, but it did anyway.
You learn a great deal about the history of an abandoned asylum and former prison on what they used to call Welfare Island, then Roosevelt Island near Manhattan.
Lots of people were ok with the fact that Dakota was dead. She’d enjoyed her share of liaisons with students and faculty, and her ex-husband had revived an unhealthy interest in her.
I love the comradery that exists among sex crimes investigator Cooper and her detective assistants, Mike Chapman and Wallace Mercer. Chapman’s OCD fascination with the final jeopardy question is memorable, and that fascination may save Cooper’s life in a gripping denouement that has her bound on the floor of an abandoned asylum or prison.
I’ve jumped in and out of the series, and it probably helps to read them in order. The fact that I haven’t and remain a fan of the books likely means you can grab one at random and thoroughly enjoy it.
Someone folded the slender but busty professor and stuffed her into an elevator shaft on campus. She was dead before the elevator car could do further damage, but it did anyway.
You learn a great deal about the history of an abandoned asylum and former prison on what they used to call Welfare Island, then Roosevelt Island near Manhattan.
Lots of people were ok with the fact that Dakota was dead. She’d enjoyed her share of liaisons with students and faculty, and her ex-husband had revived an unhealthy interest in her.
I love the comradery that exists among sex crimes investigator Cooper and her detective assistants, Mike Chapman and Wallace Mercer. Chapman’s OCD fascination with the final jeopardy question is memorable, and that fascination may save Cooper’s life in a gripping denouement that has her bound on the floor of an abandoned asylum or prison.
I’ve jumped in and out of the series, and it probably helps to read them in order. The fact that I haven’t and remain a fan of the books likely means you can grab one at random and thoroughly enjoy it.
May 27, 2017
I had read a few books from this series a long time ago. They weren't bad. So, after all of these years, I decided to read the next in the series. First, I did enjoy the storyline between Alex and Mike. You can tell they have a great friendship and it's obviously something more. I also like the way the author explains terms and situations so the reader can understand. And the history of Roosevelt island was pretty interesting.
Now the negative. The plot in this book was horrible. The suspense kept building and building and finally when you reach the climax, the resolution was so lame. It was like it was thrown together so the book could be finished. The author obviously ran out of time.
The book took me way too long to read anyway. It obviously did not keep my attention like really good books do. I felt like all the build up to the climax was a way to add pages. To me, half the story line had nothing to do with the ending.
I was very disappointed in this book and I'm going to really think hard if I want to continue this series.
August 30, 2017
Unlikeable professor Lola Dakota is murdered is found dead in a lift and everything points to her brutal abusive husband.
As the story moves on there are the usual thrills and twists and excitement that form part of Linda Fairstein's series about Alexandra Cooper the ADA in charge of all cases 'female-abuse' related in New York City. The story is very fast paced and keeps the reader guessing.
Without being repetitive there are a few problems for me with this series that makes the books 4 star rather than 5. Whilst the stories themselves are really good the main character and wanna be comedian police side kick Mike Chapman are both unlikeable for different reasons; her whiney and him unfunny and both annoying as hell. My main gripe though, as I've said in other reviews of this series is that the Police don't seem to be able to move, interview a suspect, go to a crime scene etc. without Cooper. She seems to single handily solve EVERY crime so God only knows where she gets the time! Her role should be to supervise her department and take cases to trial but those seem to be the least of her worries.
Anyway it is a good series and the Deadhouse is definitely worth a read.
As the story moves on there are the usual thrills and twists and excitement that form part of Linda Fairstein's series about Alexandra Cooper the ADA in charge of all cases 'female-abuse' related in New York City. The story is very fast paced and keeps the reader guessing.
Without being repetitive there are a few problems for me with this series that makes the books 4 star rather than 5. Whilst the stories themselves are really good the main character and wanna be comedian police side kick Mike Chapman are both unlikeable for different reasons; her whiney and him unfunny and both annoying as hell. My main gripe though, as I've said in other reviews of this series is that the Police don't seem to be able to move, interview a suspect, go to a crime scene etc. without Cooper. She seems to single handily solve EVERY crime so God only knows where she gets the time! Her role should be to supervise her department and take cases to trial but those seem to be the least of her worries.
Anyway it is a good series and the Deadhouse is definitely worth a read.
September 26, 2017
I was really enjoying this book until I got to the end, when it just ended. I felt like the ending was too sudden, too abrupt, that there should have been more.
That said, this is a very interesting story. I like the way Fairstein features a New York City landmark or place of interest in many of her books. Here it is Blackwell's Island, the then-uninhabited part of Roosevelt Island. The book was published in 2001 and I think large parts of the abandoned buildings have been reclaimed.
As someone who grew up in the New York metropolitan area, I enjoyed that parts of the book went outside on Manhattan. The book starts with a scene in Summit, NJ, the town next to the one where we lived. And later, on a day when there is snow in the forecast, several of the characters head to White Plains, NY. The comment about it not being a good day to drive to the country cracked me up -- only someone from Manhattan could ever think of White Plains as "the country!"
The mystery is good, too.
That said, this is a very interesting story. I like the way Fairstein features a New York City landmark or place of interest in many of her books. Here it is Blackwell's Island, the then-uninhabited part of Roosevelt Island. The book was published in 2001 and I think large parts of the abandoned buildings have been reclaimed.
As someone who grew up in the New York metropolitan area, I enjoyed that parts of the book went outside on Manhattan. The book starts with a scene in Summit, NJ, the town next to the one where we lived. And later, on a day when there is snow in the forecast, several of the characters head to White Plains, NY. The comment about it not being a good day to drive to the country cracked me up -- only someone from Manhattan could ever think of White Plains as "the country!"
