David Shelley, Hilary Hale, and their great team at Little, Brown UK have been steadfast and loyal through all of Coop’s capers, and so I thank them all again.
Esther Newberg is first and foremost my great friend. That she has also been my agent, guiding me through professional waters every bit as treacherous as Hell Gate, is one of life’s great bonuses. And to Kari Stuart and Allie Green, who I lean on constantly, thanks to you. A shout-out to Katie Cion, who offered me her name to create a fine new character to hang with Mike and Mercer.
Family and friends, as always, are my supreme joy and encouragement. Welcome, beautiful Isla. And Alice Maude, my precious heart, you are always with me.
My fiercest literary critic-and my most devoted fan-is my great warrior, my husband, Justin Feldman. These books are all for him.
And this one is especially dedicated to the women and men who do the very difficult work of special victims investigations and prosecutions-sexual assaults, domestic violence, and child abuse. They have been my colleagues in the New York County District Attorney’s Office and the New York Police Department, and they will always be my heroes.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Linda Fairstein is America ’s foremost legal expert on crimes of sexual assault and domestic violence. She led the Sex Crimes Unit of the District Attorney’s Office in Manhattan for twenty-six years. Her eleven previous Alexandra Cooper novels have been critically acclaimed international bestsellers, translated into more than a dozen languages. Fairstein lives in Manhattan and on Martha’s Vineyard.
