Last year I read Sleepless City, the first book in Reed Farrel Coleman's Nick Ryan series and fell, hook, line and sinker. I hoped and prayed it would find enough of an audience to turn into a series, so I about broke a finger one-clicking the second book, Blind to Midnight, when it popped on NetGalley.

Look, I can't fully explain why I have a soft spot for "tough guy noir" but I do. I think because, like Gothics, they're "atmospheric" and that's what gets me. Anyway, Nick is a decorated former soldier (joining up after 9/11) and a cop from a family of cops whose father's reputation (Dad ratted out corrupt cops) and his brother's addiction issues (booze) follow him around. He also has a Baby Mama (affluent and rich to his working class) and a Secret Baby daughter that he can't be with, despite wanting to, because they would become targets and collateral damage. Nick works undercover for very powerful and mysterious men - he's basically a "fixer" for the NYPD and Nick has learned to live with a target on his back.

This time out Nick's bosses want him to look into an unsolved murder - the only documented murder that happened on 9/11 that wasn't the result of the World Trade Center attack. Of course Nick isn't told exactly why his mysterious bosses want this case solved, but they quickly become displeased with their fixer when he's distracted by a personal matter. A family friend and former cop, Nick's "Uncle Tony" and his wife are found brutally murdered in their home. Execution style. Who would want his Uncle Tony dead?

A couple years ago I practically inhaled Lawrence Block's Matthew Scudder series, and from a tone perspective this series is scratching that itch for me. It's very New York City, very gritty and grim. These are books with no heroes but it's hard to not get sucked into the plots. Coleman is one of those writers who brings 2-4 different plot threads on board that seem completely unrelated but eventually he ties them all together in a fashion where you realize it's all connected. It makes for riveting reading.

A couple of quibbles, one being that I read the first book a year ago and my memory was a little hazy. Things that happened in Book 1 pop up in this new book and it took a few moments for my memory to get jogged. Also Nick is one of those Tough Guy Noir-types who is pure poison to female characters. I'm hoping Coleman wraps it up quickly because I can tell you the stuff with his Baby Mama was annoying in the first book when it was introduced, and it just gets more annoying here. Also, Nick hooks up with a former flame / f*ck buddy (female cop) in this book and the pure panic I'm feeling that I'm going to get a tedious love triangle because Nick is emotionally unavailable and hung-up over the Baby Mama makes my eyes cross. Finally, this book ends on a total cliffhanger. The main plot is put to bed, our mystery solved, this is more a cliffhanger that is spurring Nick into the next book in the series - which sweet baby Jesus, there better be one!

Final Grade = A-

“There were always candidates eager to fill the void. Money was honey. All you needed to take it was ambition, an abiding disregard for innocence, and a stomach for blood.”

Nick Ryan is a New York City detective, but he’s also a fixer who works ‘off book’, taking assignments from his handler, Joe. Nick is tough, savvy and dangerous. He’s also a man with ties, but he chooses to keep his distance for the safety of his loved ones. This also makes him lonely and somewhat haunted.

BLIND TO MIDNIGHT is an action packed thrill ride complete with shootouts, car chases, tricked out weapons and cars and many nefarious characters including mobsters and assassins. It felt like a Martin Scorcese or Antonie Fuqua film! I’m not kidding. The action never stops! Reed Farrel Coleman’s writing is poetic in the sense that this almost felt like a noir with the atmosphere of New York City acting as yet another character.

What made this stand out for me was Peter Giles’ performance! Not only do I love the tone of his voice, (he could read the dictionary and I’d love it!) he does accents and different voices so well, he sounds like different people! Giles’ also has the ability to perform females without it sounding hokey or pulling me out of the story. I think aside from Nick, my favorite voice was Lenny. He was also one of my favorite characters. A man with a traumatic and tragic past who Nick saved from a fire, his body is so badly damaged he speaks with an impediment. However, it’s the friendship between Nick and Lenny that really shines and adds heart to an otherwise intense and gritty crime story.

This is book two of a series, so it’s possible I may have enjoyed it more if I had read book one first. I do love an action thriller, but I don’t think I would have enjoyed this as much if I had only read the physical book. In this instance the audiobook made all the difference!
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Thank you Blackstone Publishing for the gifted copies. All opinions are mine.
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Potential spoiler content warnings below.



































⚠️Content warnings: severe language, sexual situations, violence, gun violence, gore, death

Book #2 Hurray! Ryan’s personal life is turned sideways but Ryan is his own man regardless of those who believe they control him.

