Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Sleepless City: A Nick Ryan Novel by Reed Farrel Coleman

Reed Farrel Coleman is the New York Times-bestselling author of 31 novels, short stories, poetry, and essays. He is a four-time Edgar Award nominee in three different categories: Best Novel, Best Paperback Original, and Best Short Story. He is a four-time recipient of the Shamus Award for Best PI Novel of the Year. He has also won the Audie, Macavity, Barry, and Anthony Awards.

Gus Murphy, one of his private investigators, is among my favorite contemporary PIs. With only two books so far, I am holding out hope that we will see more of him. In the meantime Coleman introduces a new character, Nick Ryan, in Sleepless City (Blackstone, 2023). Ryan is a New York police detective known for his ability to think on his feet and to stay calm under pressure. These traits are the reason he’s been chosen by an unnamed group to deal with apparently unsolvable problems within the police force.

His first assignment is to find a way to defuse an accidental shooting that will otherwise set a match to the powder keg of racial tensions in the city. While his fast thinking smoothed over the situation, an enthusiastic but inexperienced reporter could tell the full story had not been told and she focused on Ryan as the answer to her questions. She began to follow him and became enmeshed with his behind-the-scenes activity, to everyone’s dismay.

Another fine book from a skilled storyteller. Inventive plot, even pacing, original characters. I especially liked a couple of the secondary characters: The bartender on the run from the fallout of his participation in the Irish Troubles and the Pulitzer-winning journalist who is now running his own weekly newspaper. I am looking forward to the next in the series!

 

·         Publisher: ‎Blackstone Publishing, Inc. (July 11, 2023)

·         Language: ‎English

·         Hardcover: ‎321 pages

·         ISBN-10: ‎1982627476

·         ISBN-13: ‎978-1982627478 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3OMWXL0 

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2024 

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.

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