HELL GATE

TITLE: HELL GATE
AUTHOR: LINDA FAIRSTEIN
Pages: 379
Date: 06/06/2010
Grade: 5-
Details: no. 12 Alex Cooper
Own

I do enjoy this series. Not only is it obvious how knowledgeable Mrs. Fairstein is about the justice system, her passion for the subject and for helping the victims of sexual assault jumps off the page.
This book starts with a shipwreck of New York's coast. The ship is full of illegal immigrants from the Ukraine, most of whom make it to land safely. Some however don't and among the dead is a young woman who nobody on the boat recognizes and who has a tiny rose tattooed on the inside of her thigh.
At the same time a political scandal erupts when a congressman crashes his car while under the influence of alcohol. It emerges that he'd just been in a fight with his mistress about his illegitimate baby daughter.
Alex Cooper is investigating the shipwreck but can't help worrying about the congressman's mistress, and with good reason. Before long, the young woman is found murdered and the little girl is missing.
And the plot definitely thickens when a tattoo of a rose is discovered on the inside of the mistress's thigh.
As the two cases merge, Alex finds herself up against powerful people with a lot to lose who don't mind getting rid of anyone who stands in their way.
A good story and a real page-turner. My only, minor, complaint is that there were so many players in the story that I did occasionally lost track of who was who and how they fitted into the picture.
On the other hand, the historical detail was, as always, fascinating.