Silent Mercy

It's the middle of the night. Prosecutor Alexandra Cooper is called to Harlem's Mount Neboh Baptist Church, a beautiful house of worship originally built as a synagogue. But the crowd gathered there isn't interested in architecture, or even prayer. They've come for the same reason Alex has: to find out why the body of a young woman has been decapitated, set on fire, and left burning on the church steps.

The only identifiable artifact on the charred remains is the imprint of a Star of David necklace seared into the victim's flesh. 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 at a cathedral in Little Italy. The killings look like serial hate crimes, but the apparent differences in the victims' beliefs seem to eliminate a religious motive. Convinced that another young woman is bound to die, Alex mines the depths of Manhattan's many houses of worship to find a connection between the victims-and in the process uncovers a terrible and perilous truth that takes her far beyond the scope of her investigation, and directly into the path of terrible danger.

I love how the author weaves New York's history into the investigations. It is always interesting as well as entertaining.  While we are treated to a couple of twists, I thought the ending came a bit too abruptly.  The narrator, Barbara Rosenblat, did a fantastic job and I may never read another book in this series if she continues to narrate.  The book has reoccurring characters from other books, but stands alone on it's own.

Author: Linda Fairstein
Published: March 2011
Narrator: Barbara Rosenblat
Genre: Crime Fiction
Source: Library
Finished: 7-12-11
3 Bears