The Deadhouse by Linda Fairstein

 

Lola Dakota, an esteemed professor in New York City, has died.  In fact, she died twice.  The first time was a sham, a ruse set up by the police to catch her husband in a murder-for-hire plot.  It went perfectly and her violent ex-husband is arrested and charged.  But later that same day, Lola's body is found, this time really dead, at the bottom of an elevator shaft in her apartment building, which she had just returned to after weeks of staying with a friend.

This time, the crime occurs in assistant DA Alexandra Cooper's jurisdiction.  She had tried to help Lola before the ruse but Lola had dropped charges several times.  Now she is dead and it is up to Alexandra along with NYPD detective Mike Chapman, to find the murderer and bring him or her to justice.

There are plenty of candidates.  There is, of course, her ex-husband, Ivan.  He was safely in jail when the murder occurred but someone as obsessed and rich as he was could have hired someone.  There is the professor who lives in Lola's apartment house who is under suspension at the university, suspected of fraud and unsure who turned him in.  There is Lola's work at the archeological and social digs of the ruins on an island where those sick of various diseases were kept; the nicknamed structure The Deadhouse.  Lola had been found with a note with those words on her body.  She was involved in the dig with several other professors and there's talk of dissension on the site.  Who killed Lola Dakota?

This is the fourth novel in the Alexandra Cooper series.  She is a woman obsessed with her work and career, dedicated to helping other women escape the violence of men.  Her work obsession leaves little time for romance although she has a man very interested in her.  Alex is suspicious of getting close to anyone and romance has never been her forte.  Her joking relationship with Mike Chapman is about as much as she really wants and there are restrained sparks between those two.  The novel has lots of murder suspects and most readers will be surprised to learn the identity of the person who committed the crime.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.