Review: Sleepless City: A Nick Ryan Novel by Reed Farrel Coleman

NYPD Detective Nick Ryan has a mission in mind as Sleepless City: A Nick Ryan Novel begins. Ricky Corliss is a seriously bad dude and the city, even the entire planet, would be better off with him dead. Since nobody else is going to do it, Nick Ryan is going to do the job. He has a score to settle.

He is within seconds of achieving his goal when he is interrupted. In the aftermath, he has a new problem. A problem that is only barely solved by accepting the idea of working for those who interrupted his planned murder of Ricky Corliss.

It isn’t about staying a cop. It is about staying alive. If he works for them, he will have unlimited resources to address all sorts of problems. But, he will have to work the situations they assign him. They want results and expect them. Their agenda, whatever it might be, is not his own. They have made it clear that he is a tool that serves as a means to an end. They have many such tools.

The situations he will be expected to resolve will not be easy. Acting on their behalf might even get him killed. But, if he wants to live in New York, and not be on the run the rest of his life, he has no choice.

A complex character is introduced in this first book of a new series. Nick Ryan was shaped by war and is now a cop focused on his own moral code. In Sleepless City: A Nick Ryan Novel, there are no clear friends. There are a few clear enemies. Everybody else is a murky shade of grey and secrets are as rampant as the very air they all breathe.

Incredibly complicated and highly entertaining, Sleepless City: A Nick Ryan Novel by Reed Farrel Coleman is one of my favorite reads of the year. It very well might be yours too. I am sure it will be picking up awards. 

Strongly recommended.

 

In addition to a print ARC from the author, I also received the eBook ARC by way of NetGalley. There was no expectation of a review in either case.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2023