Don't Tell Me How to Die by Marshall Karp

 

First Line: At six-feet eight, three-hundred and sixty pounds, Irv Hollingsworth was not only the biggest TV weatherman in Heartstone, New York, his larger-than-life personality and his flair for showmanship had made him the most popular in the county.

At the age of forty-three, Maggie Dunn has it all: a fantastic husband, two great kids, and an exciting career as mayor of her hometown. Then the ax falls. A rare genetic blood disease will kill her before her next birthday.

Maggie's mother also died of the same illness, and when Maggie was seventeen, her mother warned her about the women who would surround her suddenly single father. Those women did, and one of them almost destroyed him, Maggie, and her sister. 

Maggie is not about to let that happen to her family. In the three months she has left, Maggie will spend every second searching for the perfect woman to take her place, and she will do whatever it takes to find her.

~

I became a fan of Marshall Karp after reading his Lomax & Biggs books. Karp then went on to team up with James Patterson in the NYPD Red series. I was happy to see him back with a solo title, Don't Tell Me How to Die, and this fast-paced tale certainly does not disappoint.

Maggie Dunn is a woman who knows how to get things done. She knows how to succeed. She has a younger sister and friends who will support her no matter what. She's been living with the threat of a rare genetic blood disease hanging over her, so when she's told she only has three months to live, she knows what she has to do.

I love Marshall Karp's writing style. Each chapter is headed by how much time is left before Maggie's funeral, and that adds urgency to the story. There are also laugh-out-loud moments that can catch readers off guard, and if you're a fan of plot twists, you'll love the ones in in this book. 

Maggie is a force of nature, and although I ultimately did not like her, I did like her absolute honesty. I couldn't stop following her every move. If you're a fan of fast-paced books filled with twists and turns and an indomitable main character, pick up a copy of Marshall Karp's Don't Tell Me How to Die.

Don't Tell Me How to Die by Marshall Karp

ASIN: ‎ B0D7W4DZMR

Blackstone Publishing © 2025

eBook, 320 pages

Standalone Thriller

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley

Terminal by Marshall Karp

First Line: The Prius idled in total silence.

Detective Mike Lomax and his girlfriend are enjoying their sojourn as surrogate parents. Precocious eight-year-old Sophie is a joy, and it's going to be tough for Mike to give the little girl back to her mother, who's gone to China to be with her own, dying, mother. 

What he's not enjoying is waiting for his doctor to come in and give him a prostate exam, but he's "saved" by the sound of a shotgun blast. Grabbing his gun and running down the hall with his bare behind in full view due to his open-backed exam gown, Mike is just in time to witness the owner of the shotgun commit suicide while standing over the body of the doctor he's killed.

When Lomax and his partner Terry Biggs begin investigating, evidence leads them to the fact that someone is recruiting terminally ill people to commit murder before they die-- with a lot of cash going to the loved ones they leave behind. Now all the two detectives have to do is find out who's behind it all-- and why.

It's been a long six years since the last Lomax and Biggs mystery, and I have to admit to doing a little happy dance when I discovered the existence of Terminal.  Although it's understandable that Marshall Karp would want to partner with James Patterson in the highly successful NYPD Red series, he's created two police detectives that I just can't get enough of.

Karp always seems to come up with an ingenious mystery. In Terminal, we know the identity of the killers and why they've signed up as hit men, but we still need to know who's behind it all and why this person wants it done. Karp skillfully joins the personal to the professional in such a way that readers feel invested in the story; they're not just armchair sleuths trying to solve the crime before the heroes do. Mike Lomax not only has Sophie in his life at this time, the terminally ill killers remind him painfully of his wife who lost her own battle with cancer. He's also worried about the extra blood work his doctor has insisted upon. All this makes him a bit crankier than longtime fans have ever seen him. Did it bother me? Not in the slightest. These things would make most humans a bit irritable.

Karp sprinkles his character fairy dust not only on Lomax and Biggs, but on those terminally ill killers as well. I felt real empathy for them-- and I also wondered what I would do if faced with identical circumstances. 

When you read one of Marshall Karp's Lomax and Biggs mysteries, you're going to get a puzzler of a crime, a fast pace, laugh-out-loud humor, and some wonderfully drawn characters that stick in your mind long after you've finished reading the books. Terminal is an excellent addition to the series, but I do have one request of the author: 

Please don't make me wait another six years before your next Lomax and Biggs book!
    

Terminal by Marshall Karp

eISBN: 9781523821006
Mesa Films, Inc. © 2016
eBook, 262 pages

Police Procedural/Humorous, #5 Lomax and Biggs mystery
Rating: A
Source: Purchased from Amazon. 


