When Lucy Jenner, a twenty-something-year-old young woman arrested in Brooklynn, freaks out and makes a scene in the precinct after seeing a photo of the man she claims raped her years ago, sex-crimes prosecutor Alexandra Cooper dives into the case, searching for answers. As it turns out, Lucy is a former federal witness and, according to her story, she was sexually abused by a member of Law Enforcement team who was involved in the case a decade prior.
Also returning is NYPD Detective Mike Chapman, Coop’s boyfriend, who assists her when not busy with another case involving an old colleague and friend of Alex’s who had a seizure on the streets of Manhatten and was hospitalized under questionable circumstances. With Mike’s help, Coop learns that Lucy has a history of lying, embellishing, and stretching the truth for personal gain. So, while Coop wants to believe her in the midst of the #MeToo movement—and help encourage other victims to come forward—she’s not sure she can trust her.
Aside from Lucy’s case, Coop must also continue dealing with the fallout from witnessing her boss, Manhattan DA Paul Battaglia, be assassinated right in front of her. Considering that Paul’s murder (Deadfall, 2017) came right on the heels of Coop being kidnapped (Devil’s Bridge, 2015), an event that left her traumatized, it’s safe to say that she’s been put through the wringer as of late. All of that has taken a toll on her, adding further stress as she workes around the clock on her cases and plans to run for DA. Fairstein dials up the suspense to draw readers in, but it’s a mind-blowing revelation centered around the secretive Rockefeller University that’ll have readers up all night, flipping pages to see how Alex will come out of this one . . . and if everyone around her will make it out alive.
Fairstein, a leader among sex-crimes investigations, is uniquely qualified to touch on such subject matters and weight in on the #MeToo movement. Her experience, which bleeds through each and every page, once again lends itself perfectly to the plot, which is full of misdirection and dark secrets. As always, Fairstein’s story is well-written and deftly plotted, and though her series is now 20 books long, she’s effortlessly weaved in enough backstory that newcomers should be able to jump in without having read any of her past work.
After taking 2018 off, Linda Fairstein quickly recaptures her spot among the very best in the genre, touching on a number of timely issues in Bood Oath, one of her best thrillers to date.
Book Details
Author: Linda Fairstein
Series: Alex Cooper #20
Pages: 400 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 1524743100
Publisher: Duttin
Release Date: March 26, 2019
Book Spy Rating: 8.0/10
Praised as “one of today’s finest book reviewers” by New York Times bestselling author Gayle Lynds, Ryan Steck (“The Godfather of the thriller genre” — Ben Coes) has “quickly established himself as the authority on mysteries and thrillers” (Author A.J. Tata). Steck also works full-time as a freelance editor and pens a monthly thriller column for CrimeReads. For more information, be sure to follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He currently lives in Southwest Michigan with his wife and their six children.