Review: NYPD Red 4 by James Patterson

Wednesday 27 January 2016
Title: NYPD Red 4
Author: James Patterson & Marshall Karp
Publisher: Century
Publication Date: 14th January 2016
Pages: 368
Source: Purchased
Rating: 4/5
Purchase: Amazon
A jewel heist. A murdered actress. A killer case for NYPD Red.

In a city where crime never sleeps, NYPD Red is the elite task force called in when a case involves the rich, famous and connected. Detectives Zach Jordan and Kylie MacDonald are the best of the best – brilliant and tireless investigators who will stop at nothing to catch a criminal, even if it means antagonising the same powerful people they're supposed to be helping.

When a glitzy movie premiere is the scene of a shocking murder and high-stakes robbery, NYPD Red gets the call. In a hunt that takes Zach and Kylie from celebrity penthouses to the depths of Manhattan's criminal underworld, they have to find the cold-blooded killer – before he strikes again.

NYPD Red 4 already? It seems like only yesterday that I read the first in the series and loved it. This is definitely one of my favourite series from the James Patterson machine. For those new to the series you can easily pick this up and read it standalone, but I am enjoying the character development of Zach Jordan and Kylie MacDonald and so highly recommend reading them in order.

As is always the case with James Patterson's crime series, his main characters aren't just up against one case. There's the murder of a high-profile actress and subsequent disappearance of some very expensive jewellery to solve, and whilst the mayor of New York wants that case solved yesterday, she also tells the duo that she wants them to find out who is stealing some incredibly expensive medical equipment as he husband's career is on the line over it. Politics in crime fiction (and their TV series equivalents) bores me to tears but the storylines themselves, politics aside, are both actually quite gripping. And, as if that wasn't enough Kylie's husband goes AWOL from rehab and the hunt is then on for her to find him as well as do her job at the same time.

For those not in the know Zach and Kylie are ex's and in the past Zach still harboured feelings for her. Now, anyone who has ever read a James Patterson novel before will know that the relationships his characters go through change like the weather which is an interesting observation to make when you consider that Patterson puts forward the plot, and his co-writer then writes the story. Alex Cross has been in love with about ten different woman after all and that series is written solo. This time around Zach is in love with Dr. Cheryl, even contemplating moving in with her. Dr. Cheryl, despite having a time-consuming job herself is far from happy at the time Zach puts in at work, despite the fact he's one of the most high-profile detectives in New York and despite the fact she keeps telling him it's fine. You don't need to be all that clever to realise what's really making Dr. Cheryl unhappy...

All that said you know what you are getting with a James Patterson novel and I have them read in no time at all, and immediately want to move on to the next one. They are a total guilty pleasure of mine. In fact, probably not all that guilty as I don't mind shouting about it. The storylines this time around had enough about them to keep me reading, and those short, sharp chapters kept the tension and intrigue going throughout until we reached that dramatic, tense and thrill-filled finale that Patterson's crime novels rarely fail to deliver. Four books in and this series looks as though it could run and run, just like those other two favourites of mine the Women's Murder Club and Michael Bennett. How about a crossover?

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