Fairstein is a member of the American Association of Trial Lawyers and for 30 years directed the Sex Crimes Unit of the District Attorney’s Office in Manhattan. She left that office in 2002. During her tenure, she helped prosecute several high-profile and controversial cases, including Robert Chambers’ “Preppy Murder” case in 1986.
Linda was born on May 5, 1947, in Mount Vernon, New York. She graduated from Vassar College in 1969 with a bachelor’s degree in English literature. After graduating from Virginia Law University in 1972, she joined the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office as an Assistant District Attorney.
In 2004, Linda was named in a $10 million lawsuit against the state of New York by Dr. Oliver Jovanovic. Dr. Jovanovic, a biologist, was convicted in 1998 of the kidnapping, sexual abuse and assault of a college student he had met on the Internet. His case was annulled in 1999, in an unfair trial.
Linda Fairstein draws on her legal experience for her series character, Alexandra Cooper, a Manhattan prosecutor. Linda says that she writes the series about her in the first person because “I want ‘the readers’ to see the victimization and then hopefully the outcome in the courtroom from Alex’s perspective.” Linda’s first Alex Cooper novel, “Final Jeopardy,” was made into an ABC television movie starring Dana Delaney.
Linda says that people who are not very smart probably commit 90% of the crimes in this country. She says that in her books, she can make up the murders, but the motives for the murders come from the motives in real cases. She says that she has never written about any of the actual cases of hers.
Linda centers all of her novels on prominent locations in New York City. She says, “I love having places that are real and very rich in history, and then I let my imagination run wild.” She says that she wants each book to be an entertaining escapism and for the reader to end up learning something new. She said that for her, writing the first hundred pages is equivalent to having a root canal, but after 200 pages, everything is smooth sailing.
Linda loves collecting historical curios, antique jewelry, writing and stationery. She collects first edition books, particularly crime and mystery genres. She also collects 19th century British literature. She loves to read mystery novels and her favorite TV show is CSI Special Victims Unit.
Linda and her husband, Justin Feldman, live in Manhattan and have a house on Martha’s Vineyard where they go every year for four months. She has a separate cabin where she plots and writes. Linda says that being a writer has been her passion since high school.
Linda remains an attorney and takes some cases for victims of violent crime, often pro bono. She also does consulting and is a keynote speaker lecturing on sex crimes and domestic violence.
Books by Linda Firestein:
Series:
Alex Cooper:
Final Danger (1994)
Likely to Die (1997)
Cold Strike (1999)
The Dead House (2001)
The Vault of Bones (2003)
The Kills (2004)
Entombed (2005)
Dance of Death (2006)
Bad Blood (2007)
Killer Heat (2008)
Lethal Legacy (2009)
General:
Final Risk / Chance of Dying (2004)
Cold Stroke/The Dead House (2005)
Novels:
I’d Kill For That (2004) (with Rita Mae Brown, Jennifer Cruise, Lisa Gardner, Heather Graham, Kay Hooper, Katherine Neville, Anne Perry, Kathy Reichs, Julie Smith, and Tina Wainscott)
Hell’s Gate (2010)
Non-fiction:
Sexual Violence: Our War Against Rape (1993)
The Best American Crime Reporting 2007 (2007) (with Otto Penzler)