 

Cut, Paste, Kill by Marshall Karp

First Line: She scraped the salmon croquettes from her dinner plate into the cats' bowl.

When a diplomat's wife who's responsible for the death of a little boy turns up dead on the bathroom floor of a Hollywood hotel, it's not just murder, it's art. Along with the scissors sticking out of the dead woman's body, detectives Mike Lomax and Terry Biggs find a beautifully done scrapbook which contains a motive for vengeance.

Then more bodies turn up, each with his or her own scrapbook. It's clear that Mike and Terry are hunting a vigilante stalking unpunished criminals. They have to decode these scrapbooks fast-- before someone else gets cut, pasted, and killed.

When it comes to the too-brief Lomax and Biggs mystery series, you can always count on dialogue that snap-crackle-pops, and plenty of wit to make you laugh out loud. Team that with a smooth fast pace and a firecracker of a mystery, and you've got a book that won't let you go until you turn the last page. 

This is Mike and Terry's show, but that doesn't keep other characters from hogging the limelight. Mike's dad, Big Jim Lomax, is a law unto himself, and if you've got any sense, you won't eat one of Big Jim's Famous Cajun Cows on a Bun. Let his son Mike tell you why: "The last time I ate one of your burgers it burned the hair right off my chest. From the inside. Hold the Cajun on ours." See what I mean? I think I'll pass. I like spicy, not incendiary.

In this fourth book, Mike learns a side to his personality that he never knew he had, and it's all due to a little girl named Sophie. If Sophie can't charm you, no one can. Trust me. I'm not necessarily child friendly, but Sophie turned me into a believer.

I do need to temper my Lomax and Biggs Admiration Society tribute just a bit though. I did find that the final mile to the killer stretched the rubber band of my credulity until I got snapped on the end of my nose. What did I do when that happened and I was faced with a few too many plot twists? I dove right back in. If you're in the mood for funny, fast, and mysterious, you can't go wrong with Lomax and Biggs. You're in the mood? Good! Do you have to start at the beginning with The Rabbit Factory? Technically, no. But if you love to laugh as much as I do, why deny yourself? 

Cut, Paste, Kill by Marshall Karp

ISBN: 9780312378226

Minotaur Books © 2010

Hardcover, 304 pages

Police Procedural/Humorous Mystery

#4 Lomax and Biggs mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Book Outlet


 

January 2014 New Mystery Releases!

How many of you have gift cards burning holes in your pockets, wallets, or on your desks? I have to admit that I have one burning a hole in my inbox, so perhaps I can help us all make our book-buying decisions by listing my crime fiction picks for new January releases.

All the books I've chosen are grouped by their release dates, and I've included all the information you'll need to find them at all your favorite book procurement sites. All book synopses are courtesy of Amazon because it's one of my favorite places to do a little showrooming.

Happy Reading!

=== January 7 ===

Title: Eggs in a Casket

Author: Laura Childs

#5 in the cozy Cackleberry Club series set in a small fictional Midwest town

ISBN: 9780425255582

Publisher: Berkley

Hardcover, 336 pages

Synopsis: "While Petra handles the breakfast rush at the Cackleberry Club, the café’s other two owners, Suzanne and Toni, head to Memorial Cemetery to help prepare for its 150th anniversary celebration. But as they search the winding paths for the historical society tent, they discover something else out of place: the body of ex-prison warden Lester Drummond lying facedown in someone else’s freshly dug grave.

In the small town of Kindred, everyone knows everyone, and Lester was no exception. Suzanne knew him as the creepy guy who made unwanted advances on her friend Missy Langston. But now it appears the man was hiding a few secrets…and at least one of them was worth killing for.

As the case cracks open, there are plenty of suspects to consider—from recent parolees to Missy herself, who Suzanne and Toni saw speeding away just before they found the body. Now, with a cemetery celebration in the offing, and the local authorities in over their heads, it’s up to the Cackleberry Club to unscramble the clues and clear their friend’s name."

Title: Murder Sends a Postcard

Author: Christy Fifield

#3 in the cozy Haunted Souvenir Shop series set in Florida

ISBN: 9780425252291

Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime

Mass Market Paperback, 288 pages

Synopsis: "It’s the height of summer tourist season and Glory Martine is busier than ever running her souvenir shop, Southern Treasures. The shop’s parrot, Bluebeard, is becoming quite the celebrity among tourists—little do they realize he’s the bird-host to a ghost…

Residents of Keyhole Bay, Florida, are dismayed when Bridget McKenna, an auditor in chic attire, arrives to assess the local bank’s shady dealings. Curious about the new arrival, Glory brings dinner to Bridget at her temporary residence—the notorious Bayvue Estates, a halted development complex with no view and no estates – just a couple of hastily-completed model homes .

