Step on a Crack

Step on a Crack is the first book in a brand-new series based around Detective Michael Bennett of the NYPD and was first published in 2007.

The death of a former first lady brings a state funeral to St Patricks Cathedral in New York, and it is the hottest ticket in town. So many movers and shakers and stars were in attendance. The Neat Man had prepared very well for what was about to happen and his team would soon be taking the Cathedral hostage, and nobody would be able to stop them.

Detective Michael Bennett is pulled into the case first as a support officer and then as prime negotiator and while he is talking to the kidnappers, he cannot see what the end game is especially as the NYPD and the FBI have every inch of the Cathedral show more covered. Bennett also has a crisis going on his personal life at the same time, as his wife is dying in hospital of cancer, and he has to care for his ten adopted children.

Bennett knows that if they do not solve the case the NYPD will be responsible for the biggest debacle in New York history. He knows with a bit of New York grit and some luck he will be able to break this case wide open.

This thriller grabs you and is a brilliant read. show less

This author sure does have some great ideas about pulling off the perfect crime. Let's hope he sticks to books, or we're all in trouble. I love when I don't figure out the game plan before it happens. Great backstory with the family. I will continue this series.

Patterson is not at his Best!

In general the story starts off with the death of Caroline Hopkins, a former First Lady and her funeral is attended by the cream of the crust, consisting of the most influential and wealthiest individuals at the Saint Patrick's Cathedral. Unfortunately, a group of men take them hostage and will do anything to meet their private objectives. I thought Mr. Patterson developed the hostage characters very well. He had a knack for dropping little traits about these characters until after awhile I found myself really caring about what will happen to these people.

Enter Michael Bennett, a detective for NY Police Department, and he is forced into the role of negotiator. Meanwhile, his personal life is in turmoil. His show more beloved wife is terminally ill with cancer and he is left caring for their ten children. Ten Children? Yes that's correct 10 children! At this point I thought Patterson was strettttching the Brady Bunch a bit too much to enhance the devotion of this character, but I read on. As I read on I found that Patterson was able to weave Michael's love for his wife, Maeve, and their children into many sensitive, believable scenes. There was Michael dealing with the chaos at home, while at the same time dealing with the hostage situation. Still I couldn't connect to this super father and hero.

STEP ON A CRACK by James Patterson is good read, but not a super read. The characters a little exciting but I had wished that there was a good dose of some thriller scenes. If you want an easy read then I recommend this book. show less

Step On A Crack was my first book in the Michael Bennett series, and I found it quite engaging. A detective with the NYPD, Michael is caught up in a horrendous hostage situation while struggling to support his dying wife, Maeve, and take care of his ten children. The plot and the characters were complicated and exciting. Detective Bennett is a tough guy with a heart. Excellent start to a new series from two seasoned writers.

If this book was mainly about the hostage situation, it would have been so much better. Too many other things that were added to the story that made it a distraction. Still a decent mystery, but could have been so much better...

As much as I liked the Bennetts and all of their preciousness and would read another book with them in it, the rest of this book felt hollow and cliched to me. I couldn't bring myself to feel connected to or care about any of the hostages except Eugenia, which is just as well since you don't hear a bit about them as individuals after the hostage situation ends. And his wife's sickness and eventual death seemed really contrived to me, like Patterson is trying to make you like Bennett because look! His wife is dying! Poor guy! I think it would have worked better if she was already dead before the story began.

I think I am a little more engaged in the Alex Cross books. Michael Bennet is a likeable enough character, but there is something that screams a little over the top to me about having adopted 10 kids (whether it was his wife's idea or not). I sympathized with him though... we know from the start that his wife is dying of cancer, 10 kids to take care of (thankfully an au pair comes into the picture) plus this crazy hostage situation to take care of. Poor guy. For some reason though I just couldn't totally invest myself like I can with the Alex Cross books. I want to like this series though, believe me... what else am I going to read between new Alex Cross books coming out. Is the Murder Mystery Club books by James Patterson better than show more the Michael Bennet ones? Let me know what you think.

Hopefully we can get a little closer to Michael Bennet in the following books because I felt like that was part of the reason I just couldn't quite get into this one. I liked the suspense/mystery of this book and didn't see it coming, but Alex Cross' family (even though it is smaller) is so engaging and you get to know those characters as well (because who seriously doesn't love Nana Momma?) This book should not have taken me 11 days to read. Maybe I'll get into book number 2 more. show less