The Dead-House

Abridged
Author: Linda Fairstein
Narrator: Blair Brown
Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Date: September 2001
Length: 6 hours
Ratings:
  • Book Rating: 3/5
Formats:
  • CD

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Overview

A richly nuanced synthesis of history and suspense.

One of New York City's most haunting buildings is the Deadhouse. This abandoned structure -- which sits on a small island in the middle of the East River like the ghostly remains of a castle -- plays in the imagination as a likely place for murder.

It's the holiday season but there's little reason for cheer at one of New York's most elite colleges. A respected professor is dead, strangled and dumped in an elevator shaft. Lola Dakota's lifeless fingers clutch a few strands of hair, and a piece of paper in her pocket reads "The Deadhouse."

Opportunistic murder seems unlikely as assistant DA Alexandra Cooper uncovers a distressing pattern of betrayal and terror. There's proof that Lola's husband wanted her dead. And why did Lola have a photograph of Charlotte Voight pinned to her office bulletin board? Charlotte left her dorm room eight months ago and vanished into the night. Are they both victims of the same predator?

Perhaps most puzzling of all are the words "The Deadhouse." What was Lola's connection to this desolate place where people once endured slow and agonizing deaths? And what danger awaits Alex as she targets Lola's killer?

Selected Reviews

THE DEAD HOUSE

by Sheryl Adamson
  • Book Rating: 4/5

Aptly Named The "Dead"house

by Nestra
  • Book Rating: 1/5

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Read All 3

Reviews (3)

THE DEAD HOUSE

Written by Sheryl Adamson on December 4th, 2007

  • Book Rating: 4/5

ANOTHER GOOD MYSTERY FROM LINDA FAIRSTEIN. I REALLY ENJOY HER STORIES.

Aptly Named The "Dead"house

Written by Nestra on April 26th, 2005

  • Book Rating: 1/5

Perhaps it was the inability of the narrator to signify, vocally, any distinction between the many different characters in the book. Perhaps it was the trite, and often flat, verbal illustration of the author. Whatever the cause, this book was a supreme let-down. The characters were uninspired and the plot never developed enough for the reader to have an "Ah HA!" moment that should always accompany the climactic discovery of the villain in a who-dun-it such as this. Finally, the author didn't even bother to wrap up all the loose ends that were at the crux of the story. It is enough to make Agatha Christie roll over in her grave. My advice is to pass on this one.

The Deadhouse

Written by Melissa Maurice from New London, CT on April 5th, 2005

  • Book Rating: 2/5

This was a little disappointed. It has all the makings of a good story but it never seemed to deliver. I kept waiting for the pace and the action to pick up but it never did. I found the characters to be one-dimensional and found many plot strands were mixed in and not followed through. It is clearly the least favorite of all the titles i have rented thusfar.

Selected Reviews

THE DEAD HOUSE

by Sheryl Adamson
  • Book Rating: 4/5

Aptly Named The "Dead"house

by Nestra
  • Book Rating: 1/5

More...

Read All 3

Author Details

Author Details

Fairstein, Linda

"Linda Fairstein was for twenty-five years America's foremost prosecutor of crimes of sexual assault and domestic violence as head of the Sex Crimes Unit of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. A Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, she is a graduate of Vassar College and the University of Virginia School of Law. Recipient of the prestigious Nero Wolfe Award for ""literary excellence in the mystery genre"" for THE DEADHOUSE, a New York Times bestseller, she is also the author of FINAL JEOPARDY (an ABC Movie of the Week starring Dana Delaney), LIKELY TO DIE, and COLD HIT, all international bestsellers. Her nonfiction book SEXUAL VIOLENCE was a New York Times notable book in 1994. She lives with her husband in Manhattan and on Martha's Vineyard. Visit Linda Fairstein's Web site at www.lindafairstein.com."