Bridget’s assignment is to figure out where all the money went. But someone wants to keep her in the dark permanently. When Glory finds out her new friend won’t be leaving town alive, she knows she and Bluebeard will have to catch a killer and unravel a financial scandal before it leads to more murderous mayhem…" 

Title: The Fire Dance

Author: Helene Tursten

#6 in the Detective Inspector Irene Huss series set in Sweden

ISBN:  9781616950101

Publisher: Soho Crime

Hardcover, 336 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "Detective Inspector Irene Huss hasn’t seen Sophie Malmborg for over fifteen years, but she’s still haunted by the strange young ballerina’s role in the fire that killed her stepfather. Why had she refused to speak to Irene and the other case workers? Could an eleven-year-old—even one as disturbed and aloof as Sophie—truly capable of setting her own house on fire?

Irene’s questions resurface fifteen years later, when Sophie disappears, and the charred remains of a dancer are found in an abandoned warehouse. Irene has a startling realization that could shed light on the case that has been lingering in the back of her mind since the beginning of her career."

Title: Tapestry of Lies

Author: Carol Ann Martin

#2 in the cozy Weaving Mysteries series set in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.

ISBN:  9780451413611

Publisher: Signet

Mass Market Paperback, 336 pages

Synopsis: "Della Wright can’t believe her luck when celebrity designer Bunny Boyd walks into her weaving studio in small-town Briar’s Hollow, North Carolina, with a large custom fabric order. Bunny needs materials for her latest design project: Bernard Whitby’s mansion. Bernard is Briar Hollow’s resident millionaire, and Della soon discovers that Bunny has designs on the man as well as his house. And he’s happy to have a celebrity at his side when he announces his candidacy for governor.

But the buzz surrounding Bernard’s announcement is quickly overshadowed by the murder of a local coffee shop owner. When her good friend Jenny becomes one of the suspects, Della decides to unravel the mystery. But she’ll have to work fast—before she gets tangled in a killer’s clutches."

Title: Zero-Degree Murder

Author: M.L. Rowland 

#1 in the Search and Rescue series set in southern California

ISBN: 9780425263662

Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime

Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages

Synopsis: "As a volunteer for Timber Creek Search and Rescue, missing out on holiday festivities is nothing new to Gracie. After all, disasters don’t stop happening because of a cooked turkey. So when Gracie is called out on Thanksgiving for four hikers missing in the wilderness of Southern California, she packs up her gear and heads out to find them.

The mission quickly goes from routine to deadly. An early season blizzard sets in. The one missing person the team does find, famous actor Rob Christian, remembers being attacked by someone else on the trail, someone trying to kill him. And Gracie’s partner leaves to get backup, taking the radio—their only link to the outside world—with him.

Alone in the mountains, Gracie will have to use all her expertise to keep Rob alive. But with an unknown killer lurking somewhere in the dark, even that might not be enough to save them…"

=== January 13 ===

Title: NYPD Red 2

Authors: Marshall Karp and James Patterson

#2 in the thriller NYPD Red series set in New York City

ISBN:  9780316211239

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Hardcover, 416 pages

Synopsis: "When NYPD Red arrives at a crime scene, everyone takes notice. Known as the protectors of the rich, famous, and connected, NYPD Red is the elite task force called in only for New York City's most high-profile crimes. And Detective Zach Jordan is the best of the best, a brilliant and relentless pursuer of justice. He puts professionalism above all, ignoring his feelings for his partner, Detective Kylie McDonald, the woman who broke his heart when they first met in the academy.

But even with their top-notch training, Zach and Kylie aren't prepared for what they see when they're called to a crime scene in the heart of Central Park. They arrive to find a carousel spinning round and round, its painted horses grinning eerily in the early morning dark. There is only one rider: a brutally slaughtered woman, her body tied up and dressed in a Hazmat suit, on display for the world to see.

The victim, a woman of vast wealth and even greater connections, is the fourth in a string of shocking murders that have hit the city. As the public pressure mounts, and political and personal secrets of the highest order hang in the balance, Zach and Kylie must find out what's really behind the murderer's rampage. But Kylie has been acting strange recently--and Zach knows whatever she's hiding could threaten the biggest case of their careers."

