Marshall Karp is the author of the Lomax & Biggs books, a humorous crime mystery series, which currently includes five books. In addition, he has also contributed to the James Patterson’s NYPD Red crime mystery series, with a fifth book out in 2018.
I got first introduced to this author while reading the NYPD Red series. I am a big James Patterson fan, so reading every book by the author was a given. This is when I’ve noticed the co-author and decided to check out his other books.
Many readers have mentioned that the two authors have a relatively similar style, to which I agree. However, Marshall Karp’s writing is much funnier.
Here are the Marshall Karp books in order for his two popular series. The book list will be updated with any new novel the author is writing.
New Marshall Karp Book
Red Alert by Marshall Karp and James Patterson (NYPD Red #5), 2018
Lomax and Biggs Series
- The Rabbit Factory (#1), 2006
- Bloodthirsty (#2), 2007
- Flipping Out (#3), 2009
- Cut, Paste, Kill (#4), 2010
- Terminal (#5), 2016
NYPD Red Series
With James Patterson
- NYPD Red (#1), 2012
- NYPD Red 2 (#2), 2014
- NYPD Red 3 (#3), 2015
- NYPD Red 4 (#4), 2016
- Red Alert #5), 2018
Other Marshall Karp Novels
- Kill Me If You Can (2011) (with James Patterson)
Lomax & Biggs Books Overview
The Rabbit Factory
The first book in the series brings together Detectives Mike Lomax and Terry Biggs, who are dealing in their current case with the brutal murder of an actor playing Familyland’s beloved mascot, Rambunctious Rabbit. The two LAPD detectives are asked to look into the case, so the fun entertainment conglomerate doesn’t lose scared-off customers. Also while doing so, they should keep quite about the gruesome details of the killing. However, soon, a second employee gets murdered, so mum’s no longer the word. Somebody with a grudge wants to destroy Familyland. Now it is up to the duo to solve the case before it’s too late.
Bloodthirsty
In the second book, we are in Hollywood where Barry Gerber is murdered in a very curious way. He was not well-liked, but still, murder is way over the top. But since nobody really liked the guy, the list of suspects is a mile long. There is one person who is somewhat good for the murder, but that case goes to dust when he is also found murdered two days later. Can they find the killer before a third man is killed as well?
Flipping Out
In the third book, Flipping Out, the two detectives are called on a case again when one of Nora Bannister’s partners is murdered. Nora Bannister is a book author who writes about murders and with her partners she buys rundown houses in LA and turns them into the crime scenes for her fictional murders, and then flips the homes. Except this particular partner is also a cop’s wife, so now the detectives are wondering whether house flippers are in danger or cops families.
Cut, Paste, Kill
The fourth book in the series shows that Eleanor Bellingham-Crump was not a good woman. She was responsible for the death of a 10-year-old. Still, even she didn’t deserve her horrible death. There are some scissors sticking out from her body, and there is also a very revealing scrapbook left at the crime scene. Soon, however, there are more bodies to be found, and the duo has to figure out what the scrapbook is trying to tell them before even more people get killed.
Terminal
In the series latest book, terminally ill people are tasked to do one more job before they die: kill people. All this, of course, of a fee: half a million dollars to be left behind their loved ones after they passed away. Now Mike and Terry have to find the contract giver before terminally ill assassins kill even more LA residents. It doesn’t help that Mike’s reluctant prostate examination has been cut off in order to solve this case. One does wonder what is worse for Mike: his examination or finding the mastermind behind the killings.
Marshall Karp Bio
Marshall Karp was born in Manhattan, New York City in 1942. He always liked writing crime novels also to write them. The author himself mentioned in an interview that he was born a writer. During his high school years, one of his teachers told him that he has an ability for writing, and he should be seriously thinking about a writing career. Nevertheless, he enrolled at Rutgers University in order to study biology, to follow a career in the dental field. Sadly, this was a field he sorrowly failed at.
He attended Rutgers University from where he received his BA in 1963. He finally graduated with a degree in English, following which, he joined the National Guard to avoid being drafted for the Vietnam War.
