Monday Mystery Backlist - FINAL JEOPARDY

As many of you know, Linda Fairstein is one of the authors I credit with pulling me into the crime fiction genre. And I will do everything within my power to marry Mike Chapman if I ever find him in real life. Just kidding. This week her most recent Alex Cooper novel, LETHAL LEGACY will come out in mass market paperback. So in honor of that release I have chosen FINAL JEOPARDY, the first book of the series, as this week's Monday Mystery Backlist.

In FINAL JEOPARDY Alex Cooper is introduced with this line: "I sat on my living room sofa at five o'clock in the morning with a copy of the mock-up of the front page of the day's New York Post in my hand, looking at my own obituary." No, this isn't a paranormal mystery series. Alex and homocide detective Mike Chapman have to figure out who killed Hollywood actress, Isabella Lascar, who was staying at Alex's home on Martha's Vineyard. They also need to find out if Isabella was the intended victim or if someone mistook her for Alex.

FINAL JEOPARDY introduces the characters of Alex, Mike, and Special Victims detective, Mercer Wallace. And while Alex may encounter "final jeopardy" in the plot, "final jeopardy" plays a duel role. Alex, Mike and Mercer make an effort to hear and bet on the Final Jeopardy question from the television show each night. This is a element that carries over throughout the entire series.

In all of Linda Fairstein's novels, I have found myself on a tour of New York City. She depicts the city so vividly and readers get to glimpse far more than the typical tourist spots. I found that when I made my first trip to New York City, I was recognizing different places because of their prominence in Linda's books.

So, for many reasons, I am happily recommending FINAL JEOPARDY as this week's Monday Mystery Backlist title. The hard cover was originally published in 1996 by Scribner, but has been published in many formats since that time. You can find it in paperback, audio, and e-book as well. A format for everyone.