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maw539's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
This book had great potential but was ruined with just one character... Mike Chapman is portrayed as a broken man following the death of his girlfriend in a freak accident however, in my book, this doesn't excuse his language and behaviour towards his friends and colleagues. Overall the story was interesting, particularly the brief but interesting arguments for and against the use of the DNA database which holds exclusion sample but I couldn't get past the one character to enjoy it.
kcfromaustcrime's review against another edition
2.0
Death Dance is the 8th book Linda Fairstein's series featuring Alexander Cooper. This was my third outing with Alex Cooper, having read a couple of the early books in the series sometime ago, and it was particularly interesting to see where the series had gone in the intervening years.
Alex is an Assistant District Attorney, working in the sex crime division, passionately devoted to her job and to the victims she sees herself as representing. Teamed up firstly with long-time friend Mercer Wallace, they are investigating the drugging rape of two visiting Canadian girls, when called to a missing prima ballerina at the Metropolitan Opera House.
Natalya Galinova after first being listed as officially missing, is eventually found brutally killed in the backstage area of the Opera House. Alex and Mercer team up with Mike Chapman, the third member of a group of long-time friends and colleagues, to investigate the murder. They do this in and around the backstage of the Opera House and amongst some powerful players in the New York theatre world.
Along with these two major investigations, the NY Police are also trying to track down a serial rapist who is attacking women in local parks.
The central plot regarding the death of the ballerina takes most of the focus in the book and, aside from Alex having a life long love of ballet, it was never really clear why a sex-crime prosecutor would be involved so closely in the non-sex related death of Galinova. The investigation of the death proceeds very slowly, intertwined with some interesting aspects of the Opera House, theatre venues in New York and with a cast of "theatre types" both management and talent. There is an unfortunate inconsistency in some of that follow-up which dragged me right out of the story and some fem-jep towards the end which really seemed too convenient. Meanwhile, the investigation into the rape of the two Canadian girls proceeds quickly and a suspect is easily identified. The resolution of that crime is less satisfactory from Alex's point of view, but could have struck a strong chord of reality if the final page dramatic climax had been avoided. The rapist in the park is also resolved but again, the methodology used is a little out of the blue and the plot line never really got much focus throughout the book.
One of the strengths of this book is the long-term relationship between the three investigators. They know each other well and have been through a lot together. The references to previous events, presumably from earlier books, are quite easy to assimilate and give a real feeling for the long-term friendship.
The rather crowded plot; the inexplicable actions in a sub-part of the ballerina's death; a glaring piece of fem-jep which seemed rather unnecessary, and a final "rapping up" of absolutely every loose end on all the sub-plots on the final pages of the book detracted. For me, this was an interesting read, but not one of my all-time favourites from this author.
Alex is an Assistant District Attorney, working in the sex crime division, passionately devoted to her job and to the victims she sees herself as representing. Teamed up firstly with long-time friend Mercer Wallace, they are investigating the drugging rape of two visiting Canadian girls, when called to a missing prima ballerina at the Metropolitan Opera House.
Natalya Galinova after first being listed as officially missing, is eventually found brutally killed in the backstage area of the Opera House. Alex and Mercer team up with Mike Chapman, the third member of a group of long-time friends and colleagues, to investigate the murder. They do this in and around the backstage of the Opera House and amongst some powerful players in the New York theatre world.
Along with these two major investigations, the NY Police are also trying to track down a serial rapist who is attacking women in local parks.
The central plot regarding the death of the ballerina takes most of the focus in the book and, aside from Alex having a life long love of ballet, it was never really clear why a sex-crime prosecutor would be involved so closely in the non-sex related death of Galinova. The investigation of the death proceeds very slowly, intertwined with some interesting aspects of the Opera House, theatre venues in New York and with a cast of "theatre types" both management and talent. There is an unfortunate inconsistency in some of that follow-up which dragged me right out of the story and some fem-jep towards the end which really seemed too convenient. Meanwhile, the investigation into the rape of the two Canadian girls proceeds quickly and a suspect is easily identified. The resolution of that crime is less satisfactory from Alex's point of view, but could have struck a strong chord of reality if the final page dramatic climax had been avoided. The rapist in the park is also resolved but again, the methodology used is a little out of the blue and the plot line never really got much focus throughout the book.
One of the strengths of this book is the long-term relationship between the three investigators. They know each other well and have been through a lot together. The references to previous events, presumably from earlier books, are quite easy to assimilate and give a real feeling for the long-term friendship.
The rather crowded plot; the inexplicable actions in a sub-part of the ballerina's death; a glaring piece of fem-jep which seemed rather unnecessary, and a final "rapping up" of absolutely every loose end on all the sub-plots on the final pages of the book detracted. For me, this was an interesting read, but not one of my all-time favourites from this author.
git_r_read's review against another edition
2.0
BOT, Barbara Rosenblatt was the only good thing about this story.
weaselweader's review against another edition
2.0
"Overture ... curtain, lights! This is it ... we'll hit the heights!”
