I wasn’t as surprised by the ending as I sometimes am, and I’m slightly disappointed that the ambulance guys turned out to be precisely that. I was sort of hoping that, similar to what Red have previously encountered, they would be characters already known to the reader but hiding in plain sight . But I did enjoy the build-up to the reveal, once again Team Red are good at walking the reader through the thought process rather than somehow magically coming up with the solution, and I did appreciate how relatively straightforward it was (I’ve read some books with complicated endings recently!). No one gets this big without amazing natural storytelling talent - which is what Jim has, in spades.' Lee Child NYPD Red is a prestigious police task force assigned to high-profile crimes concerning elite New Yorkers. Kylie MacDonald and Zach Jordan are the two detectives that readers are familiar with from the beginning and I like their partnership. Their characters are what kept me reading and of course, the mysteries are solid as well. I really enjoyed the pacing of this series with short chapters and mini cliffhangers after each one. This third novel in the NYPD Red series centers on two of the NYPD Red detectives, Zach Jordan and his partner Kylie MacDonald. NYPD Red, an entity invented by Patterson for his series, is an elite and well trained unit that has the job of protecting the rich, the famous and the well connected. This duo get called into a case in which the headless body of a man named Peter who was the chauffeur of one of New York's most powerful men, Hunter Alden, is found in the garage. Alden's son also goes missing and a witness swears he and his friend were kidnapped. Alden denies his son is missing and is reluctant to help the police. Zach and Kylie, who are both trying to sort out their own problems with domestic partners, must put their issues on hold to determine what is happening concerning the murder and alleged kidnapping cases assigned to them. The plot of this novel is full of very unexpected twists and turns. It is Hollywood week where the Mayor along with lots of other dignitaries and the NYPD Red force are on special alert. The main reason is to attract the directors and producers to film more movies in the Big Apple.

I'm late to the party for this series of books from James Patterson, but that doesn't mean I was disappointed in not having know about them. I just need to keep my eyes open better for future books in the series.

Four people have already been murdered when the Red team gets involved after the murder of a high profiled woman with a powerful and wealthy family. I flew through this book and enjoyed the cat-and-mouse chase throughout, especially the finale which includes some action on the river. There's part of me that wants to harp on the implausibility of KOD. But I don't know why I would—it's a fun idea and works well in this novel. Karp's version of this thing that we've seen and read about in other books/shows/movies/comics is as successfully conceived and executed as I've seen it. And as I said before, if you accept the world of this series, the outlandish nature of the KOD works well. So, I don't know why I feel like I have to make excuses for it or justify it, but I do feel that way. The KOD is a good challenge for Kylie and Zach and the way they confront it is entertaining. Which is what this book is about. He's not attempting to tell a gritty story like Winslow's The Badge (which has parts that are just as implausible)—this is an action-adventure story.

The main plot consist of a New York film festival hoping to attract the biggest stars was an instant pull. Wow, I’m stunned by how much I enjoyed this book! I went into this read with a ho-hum attitude because police procedurals are not my top reading genre and because it was book seven in a series. Author Marshall Karp has taken over writing The NYPD Red series which he was previously ghost writing with James Patterson, and he did a marvelous job of it. Wow!! What a ride! I think doing a reread of these series finally and doing the audiobooks on the Libby App, these have been like reading them again for the first time and I realized how much I didn't remember this one if I'm being honest here. But goodness I seriously loved this one like crazy. The story was good, I loved Zach Jordan and Kylie MacDonald, but mainly Zach even more and was reminded why I loved these characters way too much and wish they were on screen.

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. 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.

Also, as the main narrator, Zach seems to be "behind" Kylie all the time; like he is more pragmatic than his partner. So I miss a bit agressive attitude from the MC. 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!I really need to find or develop a synonymous phrase for that, because I use it too often in this post. Sorry about that. Detectives Zach Jordan and Kylie MacDonald return as NYPD Red. They investigate a murder at the Silver Bullet Foundation’s elite dinner where it plans to announce its new public housing project. Then they find the body of a woman filmmaker; later another of the Foundation’s founders is murdered. 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 same goes for the plot about Kylie's boyfriend and the shooting (and what that suggests about the ongoing story about her now-missing husband). I think this shooting, the investigation, and the resolution was actually the strongest storyline in the novel and Karp developed it well. Especially in the heightened reality of this series, this came across as pretty grounded. Now, 3 stars is good for me in my rating system which is an "okay" but still enjoyable enough. the storyline just wasn't perfectly as executed as I would have liked it to be, but it was still a fun read. There were a few things I thought were kind of random, and felt like one of the stories with the second case Zach and Kylie had to take on was unnecessary and the story of Zach looking up a particular person without a friends consent (only to protect them) was an okay add on, but three separate stories, plus having to go out of the country for 5-6 chapters or so... it felt like Patterson and Karpp didn't know what to do with this story, but it's a good thing they've created great and fun detectives: Zach Jordan and Kylie MacDonald. I seriously freaking LOVE these two! so they pretty much saved this story for me. Though I’ve been a very long time fan of Patterson’s books, both his standalones and his many series (Alex Cross, Michael Bennett, Lindsey Boxer, I’ve read them all) I made the switch from reading his physical books to listening solely on audio a couple of years ago. It kind of happened by accident, I was browsing Overdrive for a new listen and grabbed the latest Women’s Murder Club installment and realized what an amazing narrator January LaVoy is. All of that to say, having now listened to several of Patterson’s books I have to tell you guys that he has THE best narrators I’ve come across, and Ballerini is no exception. I say that because I know many people don’t enjoy audiobooks for various reasons but if you ever wanna give one a try just grab any Patterson one and I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

James Patterson’s NYPD Red books in order:

Kudos, Messrs. Patterson and Karp, for a decent police procedural. While I used this as a bridge between two larger reads, I am pleased to have taken the time. Overall, Karp delivered a tight thriller read that provided a very entertaining escape for two or three evenings. 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 Detective Kylie MacDonald is pulled into work mode immediately, having been invited to attend. When she brings her partner, Detective Zach Jordan, in to join her, they begin an intense hunt for Erin and whoever might be behind her abduction. With few leads to follow, it’s a waiting game, at least until videos begin emerging, with demands that they be broadcast live. 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.