=== January 14 ===

Title: The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches

Author: Alan Bradley

#6 in the Flavia de Luce series set in 1950s England

ISBN: 9780385344050

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Hardcover, 336 pages

Synopsis: "On a spring morning in 1951, eleven-year-old chemist and aspiring detective Flavia de Luce gathers with her family at the railway station, awaiting the return of her long-lost mother, Harriet. Yet upon the train’s arrival in the English village of Bishop’s Lacey, Flavia is approached by a tall stranger who whispers a cryptic message into her ear. Moments later, he is dead, mysteriously pushed under the train by someone in the crowd. Who was this man, what did his words mean, and why were they intended for Flavia? Back home at Buckshaw, the de Luces’ crumbling estate, Flavia puts her sleuthing skills to the test. Following a trail of clues sparked by the discovery of a reel of film stashed away in the attic, she unravels the deepest secrets of the de Luce clan, involving none other than Winston Churchill himself. Surrounded by family, friends, and a famous pathologist from the Home Office—and making spectacular use of Harriet’s beloved Gipsy Moth plane, Blithe Spirit—Flavia will do anything, even take to the skies, to land a killer."

Title: The Poisoned Island

Author: Lloyd Shepherd

Follow-up book to The English Monster, set in 18th and 19th century Tahiti and England

ISBN: 9781476712864

Publisher: Washington Square Press

Paperback, 416 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "Tahiti 1769. English sailors arrive on the shores of the Polynesian paradise— a place of staggering beauty where magic and ancient myths still hold sway. But they soon devastate the island with disease, war, and death, planting deadly seeds that will be carried back to England forty years later.

London 1812. On a gray June morning, the Solander docks, her hold containing hundreds of exotic plants from Tahiti for the King’s Gardens at Kew. The apparently successful expedition soon takes a horrifying— and inexplicable—turn: The crew of the Solander starts dying one by one. Thames River Police Chief Charles Horton can find no signs of murder or suicide to explain the deaths, and the ship’s surviving crew seems intent on hampering his investigation. When one of the plants begins to show frightening changes, it is up to Charles Horton to determine how it might be stopped." 

=== January 16 ===

Title: A Song for the Dying

Author: Stuart MacBride

#2 in the police procedural Ash Henderson series set in Scotland

ISBN: 9780007344314

Publisher: HarperCollins

Paperback, 528 pages

Synopsis: "A heart-stopping crime thriller from the author of three consecutive No. 1 bestsellers, including Birthdays for the Dead and the DI Logan McRae series. He's back...Eight years ago, 'The Inside Man' murdered four women and left three more in critical condition - all of them with their stomachs slit open and a plastic doll stitched inside. And then the killer just ...disappeared. Ash Henderson was a Detective Inspector on the initial investigation, but a lot can change in eight years. His family has been destroyed, his career is in tatters, and one of Oldcastle's most vicious criminals is making sure he spends the rest of his life in prison. Now a nurse has turned up dead on a patch of waste ground, a plastic doll buried beneath her skin, and it looks as if Ash might finally get a shot at redemption. At earning his freedom. At revenge."

=== January 21 ===

Title: Bad Wolf

Author: Nele Neuhaus

#6 in the police procedural Von Bodenstein and Kirchhoff series set in the Tanus Mountain region of Germany 

ISBN: 9781250043993

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Hardcover, 416 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "On a hot June day, the body of a sixteen-year-old girl washes up on a riverbank outside of Frankfurt. She has been brutally murdered and shows signs of long-term abuse, but no one comes forward with any information as to her identity. Even weeks later, the local police have not been able to find out who she is. Then a new case comes in: A popular television host is attacked, raped, and locked in the trunk of her own car. She survives, barely, and is able to supply only vague hints to the police, having to do with her recent investigations into an organization whose members are from the highest echelons of society, and the potential uncovering of a shocking history they’d prefer to keep from the public eye. 

As the two cases collide, Inspectors Pia Kirchhoff and Oliver von Bodenstein dig deep into the past and underneath the veneer of bourgeois society to come up against a terrible secret that is about to impact their personal lives as well. It is almost too late for a person very close to Pia before she and Oliver finally track down the big bad wolf. . . ."

Title: The Ways of Evil Men
Author: Leighton Gage
#7 (and last) in the police procedural Chief Inspector Mario Silva series set in Brazil
ISBN: 9781616952723
Publisher: Soho Crime
Hardcover, 304 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "The Awana tribe, who live in the remote Amazon jungle in the Brazilian state of Pará, have dwindled to only 41 members—and now 39 of them have dropped dead of what looks like poison. The neighboring white townsfolk don’t seem to be mourning the genocide much—in fact, the only person who seems to care at all is Jade Calmon, the official tribal relations agent assigned to the area. She wants justice for the two survivors, a father and his 8-year-old son. But racism is deeply entrenched and no one is going to help her get to the truth.

