The first in the series of Michael Bennett books by James Patterson, and a really good way to start off the series. Patterson co-wrote this with Michael Ledwidge, and it shows. I have a bad habit of bad-mouthing Patterson's writing skills, and I should stop that. But it is nice to have a book like this, combining his plotting abilities with Ledwidge's smoother prose. The point of view changes back and forth from chapter to chapter, between Bennett and the murderer, but Bennett's chapters are in first-person, while the other chapters are in third-person, so it's not as confusing as it has been in other Patterson books.
I was a little bit confused by references made to Bennett's past cases, especially those where he partnered with FBI agent Emily Parker, which made me think that this was not the first book in the series. It's not that these references made me feel like I was missing pieces of the Michael Bennett puzzle; I just assumed from the references that there were other, earlier books featuring Bennett. I'm curious to see if later books in the series dig deeper into those past events.
Without a doubt, the best part of the book is when Bennett, on the verge of death, is visited in a dream by his dead wife. They talk about their children, and she praises his work in raising them without her. He assumes she's come to be his guide into the afterlife, and she has to tell him it's not time yet. This definitely passed the "crying in public" test - if I'd been in public when I read this chapter, I wouldn't have cared who saw the tears pouring out of my eyes.
I had a few small quibbles; I wasn't satisfied with the resolution of the family's problem with the Flaherty clan, and the climactic scene between Bennett and the murderer was a bit... anticlimactic. But overall, this is a really good, exciting read.
Kris
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