My recent reading includes a novel by James Patterson and Marshall Karp, RED ALERT (2018). James Patterson (portrayed here) is a great Master, and Karp is his protege, in the art of the police procedural, a subgenre of crime fiction in which the emphasis is NOT on the whodunnit guessing game, or on the brilliant ratiocination of the protagonist. The emphasis is on the setting and the particulars of how the catch is made -- a work in this genre can delve into forensic science, the particulars of search warrants, interrogations, etc. The plot exists as a convenient device for getting the reader (presumed to be of the laity) into that world, so that the act of submersion is the end in itself. RED ALERT involves two NYC police detectives, Zach Jordan and Kylie MacDonald. Zach is the first person narrator, Kylie is his partner. The following passage shows us how the genre or subgenre works: "There are two ways to search a suspect's apartment: get a warrant, which would ...