Part of Alexandra Cooper, book 9
First published 2007
Alexandra Cooper faces her toughest case yet. Brendan Quillian stands accused of strangling his wife Amanda, but the prominent businessman has an alibi and a sharp defense attorney. Cooper believes Quillian hired someone to kill Amanda while he was out of town. She works with detectives Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace to prove her theory. Then disaster strikes. An explosion tears through Water Tunnel Number 3, six hundred feet beneath New York City. The blast kills tunnel workers called sandhogs. Cooper discovers Quillian has ties to the dead workers. She must navigate the closed world of sandhog families and their old grudges. Another murder victim emerges, connected to both cases. Cooper and Chapman descend into the underground tunnels to investigate. They uncover secrets linking the tunnel explosion to Amanda Quillian's death. Cooper realizes she must solve the ancient rivalries between sandhog families to crack her murder case. The investigation grows more dangerous as she gets closer to the truth.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, thriller
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, investigation
Setting: New York City, Water Tunnel Number 3
Period: contemporary
401 pages · Hardcover · Scribner Book Company
Content warnings: violence