Reviewed By Liz

ISBN 0-7432-5488-0

Entombed is an Alexandra Cooper mystery set in New York City. Workers are disassembling a brick wall in an old home where Edgar Allan Poe once lived and discover a skeleton behind the wall. The Poe connection is intriguing, but the body has been there for less than 25 years. Assistant District Attorney and sex crimes prosecutor Alex Cooper and detectives Mercer Wallace and Mike Chapman learn a lot about Poe as they look for a modern copycat of one of his most famous literary murders.

Alex is also involved in the renewed hunt for the Silk Stocking Rapist, who has become active again after a quiet period of several years. New clues and techniques may give them the opportunity to catch the rapist that terrorized the Upper East Side – and will do so again, as his latest victim died after the attack.

Fairstein sets out some compelling plot lines – a Poe inspired murder and a hunt for a serial rapist – but somehow the book doesn’t gel for me. Fairstein led the Sex Crimes Unit of the District Attorney’s Office in Manhattan for 25 years, so we assume she knows what she is writing about, but… I can’t rid myself of the feeling that Cooper should be back at the office working on the heavy caseload of rape cases instead of larking about looking for a killer in a 25 year old murder, in which the victim may or may not have been assaulted. This is the second Fairstein book I have read, and I remember thinking the same thing during the first book. Maybe I am just failing to understand the flexibility of the ADA position, but it seems to me that current cases would be more pressing.

On the other hand, I like the relationship between the Cooper/Wallace/Chapman team. They seem to have their own little investigation/dining/trivia club born of camaraderie and long hours. I have had those kinds of relationships in my professional life and Fairstein’s description rings true.

There is a great deal of information in this book about Poe. The way Poe is taught these days, I think he is more often endured than enjoyed. After reading this book, however, you may gain a new appreciation for the author and his works.

Favorite character? Mercer Wallace. Did I guess it? No. Will I read another? Probably. The books are well written and Fairstein incorporates a lot of interesting information into her books.

Mystery Book Reviews by Liz at http://reviewedbyliz.com ©2007

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ISBN 0-7432-2354-3

The Bone Vault grabs the reader in the first few pages as Assistant DA Alexandra Cooper is called out from a party at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to look at a very old sarcophagus that is currently holding a very new body. What follows is a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the Met and the Natural History Museum as Cooper and police officers Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace investigate the disappearance and murder of the young woman in the sarcophagus.

It turns out museums are chock full of murder weapons, opportunity, and motives. Fairstein, Chapman, and Wallace have their work cut out for them as they try to eliminate suspects and discover where and why the murder was committed.

The Bone Vault is a good mystery, but I love museums and was most interested in the inner workings, rivalries, and politics described in this book. Fairstein also incorporates some interesting ethical issues that museums and other institutions around the world are trying to work through at the moment – especially the return of exhibits to the countries or people from whence they came.

Fairstein was for 25 years the head of the Sex Crimes Unit in the Manhattan District Attorneys office and writes Cooper with authority and complete believability – even when the character bends the rules, she knows what she is doing and how far she can go.

The Bone Vault is a well-written, well-informed, and well-plotted book. Strangely, the word that comes to mind to describe it is “mature.” This is the kind of book lesser mysteries want to be when they grow up.

Favorite character? The Cooper/Chapman/Wallace trio are great – professional, hard-working, believable co-workers. Did I guess it? No. Will I read another? Absolutely.

Mystery Book Reviews by Liz at http://reviewedbyliz.com ©2007

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