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Type of bind: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780743436670
ISBN number: 0743436679
Label: Pocket Star
Manufacturer: Pocket Star
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 528
Printing Date: 2003-12
Publishing house: Pocket Star
Release Date: December 30, 2003
Sale Popularity Level: 274815
Studio: Pocket Star
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
In the Metropolitan Museum of Art's exquisite Temple of Dendur, a monument to an ancient world, a very modern debate is raging at a gala dinner: a controversial new exhibit is fiercely opposed by many among the upper echelon of museum donors. Alex Cooper steps into this highly charged ring of power players only to make a much more troubling discovery: a young museum researcher has been murdered, her body shipped to the Met in an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus. Together with cops Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace, Alex must penetrate the realm of the city's cultural elite to find a killer intent on keeping some secrets buried for eternity.
Amazon.com Review:
One of the special pleasures of this lively series, written by a veteran sex-crimes investigator for the Manhattan district attorney's office, is the unusual glimpse it gives readers into corners of New York no tourist and few residents ever see (The Deadhouse). Here she turns her attention to the city's major cultural edifices--the Metropolitan Museum, the Museum of Natural History, and the Cloisters--and takes us behind their sealed doors to investigate the murder of a museum curator whose mummified body turns up in an ancient sarcophagus just before it's shipped out of the country. Together with her partners, cops Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace, assistant DA Alexandra Cooper retraces Katrina Grooten's steps from her native South Africa to the discovery of her remains on a New Jersey pier. Along the way, the mysteries of the ancient world get equal billing with the more contemporary whodunit, and Cooper and her pals get a firsthand look at the murderous New York art world, too. Fairstein's thrillers offer an in-depth tour of truly off-the-beaten-path Manhattan as well as solid plotting, well-drawn characters, and snappy dialogue. What the DA's office lost when the author retired to write full-time is the mystery fan's biggest gain! --Jane Adams
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Rated by buyers 
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This book presents such a realistic picture of life in Manhattan that it makes me really sad that I no longer live there. The mystery, constantly unfolding in different dimensions, generates a high degree of curiosity as to what will happen next. I am becoming a real Fairstein fan. Definitely underpriced.
Rated by buyers 
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I don't know how I got through this book. It was not until about page 270 of a 369 page book (where the character of Clem is introduced) that anything interesting happens. Also, for a "thriller" there is about 2 pages of any real tension where the main character (Alexandra Cooper) gets locked in a storage closet.
The book does some light exploration of three major New York City Museum (History, Met and the Cloisters) but unlike a good Lincoln Child and Preston Douglas novel, you no feel of any of the museums. I was very surprised because the outside of the book's jacket had some very high praise from some very acclaimed authors.
Another thing that I didn't really follow is the main character (Alexandra Cooper) is an assistant DA that prosecutes sex crimes. In this book she is leading a police detectives investigating the murder of a woman found in an Egyptian sarcophucus (no hint of sex crime). I have lived in New York my whole life and have never heard of a DA leading an investigation.
The redeeming things in this book (the reason I gave it any stars at all) is that it raises the moral questions of the museum collections. Would the treasures have been in danger had they remained in their country of origin or is it better that the treasures were "plundered" and sent to a foreign country where they can be protected and available for all to see?
Rated by buyers -
Lots of interesting details about what goes on behind the scenes at the Metropolitan & the Natural History Museum, but a really weak mystery plotline. _NO_ knowledge of Africa at all, just New York PC views. They're two different things. Willem van der Post's death is pure Hollywood -- anyone with any knowledge of Africa would just burst out laughing. The author also knows nothing about Continental names. 'Van der' is Dutch & any name which contains it is perfectly ordinary. 'Von' is Austrian & is always part of an aristocratic name. Also note that 'van der Post' would be listed under 'P', _not_ 'v'. I mention this because it's a significant point in the plot at the end. But this is a book written by an American for fellow-Americans.
Rated by buyers -
I enjoy all of the books in this thoughtful, intelligent series. I enjoy Fairstein's high level of detail...clearly she knows her stuff. Highly recommended if you like fast-paced, entertaining mysteries.
If you like this book, check out a new author I've recently discovered. I highly recommend Thirst by Dania Deschamps.
Rated by buyers 
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I love Linda Fairstein's Alexandra Cooper series. I love all of the characters, how they interact, and how their shared history is included and advanced in each book. Generally speaking, I like the plots of these books as well. This book was a bit of a letdown, however, as the payoff didn't quite make the journey to get there worthwhile. The settings for the crimes in this book were The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History in NYC. The book included copious details about the layout, architecture, contents, hsitory, etc. of the museums. Interesting? Yes...to a point. Unfortunately, the crime that led the book to these places was weakly developed and got lost in the details. There was no opportunity for the reader to "bond" with the victim, so it was hard to maintain interest in the outcome, particularly as the storyline became more and more mired in the museum details.
When I read an Alex Cooper book, I want to read about her and her fellow characters and be drawn into the crime, the investigation, and the outcome...not get lost in inconsequential details that don't really serve the story. In my opinion, Linda Fairstein would've been better served -- as would her readers -- if she'd chosen to satisfy her obvious fascination with the museums by writing a non-fiction book about them. Trying to include that level of detail in this type of book distracts from the story and disappoints the reader.
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