“NYPD Red” by James Patterson and Marshall Karp – Fame, Glory and Murder

Hollywood on Hudson is beginning and the entire city of New York becomes shrouded in a veil of glamour and fame, with countless celebrities walking on the red carpet, and even more crazed fans and paparazzi trying to get a glimpse of what’s going on.

The NYPD Red by James Patterson and Marshal Karp is commanded with policing this madness and making sure that all goes well, a job hard enough to do as it is.

However, things get even more complicated when suddenly a highly renowned movie producer simply collapses and dies during breakfast. With such a high profile victim, they call in an investigator from the NYPD Red, Zach Jordan, who is for some reason partnered with his ex-girlfriend, Kylie MacDonald.

Unfortunately, they soon discover the producer to only be the first in a long line of potential victim, and so New York is struck with terror as a highly dangerous, clever and intelligent roams free.

First off I have to say that this was a very pleasant, albeit quick ride, with certain downfalls… however, their presence depends on your point of view. I know it may not make much sense, but bear with me.

I came into this book expecting a convoluted and challenging murder mystery that would leave me perplexed until the very end; after all, the killer is seen as being one of a kind and capable of fooling a citywide organization which doesn’t accept just anyone into their ranks.

However, I have to say that from the perspective of someone who has been reading murder mysteries for a while, this one was kind of predictable, perhaps even easy. I’m sure that avid readers of other genres also wouldn’t have too much trouble figuring this one out.

Despite that though, the ride remains quite entertaining indeed; you need to go into this book with a mentality of being after the chase rather than the catch.

It’s quite thrilling to simply let yourself become immersed into that world and watch as how an entire police force desperately scrambles to try and catch a single individual.

The action moves at a very fast pace, not leaving much time for anything in terms of character development, although you do get to know enough about our protagonists to make you care about them.

However, I wasn’t a big fan of the Zach and Kylie dynamic, because let’s face it, the archetype of a professional duo who were lovers in the past doesn’t leave much room for innovation.

All in all, if you are looking to shut off your brain for an evening or two and read what is an above average murder mystery, then NYPD Red should definitely be right up your alley.

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	James B. Patterson Personal site James Patterson is an American writer who has dedicated a large part of his literary career to writing murder-related thrillers, inventing in the process two memorable character-based series in Alex Cross and Michael Bennett. His most prominent works include Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider.
	Marshall Karp Personal site Marshall Karp has been a writer his entire life, creating scripts for commercials, plays, sitcoms, and even a movie. Now, he has dedicate himself to being a full-time author. After five years of effort, he managed to publish his first book, The Rabbit Factory, which turned out to a be a real success.