Blind Midnight is an amazing thriller that is full of twists and turns that will keep readers engaged until the very last page. The story follows an undercover NYPD officer, Nick Ryan, who is not accustomed to being supervised, preferring to work alone, and on his own terms. In his professional life he lives the life of spy, with safe houses, money caches, and a decked-out car, just like a New York James Bond. In his personal life he can’t allow himself to be with the mother of his child, and his father has a reputation as a snitch which still follows him around. He maneuvers through a past event and a current one. The further he investigates the cases; the more a connection reveals itself.

Reed Coleman does an amazing job stringing the two stories together, while showing the conflict between Nick’s two worlds. You find yourself cheering for this character, hoping that he finds a way to have it all. Coleman gives great descriptions of each scene, amping up the danger as you progress through the story, unsure of who’s a friend and who’s out to silence Nick. It’s a combination brains and brawn, showcasing Nick’s ability to solve the case, along with the violence he’s forced to inflict to keep himself and the ones around him alive. This was a great read, and if you are someone into mysteries, or thrillers, this would be an amazing chose for you.

I’ve just started with this series and read books 1 and 2 in about a month. Nick Ryan is an interesting newer character and I like the “behind the scenes fixer” alplor line. There is a decent amount of complexity in the plots and I’m looking forward to book 3.

Published by Blackstone Publishing on August 13, 2024

Nick Ryan (at least his name isn’t Jake or Jack) is a tough guy. Tough Guy fiction is populated by one dimensional characters, the dimension being toughness. That makes them boring. No character in fiction is more tedious than a self-righteous cop. Nick is a self-righteous Tough Guy cop, meaning he’s both boring and tedious.

Ryan has the usual binary view of the world that characterizes fictional Tough Guys, few of whom have room in their brains for nuanced thought. He is proud of his enhanced ability to discern the difference between right and wrong (an ability that evolved from his military service, where “right” meant “what superior officers tell me to do” and “wrong” meant “whatever the enemy is doing”). He is untroubled by his inability to perceive any gray area between right and wrong. Nick also prides himself on not making moral judgments, as if right and wrong are not abstract, contextualized judgments. Instead of moral judgments, Nick makes “professional assessments.” Much less messy than worrying about right and wrong, not that he needs to worry because he always knows what is right and what is wrong. Lucky guy.

Tough Guy fiction is all about establishing the Tough Guy’s credentials. Nick says “tough isn’t about having a gun. Tough is how you handle having one stuck in your face.” He tells this to a wealthy woman who wants to sleep with him despite his banal dialog (Nick understands that women can’t resist “real men”) but Nick can say no to her because he knows another woman is just around the corner. Such are the benefits of being a Tough Guy in Thrillerworld.

To prove his toughness, Nick fights several armed men at a time without pulling a weapon. And while tough isn’t about having a gun, Nick usually has at least two within reach and doesn’t hesitate to kill bad guys with them. He feels sad about it (sort of), but never regrets killing because regret, like hope, gets you nowhere. Nick assures us that he has feelings; he just doesn’t “surrender to them.” Of course not, because Tough Guys can’t let their feels get in the way of their toughs. When Nick explains that he has separated himself from his daughter to protect her from all the bad guys he attracts, he’s making it clear that his feelings consist of self-love and little else. I mean, the dude could just move to a different state with her and stop killing people, but that wouldn't be the Tough Guy thing to do.

Nick is a detective in NYPD’s Intelligence Bureau. He’s also the city’s “shadow watchman.” He isn’t quite Batman, although his masters have given him a fast car and a bunch of tech, everything short of a mask and a Batarang. When Nick isn’t performing his regular duties, he works as a “fixer,” solving the city’s problems in exchange for unprecedent access to resources. While Nick has little contact with the people who control him, he prides himself on his independence, which he furthers by blackmailing his immediate superior so he can do things the say he wants to do them — the Tough Guy Way.

Nick’s former partner planted blood evidence that he hoped would lead to the conviction of a child killer. The cop’s attempt to defraud the court was exposed and the cop “ate his gun” when the killer went free. Instead of heeding the obvious lesson that cops shouldn’t plant fake evidence, Nick decided to execute the child killer. After all, if Nick thinks the perp is guilty, why bother to give the guy a fair trial? Nick might think he knows the difference between right and wrong, but he has a warped sense of justice.