Unfortunately, this is far from the first time the Brazilian federal police have had a tribal genocide to investigate. Chief Inspector Mario Silva and his team are sent in from Brasilia to try to solve the increasingly complex case just as a local white man is discovered murdered. Someone has done their best to frame the surviving Awana man, and the town is about to erupt."

=== January 28 ===

Title: Beyond Belief

Author: Helen Smith 

#4 in the Emily Castle series set in England

ISBN: 9781477849729

Publisher: Thomas and Mercer

Paperback, 230 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "When famed psychic Perspicacious Peg predicts a murder will occur at England’s Belief and Beyond conference, her science-minded colleagues recruit twenty-six-year-old budding sleuth Emily Castles to attend the event as a “future crimes investigator.” The suspected victim: celebrated magician Edmund Zenon, who plans to perform a daring stunt at the conference—and is offering fifty thousand pounds to any attendee who can prove that the paranormal exists.

In the seaside town of Torquay, Emily meets a colorful cast of characters: dramatic fortune-teller Madame Nova; kindly Bobby Blue Suit and his three psychic dachshunds; Sarah and Tim Taylor, devastated parents mourning their late son; and religious cult members Hilary, Trina, and the Colonel. Tensions rise as believers in science, the supernatural, and the spiritual clash with one another. But once a body count begins, Emily must excuse herself from the séances and positivity circles, and use old-fashioned detective work to find the killer."



Lots of good books being released in January. Which ones will you add to your reading lists?

As for me, I have to admit that I almost don't want to read The Ways of Evil Men. I have loved Leighton Gage's series since the very first book, and it saddens me to know that there will be no more.

Flipping Out by Marshall Karp

First Line: There were five detectives at our Sunday debriefing.

Bestselling crime fiction author Nora Bannister has stumbled across a surefire money maker. She buys a dirt-cheap house in Los Angeles and writes a book about someone being murdered-- in that exact house-- while her business partners work their fannies off to turn it into a showplace. When the house goes on the market, buyers fall all over themselves bidding to own it. Only in LA, right?

When two of Bannister's business partners are murdered, the LAPD doesn't know which angle to investigate. You see, both of the murder victims are also the wives of police officers. Is the killer after house flippers or cops' wives? Whichever angle is the correct one, Lomax and Biggs have to find the killer and find him fast because the next logical target is Marilyn Biggs, Terry's wife-- and she's one of the flippers.

Sometimes I just want to laugh while I read about murder and mayhem, and when I do, I know that all I have to do is pick up one of Marshall Karp's Lomax and Biggs mysteries. The mystery is a genuine headscratcher, but most of the fun lies not in deducing the killer's identity, but in enjoying Karp's humor as he has a go at bestselling authors, the real estate business, interfering fathers, and life in Los Angeles. By targeting Terry Biggs' wife, Karp ratchets up the tension because, by extension, readers will wonder if that puts Mike Lomax's girlfriend in danger, too. These two homicide detectives certainly know how to make me laugh, so it's no secret that I don't want anything happening to their womenfolk.

If you're in the mood for a belly laugh or two (or three or...) while you're trying to identify a killer, you can't go wrong by picking up a Lomax and Biggs mystery. Marshall Karp is a master at creating fast-paced, suspenseful mysteries that will have you laughing so hard that the people around you will annoy the stuffing out of you by constantly interrupting: "What's so funny? Hey... read it to me. I want to know why you're laughing so much!"

Flipping Out by Marshall Karp

ISBN: 9780312378219

Minotaur Books © 2009

Hardcover, 304 pages

Police Procedural, Humorous Mystery

#3 Lomax and Biggs mystery

Rating: A-

Source: The author 

Bloodthirsty by Marshall Karp

First Line: Roger and Aggie held hands as they watched the kid bleed out.

Detectives Mike Lomax and Terry Biggs are still basking in the glow of solving the murders which occurred in The Rabbit Factory. In fact they've been approached by someone who wants to turn the investigation into a movie. Since Terry has three daughters who want to go to college, they agree to meet with a big-time producer at a red carpet event. Mogul Barry Gerber is a no-show that night, but he does show up in a garbage can the next day. So instead of talking Barry into financing a movie, Lomax and Biggs get to find his killer.

Two days later the prime suspect in Gerber's death is also found dead-- by exactly the same means. Since both of the deceased were widely despised within the Hollywood community the suspect list is huge. Lomax and Biggs need to find the motive in order to find the killer.