The mystery is good, too.
January 18, 2018
There was a lot I enjoyed about this book: the setting and history of Roosevelt Island, the cast of characters at King's College, the Law & Order-type vibe to the murder mystery; but I did not enjoy what I found to be a rushed and abrupt ending. So much is built up about the island, I just wanted to the story to spend more time there. It felt like a waste of an awesome location. Also, though I now know this is part of a series, it felt like so many loose ends were not tied up. While I appreciate that they probably will be addressed in later books, I like when the individual stories and completely stand up for themselves.
That being said, I this was a quick listen and it definitely pulled me in. It is a fun mix of murder mystery and treasure hunt, I just think it could have been longer and more fleshed out, especially at the end.
That being said, I this was a quick listen and it definitely pulled me in. It is a fun mix of murder mystery and treasure hunt, I just think it could have been longer and more fleshed out, especially at the end.
January 9, 2018
Not the worst book I’ve read, but certainly not great. A lot of it felt a bit amateur—like a creative writing exercise.
Too many of the characters were extraordinary. Everyone had “revolutionized surgical procedures,” or “had the best instincts in the business,” or “was one of the most prominent urban anthropologists in the country.” It wasn’t believable. On top of that, the author’s attempts to make her leading protagonists endearing seemed incredibly forced and obvious — like Chapman’s nickname for Cooper of “blondie.” The author also seemed overly fond of the word “interminable,” using it every chance she got.
In spite of these struggles, “The Deadhouse” manages to hold the reader’s attention with a light, fluffy, and fast-paced plot. Not a classic, but entertaining enough to throw in your carry-on.
Too many of the characters were extraordinary. Everyone had “revolutionized surgical procedures,” or “had the best instincts in the business,” or “was one of the most prominent urban anthropologists in the country.” It wasn’t believable. On top of that, the author’s attempts to make her leading protagonists endearing seemed incredibly forced and obvious — like Chapman’s nickname for Cooper of “blondie.” The author also seemed overly fond of the word “interminable,” using it every chance she got.
In spite of these struggles, “The Deadhouse” manages to hold the reader’s attention with a light, fluffy, and fast-paced plot. Not a classic, but entertaining enough to throw in your carry-on.
September 18, 2020
I have really tried to like this series because a good friend who recently passed away recommended Fairstein to me so I tracked down a handful of the Cooper books. With the exception of #9, which was the first book I read by this author, they have all been 3-star reads for me, this installment being no exception. I felt this story dragged and that Ms. Fairstein used much of it to show how much she knows about NYC history. I didn't enjoy what happened in the personal lives of the two main characters either. Most of all I disliked how the penultimate scene lasted roughly 60 pages while the resolution consisted of one page. Not a fan. Three stars it is, because it was a good mystery, though it could have been told in fewer words/pages.
October 13, 2021
The Deadhouse (Alexandra Cooper #4)
by Linda Fairstein
A very dark look at the history of New York and the way life was woven around the way the prisons and hospital and asylum's were run.
Alex is working on a case involving a women who wants to get away from her husband and is in hiding.
surprised by her sudden decision to move her case to the prosecutors office across the river in Jersey there is a drama played out on the news as she is shot and killed.
there are so many people to question and no one is prepared to help, in fact to the point of sending students form the college she worked at home.
Alex is frustrated, and you will not see any sign of an answer till the last 10 pages which can be a little frustrating for the reader
by Linda Fairstein
A very dark look at the history of New York and the way life was woven around the way the prisons and hospital and asylum's were run.
Alex is working on a case involving a women who wants to get away from her husband and is in hiding.
surprised by her sudden decision to move her case to the prosecutors office across the river in Jersey there is a drama played out on the news as she is shot and killed.
there are so many people to question and no one is prepared to help, in fact to the point of sending students form the college she worked at home.
Alex is frustrated, and you will not see any sign of an answer till the last 10 pages which can be a little frustrating for the reader
October 31, 2017
A Deadhouse is a group of shacks placed behind a facility with an expected high death rate to keep the bodies of those who had died before burial could occur. These houses played an important part during the small pox pandemic era of early New York City history. Professors from the colleges used students in digs to uncover artifacts leading them to sometime follow rumors from fathers and grandfathers who had lived that history. Mystery rules and Greed kills. Alex Copper and Mike Chapman are there to figure it out. This book lacked a bit and reading was a bit tedious because there was not enough forward motion to keep my total attention.
February 16, 2021
This is from 2001, so not a current readers hit. Fairstein is a NYC prosecutor AND a writer. I'm sure that gives this fiction some real life telling that writers of this genre wouldn't normally have earned.
I enjoyed the characters, but especially enjoyed Alex's partner Mike Chapman. The historical background is also an excellent boost for me. Roosevelt island and its dark days helped create the frame of this tale, and also its title.
Having recently read a history of America's oldest hospital, Bellevue, and many trips into NYC through the years, it was easy for me to delve into the writers imagery and enjoy stories that blend the past of America's great city.
I enjoyed the characters, but especially enjoyed Alex's partner Mike Chapman. The historical background is also an excellent boost for me. Roosevelt island and its dark days helped create the frame of this tale, and also its title.
Having recently read a history of America's oldest hospital, Bellevue, and many trips into NYC through the years, it was easy for me to delve into the writers imagery and enjoy stories that blend the past of America's great city.
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