Hell Gate by Linda Fairstein (Alexandra Cooper #12) (Paperback)

Alex finds herself embroiled in a multifaceted crisis in the labyrinthine world of New York City politics, where secrets and clandestine dealings abound.

At the heart of it all is a shipwreck, concealing a sinister cargo—human lives traded as contraband. Simultaneously, a promising New York congressman’s political career unravels in a salacious sex scandal. Alex’s investigative instincts tug her in dual directions.

A striking revelation emerges: the woman rescued from the wreck and the fallen congressman’s lover bear the same distinctive rose tattoo—a mark associated with a “snakehead,” the puppeteer behind a human trafficking network. Alex grasps that these seemingly disparate cases are profoundly intertwined as the pieces align. The fabric of New York City’s political landscape hangs precariously in the balance of her pursuit.

In the chilling confines of the morgue, as she gazes upon nameless victims, Alex discerns that she is confronting the contemporary face of a sinister tradition that has plagued New York for centuries—the sinister trade in human lives. This wicked enterprise, born from the horrors of the African slave trade centuries ago, has evolved into a multimillion-dollar industry that brooks no opposition, even if it means risking Alex’s life.