The Red Book

By: James Patterson, David Ellis

Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini

Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's Summary

The hero of the mega-best seller The Black Book returns in his toughest case ever. 

For Detective Billy Harney, getting shot in the head, stalked by a state’s attorney, and accused of murder by his fellow cops is a normal week on the job. ​So when a drive-by shooting on the Chicago's West Side turns political, he leads the way to a quick solve. But Harney's instincts - his father was once chief of detectives and his twin sister, Patti, is also on the force - run deep. 

As a population hungry for justice threatens to riot, he realizes that the three known victims are hardly the only casualties. When Harney starts asking questions about who's to blame, the easy answers prove to be the wrong ones. On the flip side, the less he seems to know, the longer he can keep his clandestine investigation going...until Harney's quest to expose the evil that's rotting the city from the inside out takes him to the one place he vowed never to return: his own troubled past.

©2021 James Patterson and David Ellis (P)2021 Little, Brown & Company

There’s always a book, a dirty cop & some stand-up

That’s not a bad thing though; it gives me confidence these cop procedurals will be consistently solid. And this was a solid listen, starting off with a standard gang homicide, but then devolving into a larger mystery and expanding the tangled politics of the Chicago cop, crime, and court systems.

There are several recurring themes from book 1: poor Billy can’t get a break and is pulled into yet another mystery with links to his past, the sordid business of drugs, prostitution and violence (trigger warning should be obvious at this point, but this book cuts deeper than the previous ones), and of course, there’s a dirty cop and another book. No worries, these aren’t spoilers; you’ll know who the dirty cop is within the first hour or so.

I do like how the dark is balanced with cop humor, the trash talking banter of the Harney cop family, and especially Billy Harney’s ba-dum-bump one liners and bad jokes that endear him to his fellow cops. Sadly missing is the humor connected to techie Edgar, who I was hoping would become a series regular. I am enjoying getting to know Billy, who reminds me of cop brother Frankie from Rizzoli & Isles. Also, narrator Ballerini’s accents are on full display as Chicahgo chawm is joined by Ukrainian smarm. Eventually, I bet these books could be heard in any order. But, I recommend you listen to book 1 first because this one not only picks up a few months after, but it tells you the whodunnits from book 1’s mystery. In fact, start with the currently free, scripted novella The Coldest Case, then book 1 Black Book, then dive in and enjoy this one.

Maybe a 4.25 or 4.5 star, but definitely the best James Patterson books I have read in a while.

It took me a little bit to get into it, but it actually turned into the best JP book I’ve read in awhile. Not high brow literature, but an entertaining read with interesting and compelling characters. I liked it!

Great Twist

Just love the character Billy Harney keeps you guessing until the end. Patty Harney is another great character you want to hate her but she’s so loyal to Billy you just can’t.

great

loved it James Patterson is my favorite author he keeps me guessing until the end

james Patterson is a favorite.

i enjoyed the story very much. i enjoy the twists and turns and character's relationships.

You had me at Edoardo Ballerini!!

I am really loving this series. I especially love that it's narrated by Edoardo Ballerini!
He's one of my favorites!
This series is really good and I am looking forward to future books!
Highly recommended!
Start with The Coldest Case #0.5
And then The Black Book#1

Not a fan of narrator, storyline inconsistency between other books in series

Good story and followup to The Black Book but...
1.not a fan of narrator, horrible imitation of characters voices that became insanely irritating to he after several hours
2. This book was released after the Audible original “The Coldest Case , a Black Book Drama. And they changed the name of the main characters daughter from Suzy to Janie.

Poor Billy. Can't catch a break.

New partner's a spy of some sort, finding Ukrainian KGB types might have killed his wife. What else can go wrong? Another excellent narration by what's-his-name.

Huuuhh? Missed a transition story

This is the second installment of the series The Black Book. Seems like it should be the 3rd or 4th. Frustrating that so much back story is crammed and inserted into this story. I looked back at the first book to see if I had missed anything. A shooting, a dead child, dirty cops being exposed and arrested and a suicide. A lot happened that I knew very little about or forgotten. Difficult to engage with when trying to remember or connect stories. Enjoyed the references to Chicago streets and neighborhoods.

A really great page turner

With the follow up to the red book,this keeps the action of the family non stop!Hard to put down! Great ending...! Thanks!