There are few writers who do hard-boiled crime better than Reed Farrel Coleman. He deservedly has won numerous awards for his work, and now he graces us with the second entry in his outstanding Nick Ryan series.

When you’re in trouble, you call 911. But, as we learned in SLEEPLESS CITY, when cops are in trouble, they call Nick Ryan. Nick works for an intel branch of the NYPD as a detective and has a clandestine side gig from “Joe,” a strange benefactor who seems to have the power to do almost anything at any level to ensure that the missions he assigns to Nick get done.

In BLIND TO MIDNIGHT, Nick is dealing with a new case from Joe and a double murder that he puts his nose into because it involves family. But first, we have to go back to September 11, 2001 and the only homicide that occurred that day in New York City. A Serbian immigrant working in a Queens bakery was stabbed to death on a subway platform in Brooklyn that overlooked the smoke pouring from the Twin Towers. We find out later that it might not have been a 9/11 revenge crime but something completely different.

"I would go anywhere Reed Farrel Coleman and Nick Ryan want to take me. BLIND TO MIDNIGHT...is an outstanding and entertaining read."

It is a pleasure watching Nick work, especially when he needs to reach out to his contacts who perform various services for him. I really like Lenny Feld, who lives in the basement apartment beneath a synagogue in Brooklyn. Nick had saved the now badly scarred and deformed Lenny from a fire once, but was unable to rescue his wife and daughter. He has an eternal bond with Lenny and uses him for his ace hacking skills, which always come in handy. Lenny also has a police radio on 24/7 and often hears of incidents before they even reach Nick.

Nick is rocked by some very unfortunate news that all but consumes him. Retired cop Tony Angelo and his wife were found slain in their Brooklyn apartment. Tony was friends with Ryan’s defamed father, who was seen as a rat by most of the NYPD, and Nick considered him to be an uncle. When Nick gets Joe to pull strings to allow him a look at the crime scene, he comes upon a bloodbath that resembles a gangland hit. He will make it his business to get justice for Tony, even though his ex-lover is one of the detectives assigned to the case.

Nick is treated to a team of ex-police pros, as well as automobiles and weaponry that would make James Bond jealous --- all by the gracious hands of Joe. However, it will take much more than clever gadgetry to succeed in this investigation. Once Nick is able to tie the Tony Angelo and 9/11 cases together, the gloves come completely off, and readers are in for a wild ride.

I would go anywhere Reed Farrel Coleman and Nick Ryan want to take me. BLIND TO MIDNIGHT, which ends up being a very personal quote once made by Tony to Nick, is an outstanding and entertaining read.