‘NYPD Red #1’ by James Patterson and Marshall Karp
NYPD Red is a police department dedicated for providing a value for money service to New York’s finest (not the NYPD; rather, its celebrities and politicians). In this installment, a villain has written a movie script about the crimes he intends to commit, and then enacts them, ending with a grand finale. We follow detective Zach Gordon, who has been newly partnered with his old police academy flame Kylie MacDonald. Zach has never got over her, but Kylie is now married to a big shot TV producer.
I’m not a huge fan of the James Patterson writing partnerships. This year’s Eruption, which he finished / compiled from Michael Crichton’s notes, was disappointing. However, I enjoyed NYPD Red and found it a quick, entertaining read. It had a feel of Lethal Weapon mixed with Blue Bloods, with Kylie providing the gung ho attitude of Martin Riggs because she is so career-driven (rather than suffering from grief or any form of PTSD).
Perhaps because of the movie aspect, the book is written in a very visual manner and I found I could easily picture the set pieces in my mind. It was definitely entertaining enough to make me want to read the next book in the series.
Rating: 8/10
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