Having established that Nick is boring and indistinguishable from dozens of other Tough Guy protagonists, let’s take a look at the plot. Nick is working undercover because he is truly gifted at developing the convincing stench of a homeless person. He’s going after Shea Flannery, the president of the laborer’s union. His masters want to prove that Flannery is dirty, even if Nick has to supply the dirt. The fact that Nick didn’t quit on the spot after receiving that order is evidence of Nick’s inability to make moral judgments, not to mention an impaired sense of the difference between right and wrong.

Nick rescues a boy from a likely beating. The boy’s mother is Victoria Lansdale, the rich woman who wants to shag Nick. “Wealthy women smelled different,” Nick tells us in a moment of great insight. Thugs later use mild violence to deliver a message to Victoria’s husband: “Tell him the bill is long overdue.” Nick’s involvement in Lansdale drama is part of the story.

Nick’s dad is a retired cop. He testified against corrupt cops and is now unwelcome in their company. His dad’s best friend, Tony Angelo, also a retired cop, is murdered. Nick decides that investigating Flannery is less important than solving Angelo’s murder. Tough guys never follow orders. Nick’s investigation of Tony’s death is another part of the story. So is the Flannery plot thread.

Nick’s beloved independence allows him to investigate the murder of Vlado Markovic, who was supposedly killed in New York City on 9/11. The official conclusion is that Markovic was mistaken for an Arab and was killed in a hate crime. Not true, but Reed Farrel Coleman ties Markovic’s unlikely murder to more plausible plot threads.

The plot is no worse, and in some respects more clever, than is traditional for Tough Guy novels. Unfortunately, Nick is just another Tough Guy. Coleman gives the reader no reason to care about what happens to him. Dialog is uninspired. So are sentences like “He had somewhere to do and something to do.” I have nowhere to go and some other book to read. I hope the next one is more original than Blind to Midnight.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

Someone has to look out for the little guy.

Nick Ryan Jr is an NYPD cop who is willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done, with a sense of right and wrong that solidified during his tours of duty in Afghanistan. His reputation within the department makes many uneasy, and his father having given evidence against his own squad years earlier to a commission investigating dirty cops has not made Nick or his brother Sean popular within the ranks. Nick has recently been recruited to work for a shadowy group of people with power in the city who want him to take care of problems that cannot be addressed by traditional means; in return Nick will be given the tools and the access he needs to get things done. His new assignment is to find out who killed Vladimir Markovic, the only homicide victim killed on 9/11. Markovic was Serbian, had a full beard and spoke with an accent, and it has long been assumed that he was mistaken for being Arab and attacked by people lashing out against what had happened in NYC that morning in 2001. When Nick gets a call telling him that a former cop, an old family friend named Tony Angelo, and Tony’s wife have just been found murdered in their home, he wants to focus his attention instead on finding out who killed them. He soon gets caught up in the attempted kidnapping of a teenaged boy from a wealthy family in what may have been a mob-related act of revenge. None of these cases are what they seem to be, and as Nick probes for answers he will find himself confronting war crimes in the former Yugoslavia, killers for hire, and some uncomfortable truths about the past of a man he had long considered a member of his family. With not only his own life but those of the woman he loves and the daughter he can never acknowledge in the crosshairs of vicious adversaries, Nick will need to combine his unique skills with help from various quarters to get justice.
In this sequel to author Reed Farrel Coleman’s first book featuring Nick Ryan ,“Sleepless City”, the highly focused and principled cop is still feeling out the parameters of his new side job and coming to grips with the fact that he has a daughter. Other cops know he is one of the best at the job but still don’t much like or trust him, and he finds it pretty hard to trust anyone himself. He still loves the beautiful and wealthy (and now married) Shana Carlyle, but knows that his job would put her life in perpetual jeopardy and refuses her overtures to pursue a life together. With Becky, the daughter they share but who the world believes is the daughter of Shana and her husband, now also a potential soft target, Nick is more determined than ever to keep them away from him. Another former lover, Det. Annalise Puleo, is introduced; she and her partner Jeff Rosen are leading the investigation into Tony’s death. With his team of unofficial helpers, including a computer genius scarred physically and emotionally by a traumatic event, a former member of British Intelligence who now bartends at a local pub, and a sniper from his old military unit who comes in handy from time to time, there is a wealth of interesting characters and a series of mysteries that grow murkier as Nick investigates them. This is a stellar hard boiled crime novel with a hero who is part Shane and part The Equalizer. If you read Sleepless City, you have to grab a copy of Blind to Midnight; if you didn’t, then grab them both (while you can read this as a standalone, trust me….once you read one, you’ll want to read the other). Readers of Don Winslow, Dennis Lehane and Michael Connelly have a new series to follow here as well. Many thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for allowing me early access to a copy of this gripping crime novel.

