BOOK REVIEW: NYPD RED 4 BY JAMES PATTERSON AND MARSHALL KARP

Title: NYPD Red 4
Author: James Patterson and Marshall Karp
Genre: Mystery, thriller
Published on: January 25, 2016 by Little, Brown and Company

New York's most elite police force chases a ruthless murderer with an uncontrollable lust for money and blood.
It's another glamorous night in the heart of Manhattan: at a glitzy movie premiere, a gorgeous starlet dripping in millions of dollars' worth of jewelry makes her way past a horde of fans and paparazzi. But then there's a sudden loud noise, an even louder scream, and a vicious crime with millions of witnesses and no suspect.
Enter NYPD Red: the elite task force assigned to protect the rich and famous in the city where crime never sleeps. Detective Zach Jordan and his partner and former girlfriend, Kylie MacDonald, are the best that Red has to offer: brilliant and tireless investigators who will stop at nothing to crack a case, even if it means putting their own complicated lives on the back burner.
From celebrity penthouses to the depths of Manhattan's criminal underworld, Zach and Kylie are soon in hot pursuit of a cold-blooded killer with everything to lose, and millions to gain if he can just shake the detectives on his trail. With the city on edge, the mayor out of patience, and the flames of their personal relationship threatening to reignite and ruin everything, Zach and Kylie are facing down their worst fears-and their most dangerous enemy yet.

The latest case for the titular NYPD unit kicks off in dramatic fashion. A famous actress named Elena was riding a limousine expecting to arrive at the venue of her new movie premiere. She never makes it there, as a couple of thieves descend on her. Their target: an $8 million dollar diamond necklace around her neck. The theft goes awry, and Elena is shot to death. Shortly after, the book’s protagonists arrive at the scene. They’re Detectives Zach Jordan and Kylie MacDonald. After three books, they’ve become NYPD Red’s flagship investigators. And this case definitely will need the best that the NYPD has to offer. Not only is there a high-profile victim; there is virtually no evidence despite the thousands of eyewitnesses.

Zach and Kylie must brace themselves for long nights. For the latter that won’t be such a hardship. It’s Zach for whom the long hours may take their toll. There’s been a significant change in his life: Zach’s girlfriend Cheryl moved in with him. She’s the department’s shrink, and a gorgeous woman with Latino traits. Zach and Cheryl have been dating since NYPD Red 2. Living together is a huge step forward, though. The two spend most of this book trying to make it work. Unfortunately, the urgency of Elena’s case means Zach is rarely at his apartment. It doesn’t help when a different case lands on his and Kylie’s laps.

BOOK REVIEW: EMERGENCY CONTACT BY MARY H.K. CHOI

Title: Emergency Contact
Author: Mary H.K. Choi
Genre: Young Adult, romance

Published on: March 27, 2018 by Simon & Schuster

From debut author Mary H.K. Choi comes a compulsively readable novel that shows young love in all its awkward glory—perfect for fans of Eleanor & Park and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.

For Penny Lee, high school was a total nonevent. Her friends were okay, her grades were fine, and while she’d somehow landed a boyfriend, they never managed to know much about each other. Now Penny is heading to college in Austin, Texas, to learn how to become a writer. It’s seventy-nine miles and a zillion light years away from everything she can’t wait to leave behind.

Sam’s stuck. Literally, figuratively, emotionally, financially. He works at a café and sleeps there too, on a mattress on the floor of an empty storage room upstairs. He knows that this is the god-awful chapter of his life that will serve as inspiration for when he’s a famous movie director but right this second the seventeen bucks in his checking account and his dying laptop are really testing him.

When Sam and Penny cross paths it’s less meet-cute and more a collision of unbearable awkwardness. Still, they swap numbers and stay in touch—via text—and soon become digitally inseparable, sharing their deepest anxieties and secret dreams without the humiliating weirdness of having to, you know, see each other.

