NYPD Red: A maniac killer targets Hollywood’s biggest stars (NYPD Red, 1)

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NYPD Red is one of Patterson’s lesser-known mystery series about two detectives - Zach Jordan and Kylie MacDonald – who are a special investigative team focused on serving and protecting the rich and elite of New York city. In typical Patterson style, Zach and Kylie were also former lovers coming out of the police academy years ago and Zach has never stopped loving her, even though Kylie has sworn off ever dating a cop again. Because they work so close together, the sexual tension adds to the aura of their working relationship and is optimistically used as a tool to keep the reader’s interest. At first it seems like just one murder, but as the bodies pile up the NYPD Red team his overdrive to try and solve the crimes. A few years ago, I really enjoyed reading James Patterson’s novels, especially the Women’s Murder Club series. Then after 10 or so books, they got a bit repetitive and I mostly stopped reading them. The first NYPD Red came out in 2012 and I loved the concept. A detective series based on the crimes that happened to New York’s rich and famous elite. Now that’s it the fifth novel, I’m getting a bit tired of the series, but it was a perfect pool side read!

Having worked with police officers as a police chaplain I found the descriptions of the characters very accurate and reasonable even though people might think Patterson has exaggerated them a bit. One thing that has always been prominent in this series is the political element to NYPD Red. Here in NYPD Red 5 we see Zach questioning just what their role is in protecting the elite and also the everyday public of the city. Do their superiors want justice or do they just want the crimes solved in any way possible? It makes for an uncomfortable read in places and features some hateful characters who make you sit and think about whether that justice should be served or not. It’s easy to see why they were targeted and why somebody would want revenge against them and it leaves a sour taste in the mouths of the two detectives who must work alongside these people to find out who was responsible.The heightened reality of this series works well in the cases these detectives are involved with—Entertainment personalities and the super-rich. I've always liked the idea of a squad like NYPD Red (see also, The Closer's Priority Homicide), and halfway assume something like this actually exists. Given media scrutiny and politics, it makes sense for cases of this profile to be handled differently (as long as no one's ignoring other cases per Bosch's maxim). I enjoy seeing detectives work in this world as much as I do seeing them in more "everyday" settings belonging to the middle and lower class.

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. It's been a long time since I've read a Red Alert (NYPD, #5). It was overall quite entertaining, and I felt I was among old friends.

James Patterson’s NYPD Red books in order:

It would appear that there is a group of trained assassins on the loose around New York, killing those who are on a secret list. The Kappa Omega Delta (Killers on Demand) troll the city and fulfil needed hits, while secreting themselves away from the eyes of the authorities. While Jordan and Macdonald begin looking into things, they are sidelined when a more personal shooting takes place. Detective MacDonald’s boyfriend is shot and left to bleed out, for no apparent reason. It’s may be a distraction but Red have honed their skills to not allow anything to derail them while on a case. It’s been a while since I’d read a Patterson and the book easily captured the good and bad of this prolific author. James Patterson’s NYPD Red series is another favourite of mine and is something different given that it focuses on police officers who are tasked with protecting New York’s elite. It’s hard to believe that this is the fifth book in the series already. It was an enjoyable read and without doubt one of my favourites in the series so far. I love Zach and Kylie and felt that the storyline here was one of the best out of the five books.

I especially enjoyed the character of Detective Kylie MacDonald. She is a no- nonsense officer with an engaging personality. The camaraderie between her and Detective Zach Jordan is great, and their witty banter is enjoyable. In addition to the case she is working on, she is following another case that involves the shooting of her boyfriend. Since it is not the case featured in the title, we readers don’t get as much information about that case, but it is an interesting secondary story nonetheless. 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.Meanwhile, in a probably unrelated incident, Kylie's boyfriend is shot. Officially barred from investigating (and she is front-and-center on a case the media and City Hall are focused on), Kylie is mostly watching this from the sidelines—but manages to help the detectives on the case while worried about his recovery. In New York City a vigilante serial killer is murdering people who have apparently evaded justice. The killer dresses the victims in Hazmat suits and leavies them in public places, seemingly as a warning to other criminals. During their investigation, a theory begins to surface about a team of assassins operating under the name of a sorority—Kappa Omega Delta. KOD—Killers On Demand. It sounds farfetched to the partners (and their captain), but they keep running into the idea. And soon, they might start to find some actual evidence pointing to it. The 'Hazmat Killer's' first few victims are known lowlifes who don't attract much attention. But when wealthy political aide Evelyn Parker-Steele is tortured and killed - and a video is posted of her confessing to the murder of her lesbian lover - the authorities, the public, and the media take notice.

The Chameleon has lots more in store for deaths this week and has the entire police force working overtime to find, him and stop yet another death before it occurs. I love this series by James Patterson and Marshall Karp. I have given 4 stars to EVERY book from 1-6. Book #7 is a solo work by Marshall Karp! I flew through this book and enjoyed the cat-and-mouse chase throughout, especially the finale which includes some action on the river.

MARSHALL KARP co-created and co-authored the first six books in the #1 bestselling NYPD Red series with James Patterson. Starting with NYPD Red 7, Marshall will become the sole author of the series, which features Detectives Kylie MacDonald and Zach Jordan as members of an elite task force dedicated to solving crimes committed against — and sometimes by — New York City’s rich and famous. 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] The narrative flow of this series has long been one of its strongest attributes. I find the momentum of the writing is dictated by the clipped pace on offer. Karp builds on this throughout, keeping the reader attentive as they make their way through the novel. Strong characters with some decent development help add something for series fans to enjoy, as there are some key aspects discussed in this seventh novel. The plot twists and story arcs presented keep the reader engaged and ready to learn more, stopped only by the limitations of Karp’s ability to publish future pieces. I can only hope there is more to come soon, as this is one series well worth my time! With a television crew documenting every moment of “the wedding of the century,” reality star/bride Erin Easton is indeed the star of the show. But when she disappears from her dressing room, a blood-spattered wedding gown is all that remains. There are a bunch of little sub-plots that run through the novel involving the two main detectives, Detective Jordan and Detective McDonald. It seems they have a past dating relationship and that causes some issues. BUT, they are the top two Detectives in New York and they have a very unorthodox way of solving crimes, they break the rules!