We met Nick Ryan, troubleshooter for the New York Police Department, in Sleepless City (Blackstone, July 2023). Now Nick is back, using his lightning-fast reflexes and sharp wits to delve into secrets thought long forgotten and calling in his far-flung network of specialists on both sides of the law for assistance, while pining for the mother of his daughter who is now married to another man. Blind to Midnight by Reed Farrel Coleman was released on 13 August 2024.

Nick‘s latest task is a puzzler: find the killer of the only man known to have been murdered in New York City outside the tragedy of the World Towers attack on 11 September 2001. Why Nick’s handlers were preoccupied with what appeared to be a subway mugging gone wrong more than 20 years ago was not disclosed to him.

Nick had barely collected the case file and begun to review it when he learned his father’s closest friend and his wife had been killed in their home. Tony DeAngelo had been Nick’s honorary uncle, a constant presence in his life, and Nick was devastated. He pulled strings to visit the scene, where he was struck by the markers of a professional hit. Tony was well liked by everyone around him and his doing anything that would have incurred the attention of a killer for hire was unimaginable. Nick was also warned off the case by the assigned detectives but of course that did not stop him.

In the course of his multiple investigations, Ryan pulled in characters from the first book: research wizard Lenny still grieving hard for his family, former British agent now bartender Mack, and a nameless international assassin he only knows via a distorted telephone voice, then tapped a few new ones. In fact this book is so character dense it could use one of those old-fashioned lists of names at the front of the book.

As usual Coleman has turned out an incisive and polished piece of writing. Literate and evocative with slickly choreographed action sequences and a jaw-dropping final body count. And Coleman does love his cars. It seems a shame that after describing their many excellent features, Nick promptly trashes them in a shootout conducted at top speed or something similar. An excellent entry in a very good new series. I am looking forward to the next one.

Coleman has really hit on a great character. I've read a few of his books in the past and thought they were fine, middle-of-the-road thrillers/mysteries. Sleepless City and now Blind to Midnight are great books. Gritty, violent, but smart as well.

Really enjoying this series and look forward to more.

After the murder of Tony Angelo, family friend/uncle to Nick Ryan, an intricate puzzle of events and loyalites begins to be exposed. Ryan's the cop, the cops call when things need to get done. And Ryan has also landed the case of the lone murder in NYC on the infamous September 11. Could there be a connection? With Reed Farrell Coleman spare, yet poetic, language and unflinching insights as to what makes characters click, Blind to Midnight is gem of a novel and a fast-paced riveting read.

Two decades after 9/11 a detective reopens a case of a murder. The detective in question,Nick Ryan, is working undercover for a mysterious power broker called "Joe". While he's working the case his favorite Aunt and Uncle are killed so he starts looking into that as well. There is a lot of action and intrigue. The characters are well thought out and interesting. I read this over just a few days as I found it hard to put down. I haven't read any other books in this series but this book was so interesting I'll go back and look them up.

Blind to Midnight: A Nick Ryan Novel by Reed Farrel Coleman is the second book in the Nick Ryan series that began with Sleepless City. It is also another solidly good read as one always expects from the author.

In addition to his regular police work, Nick Ryan continues to work cases as they are assigned by the people in the shadows. He is a sort of fixer and has a wide latitude to solve problem as a NYC police detective. To achieve their goals, he has access to varied resources. He also separately has help from a variety of friends and associates that have talents and connections the average person would not. But, knowing Nick Ryan can be extremely dangerous for your own health.

Nick is just coming off an assignment and a very long day when he gets a phone call. Tony Angelo and his wife are dead. They have been murdered by person or persons unknown. Nick had known Tony since he was a kid. Nick’s father was a cop, friends with Ton and his wife, both were part of Nick’s life always and forever. That makes them family as far as Nick is concerned. Even though the people who control Nick want him to stay out of it and away from the investigation, he is not about to do that. They should know by now that Nick marches to the beat of his own drummer.

The shadowy powers that be want Nick to focus on solving a murder case from the night the towers fell. The case was believed to be a hate crime. It was something else and more than two decades later they want it solved for reasons unknown.