I fell in love with Marshall Karp's writing and with his sense of humor from the moment I began reading The Rabbit Factory, and my love affair has only deepened with Bloodthirsty. I've always been a fan of humorous mysteries and had been wild about Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum books. But after reading the same plot with the same characters that never grew or changed, I stopped reading Evanovich quite a while ago. Thank heavens I discovered Marshall Karp's Lomax and Biggs! My warped sense of humor is finally off its starvation diet.

Karp has plenty from which to draw his humor: the police, the fire department, the morgue, the hospital, and-- last but not least-- Hollywood. Since I come from a long line of farmers and sailors, and I worked with the public for well over a quarter of a century, I have to say that Karp had my funny bone lit up like a pinball machine throughout the book.

What's marvelous is that Bloodthirsty isn't just funny. The characters are well drawn. Mike Lomax still grieves over the death of his wife, but he stopped wallowing and is making changes. Terry Biggs' life in a house filled with females is a riot (and I feel a bit of pity for him, too). Even minor characters have a depth to them that you normally only see with characters "above the title."

The pacing of the plot was swift and sure. As I read, I'd occasionally come up for air and be amazed at how much I'd read in a short period of time. Karp can really suck you into his story. And just when I thought I knew where the plot was headed, it did a 180, gave me a surprise or two, and left me in delight.

If your sense of humor needs a good meal, set it down to a selection of books written by Marshall Karp. You'll know how grateful it is by how hard you laugh.

Bloodthirsty by Marshall Karp

ISBN: 9781596922884
MacAdam/Cage Publishing © 2008
Paperback, 377 pages

Police Procedural, Humorous Mystery, #2 in the  Lomax and Biggs series
Rating: A
Source: Paperback Swap

NYPD Red by James Patterson and Marshall Karp

First Lines: FADE IN:
                 INT. KITCHEN--- REGENCY HOTEL,
                 NEW YORK CITY--- DAY

Beginning this book with directions from a screenplay is quite fitting: New York City is geared up for Hollywood on the Hudson Week, a time to lure as many Hollywood directors and producers as possible to spend all their money on filming in the Big Apple. This is a week when the city's special task force, NYPD Red, is on full alert. (The actual name of the task force is the High-Profile Victims Response Team, but the mayor knows that moniker-- strongly reminiscent of "the 47 Percent" remarks-- would be politically damaging.)

NYPD Red Detective Zach Jordan is first on the scene when a world-renowned producer drops  dead at his power breakfast. He's accompanied by his new partner, Detective Kylie MacDonald, who just happens to be his ex-girlfriend. They've barely begun their investigation when more Hollywood figures begin to bite the dust in ever more bizarre and public ways. Somehow Zach and Kylie are going to have to get ahead of a psychopath who's scripted his reign of terror down to the last detail. If they don't, it's going to mean a high body count and a city on the verge of chaos.

I'm probably one of the last people on the planet who's never read a James Patterson novel. To be quite honest I wasn't even tempted until one of my favorite writers, Marshall Karp, teamed up with him for this book. Patterson himself has said of Karp's Lomax and Biggs series: "Marshall Karp is the only writer I know who can get big laughs out of murdering someone," and I can definitely see Karp's wonderful sense of humor throughout NYPD Red.

If you're the type of reader who prefers deep, philosophical novels, I don't think you're going to want to pick up this one. However, if you're a reader who thoroughly enjoys a high octane thriller with lots of chases, explosions, a villain who's a master of disguise, and good-looking heroes who always have snappy dialogue at their command, this is most definitely the book for you. No, it doesn't break any new ground, but these two writers know how to work magic with a standard plot.

How do they do it? By that dialogue I've already mentioned, and by setting such a rapid pace that it's difficult to catch your breath. They also do it by creating memorable characters, and I'm not just talking about über competitors Zach and Kylie. Even characters with bit parts like desk sergeant Bob McGrath, the "black Quentin Tarantino" and Captain Delia Cates shine brightly. Karp and Patterson both know that you can have the best plot in the world, but if it's not peopled with interesting characters then that wonderful plot's just a waste of time.

If, like me, there are times when you want to pick up a book and just have fun, let me recommend NYPD Red.

NYPD Red by James Patterson and Marshall Karp

ISBN: 9780316199865
Little, Brown and Company © 2012

Hardcover, 400 pages

Thriller

Rating: B+

Source: Publicist

Scene of the Crime with Author Marshall Karp!