When New York Assistant DA Alex Cooper teams up with her police colleagues, Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace, to solve the murder of prima ballerina and outrageous diva, Natalya Galinova, readers are treated to a backstage tour of the New York music and theater scene that any arts-loving tourist would give their eye teeth for. We meet the dancers, actors and musicians, the show girls, the technicians, the on-stage grunts, the administrators and management, and the über-wealthy production financiers whose pockets are, to all appearances, bottomless. We tour the orchestra pit, stage front, backstage, refreshment loges, balconies, dressing rooms and rehearsal halls. We learn of the architecture and history of the buildings – Lincoln Center’s Metropolitan Opera House, City Center and the Belasco Theatre.
Unfortunately, despite this fabulous backdrop (did you catch that stage reference?), the plot that Fairstein has woven for her readers manages to be at once byzantine, pedestrian and melodramatic. The Berk family on which most time is spent becomes cartoonish. Admittedly, the alleged bad guys in a thriller aren’t supposed to be lovable folks but their self-centered narcissism, their overweaning pomposity and arrogance, their self-indulgent sexual perversion and their outrageous misogyny dominated the narrative and simply became tedious.
In the meantime, the secondary plot which showed so much promise in the opening chapter becomes a missed opportunity and is all but ignored through most of the novel. Drug assisted sexual assault, the ethics of DNA databases, bail versus release on an alleged criminal’s own recognizance, flight risk and international extradition – all that meat smelled so delicious when it first got dropped onto the grill but the chef walked away and left this reader hungry with his stomach rumbling loudly.
Weakly recommended for fans of the Alex Cooper series. I hope this one doesn’t mean that her curtain is about to come down.
Paul Weiss
When New York Assistant DA Alex Cooper teams up with her police colleagues, Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace, to solve the murder of prima ballerina and outrageous diva, Natalya Galinova, readers are treated to a backstage tour of the New York music and theater scene that any arts-loving tourist would give their eye teeth for. We meet the dancers, actors and musicians, the show girls, the technicians, the on-stage grunts, the administrators and management, and the über-wealthy production financiers whose pockets are, to all appearances, bottomless. We tour the orchestra pit, stage front, backstage, refreshment loges, balconies, dressing rooms and rehearsal halls. We learn of the architecture and history of the buildings – Lincoln Center’s Metropolitan Opera House, City Center and the Belasco Theatre.
Unfortunately, despite this fabulous backdrop (did you catch that stage reference?), the plot that Fairstein has woven for her readers manages to be at once byzantine, pedestrian and melodramatic. The Berk family on which most time is spent becomes cartoonish. Admittedly, the alleged bad guys in a thriller aren’t supposed to be lovable folks but their self-centered narcissism, their overweaning pomposity and arrogance, their self-indulgent sexual perversion and their outrageous misogyny dominated the narrative and simply became tedious.
In the meantime, the secondary plot which showed so much promise in the opening chapter becomes a missed opportunity and is all but ignored through most of the novel. Drug assisted sexual assault, the ethics of DNA databases, bail versus release on an alleged criminal’s own recognizance, flight risk and international extradition – all that meat smelled so delicious when it first got dropped onto the grill but the chef walked away and left this reader hungry with his stomach rumbling loudly.
Weakly recommended for fans of the Alex Cooper series. I hope this one doesn’t mean that her curtain is about to come down.
Paul Weiss
sarahpottenger's review against another edition
3.0
Kind of bleak--everyone was a sleaze. But it was a good mystery, with a good final clash, and the relationships between the main characters were interesting.
psalmcat's review against another edition
4.0
OK. Could have used a little tighter editing--there were some "wait, she already knew that!" moments, and clear seams where chapters had been reworked and moved around.
Still, if you're into the New York theatrical world, this is an interesting look at the backstage antics of some major players. Also, drugged date rape hits this series.
Still, if you're into the New York theatrical world, this is an interesting look at the backstage antics of some major players. Also, drugged date rape hits this series.
suzmac's review against another edition
3.0
Murder mystery by a first female and longtime assistant district attorney in NYC. Setting is the MET which was educational. I must get there sometime. I understood this author's life was partly the inspiration for Law & Order. So... story was quite adequate and reeled me in from page 1. But I prefer my other mystery author guilty pleasures with their fallible, colorful investigators. This was no courtroom drama, which is kind of what I was seeking.
sariggs's review against another edition
1.0
I originally gave this four stars for its nyc setting and nyc history background and the main female character, but I took all my stars back because I cannot separate the artist from the art, and this author defended Harvey Weinstein and is largely held responsible for prosecuting and convicting the children known at the Central Park Five for a rape they didn’t commit.