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. 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. Overall, this is one of the typical Patterson collaborations where there is too way too many plots and much less less character development. I don’t know whether that is a good thing or bad thing to admit, but I get Patterson’s books from the library because I don’t find him good enough to buy and keep in my library. He’s mind candy – simple, fast-paced, detective and mystery-oriented adventures that can be read in about two to three days and then easily left behind. Nice escapism, but nothing super memorable.

Truth be told, if I had read this book without knowing Patterson’s named was removed, I wouldn’t have noticed any differences. It felt just like their previous six books in the series. I am not sure whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing. It just is. I am also not sure what this says about Patterson’s involvement in their writing partnership. It’s weird. Patterson steps away and I can’t tell the difference. I am going to stop talking about this now and let you form your own opinion on the matter. This first book in a new series was given to me over Christmas and seemed like a perfect choice to read on a coach trip. He is also the author of the critically acclaimed Lomax and Biggs Mysteries featuring LAPD Detectives Mike Lomax and Terry Biggs, who work homicide out of the Hollywood Division.

NYPD Red 7: The Murder Sorority

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.

The characters, setting, and action are all excellent in this book…The action is exciting, and as the story comes to a close, there are twists and turns that are unbelievably satisfying for any fan of crime thrillers. Karp does an excellent job of carrying on the NYPD Red series.” San Francisco Book Review (5 stars)Moving on… And the surprise that I alluded to in paragraph seven above is this… I actually enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. It was better than I expected. As a matter of fact, it was my favorite book in the entire series so far. For the first time, I am really looking forward to reading the next book in the series. That was a big surprise for me. This had been one of Patterson’s lesser series, but Karp somehow made it shine and seem fresh for the first time. In book one we meet a killer who is targeting those in the movie industry. From the beginning, we know who the killer is and why he is killing his victims, which he writes like a movie scene to play out in his head.