I love mysteries that have great characters and plots, and if they also make me laugh, well... that's just icing on the cake. When I read The Rabbit Factory, I discovered that author Marshall Karp could deliver my favorite two-ingredient cake with plenty of icing. This man has written commercials, TV sitcoms, a play, a movie, and six novels. I'm going to have to check out the rest of his work because if it's even remotely like The Rabbit Factory, I have something very pleasurable to look forward to.

I love the series of emails we had when I asked Marshall if he would do an interview for Kittling: Books. I wasn't in the best of moods when I received his reply, and I misunderstood his humor. Once I got myself straightened out and back to my usual chipper self, I decided to turn this into Marshall Karp Week. Today we have the interview; Tuesday you'll be able to read my review of NYPD Red which Marshall co-authored with someone named... let me check... James Patterson? And Thursday I'll be reviewing another Lomax and Biggs mystery, Bloodthirsty. It's great for me to be able to share my enjoyment with all of you.

Marshall Karp

As usual I've rounded up a few links because I really hope you'll want to learn even more about this talented man:

Marshall's website

Marshall on Facebook

Marshall on Twitter

Marshall on Goodreads

I can't wait to share this interview with you! I hope it makes you laugh just as much as I did. Let's get to it!

What was the very first book you remember reading and loving? What makes that book so special?

The Buddy books.  We couldn’t afford books when I was growing up, but even before I got my first library card, I somehow scored a bunch of hand-me-downs — all of them “boy books.”  Buddy was my first series.

Your question took me way, way back in time, and since I barely remember what I had for lunch, I decided not to trust my childhood memories for details about the series.  So I did some research online.  The 21 Buddy books were written by Howard Garis and published by Cupples and Leon between 1929 and 1947.




In the words of the publisher:

The author presents a distinctly modern juvenile series of stories for boys. Here we observe a really fascinating character study of an up-to-date young lad, whose exceedingly energetic mind, and whose overflowing youth and vitality, are constantly leading him into new and more tangled situations, from which by wit, courage and luck, he manages to extricate himself in safety. You will more than like Buddy with his carefree ways, his cheerful smile, his boundless enthusiasm, and his overflowing youth. Buddy is certain to linger in your memory long after you have finished these stories.

They certainly nailed it because Buddy has lingered in my memory my entire life.  There were three other series I was hooked on.  Baseball Joe, The X Bar X Boys, and, of course, The Hardy Boys.

What makes them so special is that they were all character driven.  The plot did not drive the book.  I mean, how different is Buddy on the Farm from Buddy and His Winter Fun or Buddy at Rainbow Lake?

For me, it was all about reconnecting with a hero I knew and loved.  I carried that feeling with me when I wrote for television and in writing my murder mysteries.  People respond to characters.  It could be love or hate or any other appropriate human emotion, but people come back to a book series (or a TV series) because they are looking for a predictable emotional experience.  Buddy was the first of many series to give me that kind of connection.


Outside of your writing and all associated commitments, what do you like to do in your free time?

I like to waste time.  It’s a luxury most people deny themselves.  Who has time to waste?  But I have found that wasting time can be very rewarding and very productive, especially if you’re a writer.  I’m not saying I do nothing.  I just manage to find a lot of distractions — sometimes enlightening, but almost always entertaining.  Sometimes I’ll waste my time writing something that doesn’t have to be written and send it to just a friend or two.  Their usual response is, “It must be nice to have this much free time on your hands.”  The reality is, I don’t have any free time.  I’m always busy.  But sometimes I’m busy doing something that’s not on my things-to-do list.


If I were to visit your hometown, where would you recommend that I go? (I like seeing and doing things that aren't in all the guide books.)

Eleanor Roosevelt's sleeping porch at Val-Kill

The mid-Hudson Valley of New York is a haven for artists, writers, musicians, and poets; is home to the CIA (not that one — I’m talking about The Culinary Institute of America); offers up incredible outdoor experiences in four very distinctly different seasons; and, of course, is steeped in American history.  There’s no one guide book that covers it all.  But if you want something off the beaten path, go to Hyde Park, NY.  Yes, it’s the home of the FDR Presidential Library and Museum, but while you’re there, drive another three miles and visit the lesser known national historic site, the Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill.    And if you’re hungry, the CIA is only another three miles away.  Book a table well in advance.


You have total control over casting a movie based on your life. Which actor would you cast as you?

Steve Martin

Steve Martin.




Who is your favorite recurring character in crime fiction?

Alex Cross.  And really, it’s just a coincidence that I coauthor books with the man who created him, James Patterson.








If you could have in your possession one signed first edition of any book in the world, which book would that be? Why?

