The characters, setting, and action are all excellent in this book…The action is exciting, and as the story comes to a close, there are twists and turns that are unbelievably satisfying for any fan of crime thrillers. Karp does an excellent job of carrying on the NYPD Red series.” San Francisco Book Review (5 stars) It’s always nice to find a book that not only fills time between two larger reads, but is entertaining in its delivery. I have long bemoaned the ‘James Patterson Syndrome’, where books sell not for their content, but because of the name that fills the cover. Collaborators are left with their share of profits, but the quality goes down the tube. This book should not suffer this fate and Marshall Karp can rest assured that he has a winner on his hands. One of the decent series that James Patterson continues to help write, NYPD Red remains on point and a decent read for those whose interest has not yet waned with Patterson. Things are now taking a change. Starting with the current outing – “NYPD Red 7: The Murder Sorority” – the baton has been passed from Patterson to Karp as a solo artist, who is taking over the series as a solo writer. The book cover blurb expressing Patterson’s confidence and approval in Karp taking over the writing comes across as the marketing ploy, but I guess that should be expected. Marshall Karp nails the core of a gritty on-the-streets crime thriller that couples authentic police procedural elements with an unremitting pace filled with crafty and ingenious twists and turns…NYPD Red 7: Murder Sorority is one of the most energetic and engaging thrillers of the year and it’s one you can’t miss out on. An indisputable must-read. James Patterson could not have passed down the torch to a more suited author than Karp.” Kashif Hussain, Best Thriller Books

NYPD Red 3 was on the USA Today Best-Selling Books list for twelve weeks and at one point was number two on the list. [4]

I love the camaraderie between the two lead detectives though their banter wasn’t as full-on as in book one, especially as MacDonald’s mind was somewhere else with a personal issue for most of the book. It is usually quite difficult to gauge a Patterson novel’s impact until the very end. The stories are good, but the delivery is sometimes a little hokey or lighter when it comes to narrative style. This book did hold my attention throughout, though I did not receive the impactful piece I had hoped to find, after a significant hiatus from the series. That being said, things flowed well and the narrative pushed things along fairly effectively. Patterson’s short chapter signature is on display here, pushing the reader to move forward just to see what awaits them. Marshall Karp surely helped shape this into a decent read, as he has done in the past with this series. Where things are headed next, I have no idea, but I am still interested to see what MacDonald and Jordan have to discover.

As is usually the case with a James Patterson novel, there’s multiple different story arcs to contend with and thankfully it didn’t become too confusing. The rich and famous of New York are gathered at a public event when a bomb goes off, a bomb designed to kill only one person. With the mayor also being at this event, it becomes one of the most high-profile cases of Zach and Kylie’s careers and needless to say their superiors want it solved ASAP. Meanwhile on Roosevelt Island a well-known film producer is found dead and our duo at NYPD Red soon have their work cut out for them working these two cases. NYPD RED, a police unit dedicated to investigating crimes that involve high profile people (celebrities, political operatives, wealthy people, etc.) is called in to apprehend the Hazmat Killer. Detectives Zach Gordon and Kylie MacDonald are given the case after the previously assigned detectives make almost no progress solving the crimes. As if that weren’t enough for the two detectives, they are drawn into a robbery at a high-stakes, private poker game. Could one of the players be involved in the heist? And are Zach’s suspicions about one of the players valid? At the same time, as the body count rises, can Zach and Kylie find the answers they need to capture the murderer and put an end to the killings?

James Patterson’s NYPD Red books in order:

To make matters worse, this band will not only challenge Zach and Kylie professional skills and abilities, but it looks like their personal lives will be horrendously impacted and changed forever…