Silent Mercy

From Publishers Weekly

In Fairstein's exciting 13th novel to feature New York ADA Alexandra Cooper (after Hell Gate), a middle of the night call brings Alex and NYPD detectives Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace to Harlem, where the decapitated body of a young woman has been burning on the steps of the Mount Neboh Baptist Church, originally a synagogue until the neighborhood changed. Initially, the authorities suspect a hate crime until another dead woman turns up at a cathedral in Little Italy a few days later. A religious motive emerges, especially since both victims were considered "outcasts" because of their uncompromising demands about the role of women in organized religion. Meanwhile, Alex is prosecuting a defrocked Catholic priest accused of molesting boys, a high-profile trial that a politically connected bishop wants stopped. Fairstein excels at describing New York's complicated religious history as well as the vagaries of the city's legal and religious politics. 12-city author tour.

From Booklist

A decapitated woman, tortured and burned, is left on the steps of a Baptist church in Harlem. Another woman’s body, also tortured, is discovered at a different landmark house of worship. Legal eagle Alex Cooper and her partner, NYPD detective Mike Chapman, know the murders are connected but can’t figure out how. Before they get very far in their investigation, Alex runs afoul of a church official and is booted off the case. Not surprisingly, that doesn’t stop her. Her natural curiosity and dedication to the sex-crime victims she deals with lead her on a crazier-than-usual journey that begins at some venerable New York churches and ends on a deserted island with a grim past. If the unraveling of her thirteenth thriller is a tad over the top, Fairstein makes up for it with her usual bite of Big Apple history; the bantering, caring, respectful repartee between Alex and Mike; and a tough-to-put-down ending that will leave fans ready for more.