“I see mysteries everywhere I walk,” says Alafair Burke, the best-selling author whose latest, “The Ex,” kicks off with a triple homicide in Chelsea. A former-prosecutor-turned-writer and criminal law professor, she tells BARBARA HOFFMAN about her favorite places:
“I’m spoiled. My husband works in security management at the Met, and we’ll go there early in the morning and I’ll get the Matisses and Picassos all to myself …
Because I like crime fiction so much, my favorite bookstore is the Mysterious Bookshop in Tribeca. If they don’t have what you’re looking for, they’ll get it for you. If you tell them one book you’ve read and like, they’ll come up with a whole list of books you’d like.
Did you know there’s a gun range in Chelsea? It’s called the Westside Rifle & Pistol Range and you’d never know it’s there, on 20th Street, the design district — where I’ve looked at bathroom tile while I’m procrastinating. A friend of mine’s a lieutenant at the NYPD anti-terrorism unit and got me in to walk around. It looked familiar: In ‘Taxi Driver,’ it’s where [Robert] De Niro’s character learned how to shoot. And it’s still there!
We eat out a lot on the weekends. The Knickerbocker Bar & Grill [below] is this great old place with leather banquettes and dark walls. Plant yourself at the bar, and you’ll hear all these little gems. I’m very good at picking restaurants for people. My police source loves the oysters at Jeffrey’s Grocery, and my medical examiner’s favorite is Gotham Bar and Grill. We’ll be eating beautiful food while I’m asking him about autopsies and how long it takes for a body to go stiff. We have to keep our voices down so we don’t upset the people at the next table.”
