Linda Fairstein always delivers! I love how she imparts her knowledge of New York City and Martha's Vineyard in all of her books. The historical, architectural and geographical elements are as riveting as the criminal element. ( )

An OK book. A little predictable and critical of religion. Some of the dialogue seemed a little forced. Not a bad read though. ( )

http://www.literaryfeline.com/2012/07/bookish-thoughts-mini-reviews.html ( )

Eh. The thirteenth book in the Alex Cooper series and it sorta shows. It wasn't a badly written book of course. Fairstein writes very well and her mysteries are generally well plotted and in this story, unlike the last one, the 'chock full of historical' facts that were on every page weren't quite as intrusive.

As usual it starts with a murder, and not exactly a usual one. Alex, Mercer and Mike get to collaborate on it as it gets more and more about religions and women.

There was also a tiny little subplot about a teen girl and her family and whether or not she had been raped and how her family was dealing with it. But it was done very superficially and in the background compared to the main plot. It seemed interesting though and I wish it had been explored more.

I also wish that the book didn't seem so mean spirited to me. I understand that Alex and Mike are friends that poke and prod and kid with each other, but as the reader I don't find a lot of it funny. Not to mention Fairstein either needs to get Alex and Mike together, or get them apart, the in between has worn thin. ( )

In the middle of the night, prosecutor Alexandra Cooper is called to Harlem's Mount Neboh Baptist Church to find out why the body of a young woman has been decapitated, set on fire, and left burning on the church steps. Alex wonders if the fire was meant to destroy this woman's body, or to draw attention to it. Her fears are confirmed days later, when a second corpse is found. Convinced that another young woman is bound to die, Alex mines the depths of Manhattan's many houses of worship. ( )