"Exciting and smoothly combines a legal thriller with a police procedural"

Manhattan Sex Crimes Prosecutor Alexandra Cooper tires to persuade a jury to convict counter terrorism security consultant Andrew Tripping of raping thirty something Paige Wallis. The problem with the case is that the alleged victim has no injuries or bruises so it becomes a "He said she said" scenario in front of a judge who hates these so called rape date trials due to the typical lack of solid evidence for instance like a corpse in a homicide.

In the courtroom, Alex's case is in trouble. Meanwhile, someone murders McQueen "Queenie" Ransome, a former Harlem Renaissance dancer. Surprisingly Queenie had a fascinating past as a WW II secret agent and as the mistress of Egypt's King Farouk, whom she left one day with plenty of his treasure. NYPD detectives Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace investigate the homicide that also brings in the CIA and links to the Tripping rape trial while someone tries to kill Alex.

THE KILLS (named for a part of lower Manhattan) excitingly and smoothly combines a legal thriller with a police procedural as Alex makes her third starring performance (see THE BONE VAULT and THE DEADHOUSE). The story line moves forward rather quickly, but it is the courtroom scenes whether in front of the jury or in the judge's chambers that raise the quality level. Though attempted murder of a government prosecutor seems hard to accept that fits in the logic of the plot especially since Alex is doing her own legwork (not sure where she finds the time -- sort of like reviewing 3-4 books a day). Fans will admire the heroine and appreciate this fine thriller.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted December 17, 2003

Summary

From New York Times bestselling author and former top prosecutor Linda Fairstein comes an electrifying new thriller rich with the riveting behind-the-scenes authenticity that only she can offer.... It's going to be a tough trial. Manhattan sex-crimes prosecutor Alexandra Cooper's case, involving an attack on investment banker Paige Vallis, would be difficult to prove even without the latest development -- it seems that Paige has something to hide. Most of her story is clear. She'd had dinner with New York consultant Andrew Tripping three times before the March evening when she accepted his invitation to accompany him to his apartment. But what occurred that night? Why didn't she leave the apartment when he started to act strangely? What about Tripping's little boy, Dulles? What happened to the child that fateful evening? And who is the strange man whose appearance in the courtroom seems to terrify Paige? While Alex's police detective friend Mercer Wallace helps her learn more of the sad details behind the increasingly puzzling rape case, colleague Mike Chapman is uptown in a decaying Harlem brownstone where eighty-two-year-old McQueen Ransome has been murdered, her apartment ransacked. What could this impoverished, elderly woman have possessed that could have inspired such violence? Photographs on the wall suggest that "Queenie" was once a beautiful and voluptuous young woman who traveled to faraway places. Could there be a clue to her murder in her exotic background? Her murder will be only the first. Others follow, as the tragic strands of the Paige Vallis and McQueen Ransome cases begin to converge in a poignant alliance of two women from very different worlds. Faced with formidable personal and professional choices, Alex must learn the old lesson that appearances can deceive, even as she heads for a showdown in which her wits and her courage will be tested as never before. With its winning combination of courtroom drama, historical detail, and the intriguing lore of a rare object whose fabled provenance provides a glistening thread through the story, The Kills is powerful, stylish writing from a hugely appealing crime-writing star.