After he left the National Guard, writing was still on his mind, so he decided to pursue a career in advertising. The same year he graduated from university, he started working as a direct mail copywriter for the Prentice-Hall, where he remained for two years. Then, for the following two years he worked for the Warren, Muller, Dolobowsky advertising company as a copywriter, and later on, he moved to DKG Inc., where he became the vice president and associate creative director until 1972.
He kept moving up the ranks and worked as a senior vice president and associate creative director and executive vice president and creative director at various companies until he broke into the freelancing career. In 1986 he worked as a freelance television scriptwriter in New York. An interesting side note, one of his earliest advertising campaigns was for Mutual of New York Life Insurance and it featured John Travolta, who was still largely unknown at the time.
While working at various corporate jobs, he continued his focus on writing in his spare time. During nights and free time, he wrote a play titled Squabbles: A Comedy in Two Acts, which was first produced in 1982. Due to Squabbles, he started freelancing for television while still working as a copywriter until 1987 when he left his advertising job behind and decided to focus solely on his freelance work.
The year 2000 saw Marshall Karp working together with Jason Alexander on the film Just Looking, where he wrote the screenplay for the movie directed by Jason Alexander. Before that, he also created a CBS, a comedy titled Everything’s Relative, starring Jason Alexander, following which he moved to LA to become writer/producer for the NBC hit Amen, and then he was also a co-producer for various ABC TV shows, including Baby Talk.
Eventually, after a few years, Marshall Karp moved back to New York and got another advertising job where he met his boss and his later co-author, James Patterson. Eventually, he started a small advertising company with the name Compelling Content.
When he was let go of his advertising job, he decided to take some time off and work on his first novel. The book turned out to be The Rabbit Factory, and it was published in 2006. In fact, James helped the author Marshall Karp with finding both an agent and a publisher.
Soon after, a second Marshall Karp book was published in the same series, and then three more books were released.
In 2012, he joined forces with Patterson to write the NYPD Red crime mystery series. Before that, however, he also wrote, again joined by Patterson, a standalone novel titled Kill Me If You Can, in 2011.
The Lomax and Biggs books by Marshall Karp features two LA homicide detectives who are working on various cases together. In The Rabbit Factory, Mike Lomax and Terry Biggs are called to work a case of a murdered actor who played a giant rabbit at a local amusement park.
Since the studio the park belonged to didn’t want any negative publicity towards their company, the two cops had to not only work to solve the case but also go through Amy Cheever, the company’s PR director. But when a second murder happens, nothing can stop that publicity to spread like wildfire.
The NYPD series is basically written by Marshall Karp with the signature of Patterson on the side. The author does like to work with co-authors on his newer series, and Marshall Karp is a good writer whose style matches closely to that of Patterson.
If you want to read the Marshall Karp books in order, you should read the author’s both series, because even if one has the signature of JP on it, the writing is mostly by the author Marshall Karp.
Praise for Marshall Karp
Totally original, a sheer roller coaster ride, packed with waves of humor and a dynamic duo in the Lomax and Biggs books. Karp shows a master’s touch in his debut (David Baldacci)
Marshall Karp needs a blurb from me like Uma needs a facelift. This guy is the real deal, and Bloodthirsty is a first class, fast, funny and fabulous read by a terrific writer. Great entertainment, highly recommended to one and all. (John Lescroart)
Smart, funny and intuitive, Lomax and Biggs glide through the overlit shoals of Los Angeles like sharks through ginger ale…the guys, this time, prowl the golden muck of the LA real estate bubble to fine effect; an exhilarating read. (Donald Westlake)
Funny is hard to do in a mystery, but Karp does it hilariously. (The Journal Sentinel)
Marshall Karp is a refreshing addition to the suspense, satire, mystery genre. His two Detectives are irresistible. (Valerie Ryan)
Marshall Karp could well be the Carl Hiaasen of Los Angeles – only I think he’s even funnier. The Rabbit Factory will touch your funny bone, and your heart. (James Patterson)
References
Books Reading Order » Crime Mystery Authors »
I’d like to be put on your email list when you have new books coming out. Just finished NYPD 7