BAD BLOOD

The ninth in the Alexandra Cooper, Manhattan assistant D.A., mystery series tries hard to please and causes pulses to beat harder in places but, overall, is forced and obvious--and a jumble of two plots. A rising young businessman's murder of his wife and an explosion underground in one of the city's water tunnels are connected. Blair Brown sounds like she doesn't have much enthusiasm for the plot or characters, though she fares better with the men than the women, managing to give them body, volume, and energy. Also, she has a habit of dropping her voice at the ends of sentences, which is frustrating to the listener. One plus is that author Fairstein, an ex-prosecutor, offers fascinating insider tidbits in legal maneuvering. M.T.B. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 07/ JAN 08]