Nick does the only thing he can do. He works both cases and dodges bullets and violent mayhem along the way. His ultimate plan is to survive, keep the ex and their kid safe, and get out from under the thumb of the person or persons that are leaning on him. Easier said than done.

Blind to Midnight: A Nick Ryan Novel builds extensively on Sleepless City while spinning another very complicated tale of cross and double cross. Plenty of action, violence, and interesting characters blend together to make this another compelling page turning read from the master. Read the series in order and enjoy as both books are very much worth your time.

My digital reading copy was an ARC from the publisher, Blackstone Publishing, Inc., through NetGalley with no expectation of a review.


Kevin R. Tipple ©2024

4 🌟
1 🌶️

This is my first Nick Ryan book by Reed Farrel Coleman, and I immensely enjoyed it. Nick is a conflicted hero with a heart he wishes he didn't have. This was danger in capital letters from page one for Nick. Trying to solve a murder from over twenty years ago opens up several cans of worms that Nick was not expecting. He relies on his wits and several misfits to assist when Nick needs it. The dialogue and characterizations of people from different parts of New York add some flavor and color to this book filled with gray. You learn in Nick's line of work there is really no black or white but many varying degrees of gray. Nick has to decide where he stands in the gray and who and what he's willing to protect, no matter what. This was a fast-paced novel that left you little time to catch your breath. I wondered at times if Nick ran triathlons in his limited spare time because his endurance was exceptional. I don't think he slept very much during this book. Nevertheless, I am ready to read more Nick Ryan books going backward and looking forward to the next Ryan book. Look, I have to know!

I received an eArc in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you, NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing, for the eArc.

There was one murder in NYC after the towers went down in NYC on 9/11. Nick Ryan has been tasked with solving this cold case. This isn't a spoiler, the murder takes place in the opening pages. Nick Ryan isn't your average NYPD detective. He works alone. He works on the outskirts of the law. He answered to - well, that is for you to find out. "Blind To Midnight" by Reed Farrel Coleman is un-put-down-able.

Excellent! I like how he seems sometimes not do the right thing! Been awhile since I read this Author, but after reading this book I'll be back.
Thanks to Netgalley for advance copy

"Blind to Midnight," the second book in the Nick Ryan series by Reed Farrel Coleman, is a gripping and fast-paced crime novel that keeps you hooked from the start. Detective Nick Ryan, the most powerful cop in New York, finds himself digging into a decades-old murder from 9/11 while navigating a web of corruption and danger.

Coleman's writing is sharp and compelling, with a complex plot and well-developed characters. Nick Ryan is a fascinating protagonist, balancing his tough exterior with a strong moral compass. The blend of noir elements and modern crime storytelling makes this book a standout.

Highly recommended for fans of hardboiled noir and crime thrillers!

4.5 stars!

Second book in the Nick Ryan series. As with the first, this is hardboiled poetry. Coleman doesn't know how to write a bad sentence. Add in a fantastic lead character, strong secondary characters, and a fast-moving and complex plot, and you have the recipe for a satisfying crime novel. Recommended!

Normally I consider myself a fan of hard boiled noir, but for some reason I just couldn't warm to this book.

It certainly wasn't the writing, which was solid and professional. It wasn't the narrative, which was everything you would expect a hard boiled noir narrative to be. I suppose it was mostly that the book was so relentlessly noir, with long sections consisting of nothing but spare dialogue, that at times it almost felt like it was meant to be a parody of hard boiled noir.

Maybe I'm just getting old and don't appreciate this kind of thing as much as I once did, but I simply couldn't connect with this book and never felt drawn into the narrative. Sorry.

Blind to the Midnight is the second in the Nick Ryan series. I hadn't read the first one but this book stands alone.
Nick is the baddest police officer in town and has an access to resources far outside the average person.

He is hired to solve the only murder that happened during 9-11 and is working on it until his aunt and uncle are murdered.

It is now up to him to solve the murder and stop the violence before he loses everything.

The book is exciting and fast paced. I rooted for Nick all the way and I loved the way that he is part devil and part angel.

I highly recommend this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the opportunity to read Blind to Midnight by Reed Farrel Coleman, who cannot possibly write even a single bad sentence. The man is a master. Nick Ryan is his latest of several unforgettable characters. If I can't convince you, read what Lee Child has to say -
“Thoughtful moral questions and a truly great new character in Nick Ryan. Coleman is a noir grandmaster, and I hope this series runs forever.”--Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author