NYPD Red (Marshall Karp) Books in Order

The NYPD Red novels imagine a special unit inside the New York Police Department that exists purely to handle the city's most high profile crimes. When celebrities, billionaires, politicians or visiting dignitaries are threatened, this elite task force is the one that gets the call.

At the center of the series are Detectives Zach Jordan and Kylie MacDonald. Zach is methodical and principled, the kind of cop who still believes in playing by the rules. Kylie is bolder and more impulsive, a born street cop who trusts her instincts. They are former lovers, current partners and perpetual workaholics, which keeps their personal lives as tangled as their caseload.

The first book, NYPD Red, drops them into Hollywood on the Hudson, a film festival where a theatrical killer targets producers and actors with carefully staged attacks. In NYPD Red 2, a vigilante goes after people whose own crimes were never punished, leaving a wealthy woman displayed on a Central Park carousel in a Hazmat suit as the latest gruesome message. NYPD Red 3 pulls the detectives into the world of a powerful financier when his chauffeur is found decapitated and his son goes missing.

Later entries keep raising the stakes. NYPD Red 4 opens with an A list actress murdered on her way to a movie premiere and the jewel encrusted necklace she was wearing stolen in front of a crowd. While Zach and Kylie chase that case, they are also tasked with stopping a crew that is quietly stripping hospitals of high end medical equipment. In Red Alert, a bomb blasts through a charity gala for the city's richest donors, followed by the killing of a high profile filmmaker, hinting at a vendetta that could topple reputations well beyond the crime scene.

In the more recent books, Karp continues the series on his own. NYPD Red 6 turns a reality show wedding into a kidnapping nightmare when the bride disappears, leaving only a blood soaked wedding dress behind. NYPD Red 7: The Murder Sorority pits the team against a covert group of former soldiers who sell their services as killers for hire. NYPD Red 8 follows a bomber who strikes the city at 11:59, day after day, forcing Red to race the clock in the most literal way.

Short chapters, quick scene changes and cliffhanger endings keep the pace high, but the books spend time on the emotional cost of the job. Zach's relationships, Kylie's marriage and their unshakable loyalty to each other all evolve across the series. The cases may revolve around the elite, yet the detectives themselves are grounded, blue collar New Yorkers who roll their eyes at the excess even as they protect it.

Each novel stands on its own, so you can jump in wherever a particular premise grabs you, then circle back to fill the gaps. Readers who like to watch the characters grow usually start with NYPD Red and read straight through to the latest book, while others dip into topical plots like the gala bombing, the Murder Sorority assassins or the 11:59 bomber first.