 

 

Lately (I’m writing this review in early 2021) I’ve been borrowing Kindle ebooks from my public library. I’ve never done it before because I like to buy my books. It’s why I haven’t subscribed to something like Kindle Unlimited. I don’t see the point, even though it'd be worth it for me seeing how many books I read every month. But the pandemic has hit me rather hard, like it has done to many people. So I’ve turned to borrowing ebooks, especially ones that I’m not 100% sure I’ll like. Did Emergency Contact turn out to be a good read?

This is an unconventional romance novel written by an Asian author. The main characters are Penny Lee, an Asian college freshman, and Sam Becker, an employee at a small restaurant. Their story takes place in Austin, Texas, one of my favorite cities. Penny is a highly memorable character: she’s incredibly smart yet rather socially inept. While I was reading, Penny felt a little bit like a Carrie Pilby kind of girl. I didn’t like Pilby, so I was apprehensive. I ended up liking Penny very much, way more than Carrie. Whereas Pilby was exasperating to me due to her cluelessness, Penny just felt adorable.

BOOK REVIEW: CITY OF GLASS BY CASSANDRA CLARE

Title: City of Glass

Author: Cassandra Clare

Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy

Published on: February 14, 2009 by Margaret K. McElderry Books

Love is a mortal sin, and the secrets of the past are deadly. Plunge into the third installment in the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series and “prepare to be hooked” (Entertainment Weekly).

To save her mother’s life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters—never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight.

As Clary uncovers more about her family’s past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadowhunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadowhunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he’s willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her newfound powers to help save the Glass City—whatever the cost?

Love is a mortal sin and the secrets of the past prove deadly as Clary and Jace face down Valentine in the third installment of bestselling series the Mortal Instruments.

 

Clary Fairchild and her friends return for another adventure in this third Mortal Instruments novel. This time, the story changes setting to Idris, the secret home country of the Shadowhunters. The previous two books were all set in New York. I like that the book finally introduces Idris. Clary wants to go there to find a certain warlock, Ragnor Fell. He knows how to wake up Jocelyn, her mother, from a self-induced magical sleep. For some reason, though, Jace doesn’t want Clary anywhere near Idris. He goes to great lengths to discourage her. I wondered what his deal was.

Jace decides to pull a fast one and get to Idris earlier than planned. The Institute is attacked at just that moment, though. A horde of Forsaken ambush the Shadowhunters. They manage to kill one of them and wound Simon before the group can Portal away. Clary is furious when she learns Jace and the others went away. Never mind that the Forsaken almost killed them all. Clary really doesn’t like being left behind. In a rash move, she uses her special rune power to open a new Portal. Luke only just manages to catch Clary when she goes through.

IT'S THE START OF A NEW BLOGGING YEAR

Good morning! It's been a little over a week since 2023 began. This means I'm back with more bookish posts. I took a hiatus these holidays to not only redesign Ivan's Insights, but also to fix a little mishap. That's all sorted out for the most part. There are a few non-book-related posts I didn't take the time to fix. This is the second year that Ivan's Insights will be exclusively a book blog. As usual, I will publish new book reviews every Wednesday morning.

This year, the only thing that's changing about Ivan's Insights is the design. I feel this look is quite more modern than the previous one. And it looks great as well, as it usually happens with this kind of stuff. I have a good eye for design, so I like it when websites/programs/apps get a flashier new look. I wonder for how many years I'll be able to touch up Ivan's Insights, though. Blogger is seriously lacking in good-looking blog themes. Maybe I'll have to migrate to Wordpress or something down the line.

That is all for today. As I said, there will be no major changes to my blog this year. I considered posting some book reviews in French, considering I'm fluent in the language. In the end, I decided not to. That's hardly a must have, and I strongly doubt I've had even one French-speaking visitor to this blog. My primary target audience is the U.S., where I am, after all. I do get a steady flow of visitors at least, but not as many as I'd wish for considering how long Ivan's Insights has been active. I hope this year that might change. If you're a regular visitor, I thank you for choosing to read my book reviews. I don't see myself stopping from reading books anytime soon, so the reviews will keep coming. Have a great day!

Ivan