“Silent Mercy” by Linda Fairstein – I give up!
When I saw the latest Linda Fairstein novel, “Silent Mercy” on the new book shelf at the library, I grabbed it. I’ve read all of her books but have noticed their getting worse and worse as she goes along with the series. “Silent Mercy” is book number thirteen and I think it’s time for Fairstein to hang it up or start a new series. This one is WAY past it’s prime.
The book started with promise. A headless burning corpse of a woman is found in front of a church in Manhattan. Alex Cooper and Mike Chapman go to the crime scene – which is written in great detail – almost too much. Right away Mike starts with a history lesson about Manhattan churches. Fairstein does her homework and I usually find the New York city history interesting. This time, not so much. When a second body is found, this one missing her tongue, things start going south. Mike and Alex go to the church in his old Alma Mater, Fordham College, and unbelievable find the tongue! Huh?
In the midst of all this running around, Alex has to go to court to prosecute a pedophile priest. A mysterious man walks into the courtroom and then, disappears. It’s NEVER explained why the man was there. Also, that thread just evaporates – only mentioned in passing a couple of times. As usual, the D.A. is angry with Alex but I’m not sure why. There’s a LOT of filler in this book and quite frankly I’m still not sure what the plot was about. Something about strong religious women. Alex, Mike and Mercer are still wagering on Final Jeopardy. I don’t get it – we know Alex is wealthy, she tells us in every book, so I can see her plopping down a twenty every night but….Mercer is married and has a child. Does he REALLY make that much money working for the NYPD? And speaking of the wealthy Alex, tells us in every book how lucky she is to be living in a secure high rise on the 20th floor, yet in almost every book, someone manages to get up to her apartment to menace her.
I usually read several books a week. That’s why I use the library – I couldn’t possible afford to buy all the books I read and eat! Anyhow, I picked this book up, read a bit, put it down….I just never did get into it. Toward the end, we’re on a train with the Barnum and Bailey Circus chugging up the coast to Rhode Island! I was scratching my head and going, WTF?”
When the leprosy came into play, I closed the book and quit. Seriously. I only had about 25 pages to read but I just couldn’t finish! No more Linda Fairstein books for me.