The Disappearance by Philip Wylie.  As for why, probably because it’s my favorite book of all time, and because I’m guessing it’s one of those books nobody else on the planet would have.


How did you celebrate when you first heard you were to be published? What did you do the first time you saw one of your books on a shelf in a bookstore?

I was on vacation in Arizona when my first book was released.  My wife and I drove to a Barnes and Noble in Phoenix, walked up to the information desk, and I said to the clerk “Do you have The Rabbit Factory?”

He tapped into his computer and said, “By Marshall Karp?”

“Yeah,” I said with my heart pounding. “That guy.”

“We’re sold out, and four people have it on order,” he said. “Do you want me to order you a copy?”

I was about to answer him when my wife dragged me out of the store. “Why did you do that?” I asked.

“Because I know you. You were going to whip out your driver’s license, show him who you were, and ask for the home phone numbers of the four people who ordered the book so you could thank them.”

God, the woman knows me so well.


Name one thing on your Bucket List.

First thing — buy a bucket.  Oh wait, that was a serious question.  Let’s see — I’ve already learned to fly a single engine plane, bought a pickup truck, and written a best selling book.  So I guess right now convincing my wife to retire is high on my bucket list.  Our jobs keep us a hundred miles apart five days a week.  She has retirement on her agenda, but (and she’s been saying this for years) not just yet.  I think she’s afraid that if she retires, she’ll be stuck upstate riding around in a pickup truck with a man who openly admits he’s pretty damn good at wasting time.


You've just received a $100 gift card to the bookstore of your choice. Which bookstore are you making a bee-line for?

The Chester County Book & Music Co. in West Chester, PA.  It’s 30,000 square feet of book lover heaven.  But hurry.  Sadly, like so many great indie bookstores, CCBMC is on the verge of shutting its doors forever.

ON SALE NOW!

Thank you so much for spending this time with us, Marshall. It was a pleasure to be able to get to know you a little better.

May your book sales do nothing but increase!

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Don't forget: Marshall Karp Week continues with my reviews of NYPD Red and Bloodthirsty! I wouldn't be at all surprised to see you adding this author to your wish lists!

The Rabbit Factory by Marshall Karp

Title: The Rabbit Factory
Author: Marshall Karp
ISBN: 9781596922174
Publisher: MacAdam/Cage Publishing, 2007
Paperback, 574 pages
Genre: Police Procedural, Humorous, #1 Lomax and Biggs mystery
Rating: A
Source: Purchased eBook from Barnes & Noble.

First Line: Eddie Elkins ambled down Fantasy Avenue.

Rambunctious Rabbit, known as Rambo to his millions of fans, is an American icon and a theme park's biggest draw. When Eddie Elkins (the actor inside the rabbit suit) and two other theme park employees are murdered, Los Angeles Police Department detectives Mike Lomax and Terry Biggs must catch the killer before he can ruin an entertainment giant.

Karp's writing is hilarious as he introduces Lomax and Biggs. Lomax is the narrator, which is fitting since he claims that generations of his family suffer from diarrhea of the mouth. Karp gives him a conversational style that made Lomax feel as though he were my new best friend. See how he describes his mother:

She was one of the top stuntwomen of her day and worked in over two hundred movies, five of them with John Wayne. Every now and then, Joanie and I would be watching an old video, and some woman would fall down a flight of stairs, jump off a bridge, or get hit by a truck, and I'd smile and proudly say, "That's my Mom."

At first-- courtesy of Lomax's snappy wisecracks-- it would be easy to assume the two detectives are a modern-day version of the Keystone Cops, but you know what happens when you assume, don't you? Lomax's sense of humor hides a lot of pain. His wife died six months ago, and each month he reads one of the letters she left for him. His father is trying to get him dating again, and Lomax's brother is in deep trouble.

Once the first murder victim's background is revealed, the police waste precious time believing that it was a revenge crime, and it certainly doesn't help that Lamaar Studios' public relations people are trying to lock down all information about what's going on so the company shares won't take a hit on Wall Street. Events are fast-moving, however, and it doesn't take Lomax and Biggs long before they realize there's much more to this murder than first met the eye.

The satiric humor continues throughout the book, but Karp never lets it overshadow the investigation, which has plenty of twists, turns, and surprises. Well before I was finished, I stopped to see how many books there are in this series. I love Karp's humor, his cast of characters, and his devious plots. I want Lomax and Biggs to continue investigating crime for a good long time. 

The Rabbit Factory at Amazon.

The Rabbit Factory at Barnes and Noble.

The Rabbit Factory at Your Favorite Indie Bookseller.