NYPD Red

By: James Patterson, Marshall Karp

Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Jay Snyder

Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's Summary

It's the start of Hollywood on Hudson, and New York City is swept up in the glamour. Every night, the red carpet rolls out for movie stars arriving at premieres in limos; the most exclusive restaurants close for private parties for wealthy producers and preeminent directors; and thousands of fans gather with the paparazzi, hoping to catch a glimpse of the most famous and beautiful faces in the world. With this many celebrities in town, special task force NYPD Red is on high alert - and they can't afford to make a single mistake.

Then a world-renowned producer fatally collapses at his power breakfast, and top NYPD Red Detective Zach Jordan is the first one on the scene. Zach works with his beautiful new partner, Detective Kylie MacDonald - who also happens to be his ex-girlfriend - to discover who the murderer might be. But this is only the beginning: the most brutal, public, and horrifyingly spectacular crimes they've ever encountered are about to send all of New York into chaos, putting NYPD Red on the ropes.

Zach and Kylie know there's no way of telling what a killer this deranged will do next. With the whole world watching, they have to find a way to stop a psychopath who has scripted his finale down to the last explosive detail. With larger-than-life action, relentless speed, and white-knuckle twists, NYPD Red is the next mega-blockbuster from "The Man Who Can't Miss." (TIME)

©2012 James Patterson and Marshall Karp (P)2012 Hachette Audio

Strong Narration, formuliac and predictable story

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

If a friend was looking for a quick, easy read without any plot or character challenge, this would be an option.

15 of 15 people found this review helpful

one of the best, if not the best audio books ever

What did you love best about NYPD Red?

spellbinding and surprising

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

usually listen while driving and sat in my parking lot for the last 20 minutes because i did not want to wait for tomorrow to find out!

What about Edoardo Ballerini and Jay Snyder ’s performance did you like?

voices worked well together and voice inflections were fantastic

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

wish i could have but made returning to it even more enjoyable

26 of 27 people found this review helpful

Great cop story with a surprise ending

Would you listen to NYPD Red again? Why?

Maybe in a year or so, good story line great characters

What other book might you compare NYPD Red to and why?

Maybe Lucas Davenport and his crew, but more big city not many to compare with

What about Edoardo Ballerini and Jay Snyder ’s performance did you like?

They were both great, liked it alot, would listen to them again keep up the good work

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

We are a group of truck drivers we get 4-5 hours aday, but yes if we had the time

Any additional comments?

Great story and characters 1st class readers and a few twist and turns

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

Excellent Police Procedural...

I don't know why I never listened to much of James Patterson's books before. This one is written with Marshall Karp who I have never even heard of. Lucky for me Audible is running a sale and I thought for $4.95 how wrong could I go? With this well written police procedural and two great narrators )Eduardo Ballerini and Jay Snyder) makes this is a no brainer!
This book deals with a serial killer who has wanted to get into movies, acting or any aspect of the film industry. He has 10 years worth of rejection letters. Finally he looses it and begins killing people who are successful in front and behind the camera. One of the two detectives investigating this killer is married to a man in the movie business. I can't say anymore because I don't want to spoil this for anyone.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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Thank You.

16 of 17 people found this review helpful

The first Zach and Kylie novel!

Now 70 years old, James Patterson released his first novel in 1976. He and his coauthors now pump out one new book every 24 days on average and although Patterson's name is always listed first I personally doubt that he writes little if any of the books. Patterson is a talented author; His early self written books in the Alex Cross and Women's Murder Club series are 5 star thrillers. 12 of the books he wrote or coauthored have become movies or TV series. Today it is best to think of Patterson more as a trademark than an author. (This is not unique to Patterson. For example when Tom Clancy was alive he did the same thing.)

The problem with buying James Patterson coauthored books is that the quality is highly variable. NYPD RED is coauthored by Marshall Karp and it is an outstanding 4 novel series (soon to be 5). NYPD RED is the first novel in the series and it is the weakest novel in the series (yes I know that it's average rating is 4.4 stars at Amazon and the book deserves the high rating, but the other novels in the series are even better). Detectives Zach and Kylie are great characters. The novels are fast paced and suspenseful. The narration of the audio books is outstanding.

I highly recommend the NYPD RED series.

12 of 13 people found this review helpful

GOOD BOOK

This is first book by this author I've ever read. It grabbed my attention right away, which I love. The story had everything I like. The story is compelling, interesting, and suspenseful. It has something for everyone. I'm just sorry I've waited so long to read a book by this author.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Like watching an uninspired cop tv show

James Patterson wrote a few of the great thrillers in his day. The first few Alex Cross books changed the landscape when it came to suspense. Since then he has figured out how to churn out best sellers while partnering with other authors, using his name to rake in the bucks. I still have enjoyed some these dual authorship endeavors, but NYPD is not one of those. Maybe I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed, one star is pretty harsh, but I expect more from someone that has delivered in the past.

Why I don't like NYPD Red:
Character development - minimal. This is a new series, but the primary characters are as thin as paper.
Plot - Kind of screwy. The story has the archetype Patterson bad guy killer. This is a copy of characters he has written many times in the past. So its nothing new. And the actions he takes are pretty far fetched.
Writing style - Got to admire Patterson's taught simple style. It moves like a fast river. But its also low brow. To make this style work, it needs to convey both characters and plot. Without those, the style is just an exercise.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Incredible. Are you kidding?

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Someone who can completely suspend their sense of reality, to believe that the NYPD would let 2 individuals handle such an important matter with virtually no support or oversight.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Hard to say.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Pick another book.

What character would you cut from NYPD Red?

The two leads.

Any additional comments?

Nope.

8 of 9 people found this review helpful

Yeah… Taut As A J-Lo Dress

Too often big-foot writers outsource something to smaller-shoe collaborators and the results read like a camel instead of a horse. Not here. I don't know how much of this is Marshall Karp's doing but the mix WORKS!

Zack Jordan and Kylie MacDonald are tugged and fit together like Jennifer Lopez's red-carpet outfits. The plot in NYPD Red's like a NASCAR engine… purring at warp speed yet quietly and confidently. This will be a new series, right? Got to be.

BTW, don't know the story about the two readers or which is which but it seemed that a substitution was made about 80% of the way in. The replacement carried the ball to score.

Here's what I want in an Audible mystery/thriller…characters, plot-driven AND driving action, and a puzzle that's intelligently solved at the end. Oh, and a buzz of sexual tension's a useful blob of epoxy to hold my attention. NYPD Red's got it all.

MORE! MORE!

15 of 18 people found this review helpful

Never Been So Happy to for a Book to End

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

There are some decent action sequences if you can completely suspend your disbelief.

What was most disappointing about James Patterson and Marshall Karp ’s story?

The characters were wafer thin. There was nothing unique or interesting about any of them especially the cops. There was not much of a story, just a lot of contrived action and corny dialogue. There were so many things that people did that made no sense whatsoever it was laughable. I have liked most of Patterson's books in the past, but this was totally amateurish.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

Having separate narrators perform each side of the story worked well. I found the person reading for the killer to be quite good. The other narrator had a tough time with voice for the female lead.

What character would you cut from NYPD Red?

I would like to cut the two lead cops from the story and start over. I found them unlikeable and boring. I could really care less what happened to them at the end.

Any additional comments?

I have never written an online review in my life, but this book is so bad I just had to give my opinion this time.

13 of 16 people found this review helpful