Rhode Island Red is not only a quick read, it's a good one. Author Charlotte Carter let me live in New York City for two hours; I finally found out exactly where Hell's Kitchen is, and without threat to my life. The mystery itself kept me guessing until the very end as to who the villain was, and the twist was authentic. Nanette, Carter's female protagonist, is a single, somewhat struggling musician living in the heart of Manhattan. Carter's take on this theme is original. Nanette is a saxophone player, African American, described as a Grace Jones look-alike, street wise as well as fashion conscious, and filled with insatiable curiosity. With all this in mind, Nanette's reactions to some of the tragedies that took place in this book were rather casual, and therefore contradictory to the character. I loved traveling through NYC, experiencing both the upper crust of life and the bottom of the toilet existence that exists in a large city.