The DeadHouse

Acknowledgments

I never asked permission of Alex Cooper-the real one-when I purloined his name for my heroine several years ago. He and Karen have been dearest friends, perfect traveling companions, great readers, and part of the family since Justin and I first met. I treasure their friendship.

A very special credit is due to Judy Berdy, who shares my passion for Renwick's stunning skeleton, and who helped enormously with my research about Blackwells Island. To Judy and the Roosevelt Island Historical Society, I am enormously grateful.

I was fortunate to find a wealth of material, in the form of old institutional records and reports, at the superb library of the New-York Historical Society. My thanks to Betsy Gotbaum, and the librarians who take such fine care of the antique documents.

The archives of The New York Times and the microfiche files of the New York Herald Tribune were also invaluable. And two books, Gotham by Edwin Burrows and Mike Wallace and The Other Islands of New York City by Sharon Seitz and Stuart Miller, provided wonderful vignettes of the crime scene.

Several characters take their names from real individuals. That is because a number of very generous people contributed to a variety of charitable causes and public service auctions in exchange for the opportunity to have a figure named for them in an Alexandra Cooper novel. Some are good guys, some are suspects, some are perps-that's the chance they take. They all have my thanks for their good cheer and benevolence.

Robert Morgenthau remains the professional patron saint of prosecutors, and I am always mindful of my great fortune in working for him for a quarter of a century. My friends in the New York County District Attorney's Office Sex Crimes Prosecution Unit are the very best in the business. They prove it every day of the year. The men and women of the NYPD who risk their lives for all of us on a daily basis have my most sincere gratitude, and our colleagues at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner continue to amaze me, giving us cold hits and solutions to major cases with increasing frequency.

Everyone at Scribner has made this experience a real joy. That starts at the top, with the generous support of Susan Moldow, which I appreciate tremendously. Giulia Melucci is the best publicist in a tough business and a delightful friend.

Susanne Kirk, my beloved editor, started me on this path a few books back. She has been with me every step of the way, and her reputation as the finest in this field is well deserved. Her heart is in these books, along with my own, and that means the world to me. Thanks, also, to her assistant, Erik Wasson, for his good cheer and attention to detail.

My agent and pal, Esther Newberg, is beyond simple acknowledgments. She has changed my life. How did I ever get so lucky?

Family and friends make all this possible. My incredible mother, Alice-and all the Fairsteins, Feldmans, and Zavislans- continue to give me joy and encouragement.

And most of all, my husband, Justin Feldman, remains my devoted coach, most loyal fan, and constant inspiration.