Synopsis
Prosecutor Alexandra Cooper has been called to a Harlem Baptist Church, where a woman has been decapitated and set on fire on the church steps—with the imprint of a Star of David necklace seared into her flesh. Then a second body is found at a cathedral in Little Italy. Alex is blind to the sick and inconceivable motives feeding a particularly vicious serial killer—until she mines the depths of the city’s vast and serpentine religious history.
What Alex follows is a dangerous path that takes her far beyond the scope of her investigation, and directly into the path of a frightening and inescapable truth.
About Linda Fairstein
See more books from this Author...the set pieces, especially the climactic confrontation with the killer, are overextended and creaky. The detection, however, is first-rate, and many of the daggers Fairstein hurls at organized religion’s systematic disempowering of women find their mark.
Read Full Review of Silent Mercy | See more reviews from KirkusIn all good novels, there is more than chase and capture, cars and guns. There is the rich tapestry of setting and the psychology behind the crime. This is where Fairstein shines.
Read Full Review of Silent MercyThe historical facts sprinkled with the compelling crimes and characters create a worthwhile read that fans of the "Law & Order" TV series will savor. After finishing "Silent Mercy," readers will eagerly seek out her other novels.
Read Full Review of Silent Mercy... she treats us to a travelogue, which kills off any tension at a stroke. And it needs a better writer than Fairstein to deal convincingly with the religious themes. There is too much unquestioning parroting of various gospels here and a superficial gloss over what could have been an intriguing plot idea.
Read Full Review of Silent MercyAs usual, Mike Chapman steals the book...has excellent intuitions -- and, most of all, he loves "Jeopardy!" The only dud is Luc, a French restaurateur who is Alex's love interest. The only reason for him to be in the book is to show that Alex has a life outside the courtroom. He has the charisma of a carrot.
Read Full Review of Silent MercyAn aggregated and normalized score based on 233 user ratings from iDreamBooks & iTunes