NYPD Red

★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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I am a huge, unabashed Marshall Karp fan. His Lomax and Briggs books are long-time favorites of mine (the best part of writing this post is that I learned that a month and a half ago, he self-published a new one! The fact that I haven't dropped everything – including this post – to go read it is somewhat of a shock to me). They have humor, heart, clever stories, great characters, and a crackling good voice.

I have read several James Patterson novels. They are complex, tightly written, and move at a good pace (until they get to the point where they're a little long). Yeah, I think he plays the super-smart psycho villain a bit too frequently, and that he enjoys the torture/violent aspects a bit too much. On the other hand, he sells books like almost no one else alive. So what do I know?

So when you put the two of these together, what do you get? Well, you get something that sells pretty well.

The NYPD has special task force to deal with high-profile cases, cases involving the rich, powerful and famous – particularly with the entertainment industry (and the money it brings in). This task force is nicknamed NYPD Red (as in red carpet, get it?). It's a cushy, elite post for the crème de la crème. The crème-iest is Det. Zach Jordan, who's getting a new partner (probably temporarily), Det. Kylie MacDonald. Kylie MacDonald is smart, ambitious and gorgeous (a word that describes pretty much every woman in this book) – and she dated Zach for a bit before she got married. Getting over Kylie has been on his To-Do List ever since.

NYC is in the middle of a big week hosting Hollywood's best and brightest, trying to get more movies and TV made there. But some whack-job has started killing bigwigs in a very public, very noteworthy way. So it's up to Jordan and MacDonald to stop them.

I have got to admit, most of the murders are pretty clever, if unnecessarily elaborate.

It was okay, well constructed, moved things well – there's a little personal stuff mixed in, too. The killer's a very Patterson-esque killer. The cops are a watered down Karp type. I'm not chomping at the bit to get to the next one, but I'm not opposed to it, either. So, yeah, I didn't dislike it. Let's go with that.

The narration was capable, it didn't add anything to the experience – and maybe detracted a bit once or twice. Like the book as a whole, the narrators got the job done.

Can't believe it took me so long to finish another book and write a review for it but life is crazy with a nine month old and on top of that I've been working really hard on my fitness so bare with me.

I actually picked up this book because I thought it would be a light read with a mystery to solve in the middle of it but I was somewhat wrong. Yes, the book itself is pretty light and reads very fast but there's no real mystery in the foundation of this book. I guess it's my fault for not reading the synopsis too carefully. What I got instead was a murder/action book. Don't get me wrong, this book wasn't bad by any means but it failed to blow me away nevertheless.

The mediocrity of this book begins with the way that it's laid out. Point of view goes from the main “hero” character to the main bad guy and switches with every chapter. At first, this annoyed me immensely but after a while I got used to it especially after getting acquainted with the characters. While this is a unique way to keep the reader on their toes, I prefer not knowing who the bad guy is until the very end. I guess it's my fault for picking a book that wasn't completely the genre I was looking for at the moment. I did, however, enjoy getting into the mind of a crazy, deranged serial killer.

In addition, the plot itself was good. I haven't read many books with the same direction but then again I haven't read many books at all. However, good is all it was. Nothing more, nothing less. I was curious to know what would happen next but not curious enough to keep reading all night long. Also, the chapters overlapped here and there and we often read the same scene twice from two different perspectives. Although in certain other instances this adds something special to a book, in this instance it seems unnecessary and rather redundant.

Another thing to point out is that the characterization of the book was on the higher level of the mediocrity scale. I enjoyed getting to know the characters but they are not going to stay with me long after I finish this book. I don't even know if I'm all that eager to read the second book in this series. I might read it one day, but probably not in the near future.

In conclusion, NYPD Red is a letdown for a book, especially one that has been so widely publicized and spread throughout the media channels. I was expecting more from such a renowned author. With that said, it's not a bad book by far and is perfect for anyone looking for a fast paced and easy read that has a lot of action in it.