The Bottom Line: A rock solid crime thriller from one of the best in the business.
Say what you will about the fact that James Patterson has published as many as 15 books in a year, and that more than 20 co-authors in fact do much of the writing. Patterson is a business, man, and business is very good. Not surprisingly, the writing in his latest outing also very good.
It’s another glamorous night in the heart of Manhattan. At a glitzy movie premiere, a gorgeous starlet, dressed to the nines and dripping in millions of dollars’ worth of jewelry on loan, makes her way past a horde of fans and paparazzi.
But then there’s a sudden loud noise, an even louder scream, and a vicious crime with millions of witnesses and no suspect – and now NYPD Red has a new case on its hands.
If the formula sounds familiar, good – it’s intended to. Patterson didn’t build his reputation by switching styles or genres, and the latest in the NYPD red series only shocks when appropriate. It does, however, thrill.
For those not familiar, NYPD Red is an elite task force assigned to protect the rich, famous, and connected in the city where crime never sleeps. Detective Zach Jordan and his partner, Kylie MacDonald–a former girlfriend from the police academy who he hasn’t quite gotten over–are the best that Red has to offer, brilliant and tireless investigators who will stop at nothing to crack a case, even if it means putting their own complicated lives on the back burner.
If you like big-city crime fiction with ample doses of romance, run toward this one.
