A Book A Week

Besides his Alex Cross series, James Patterson's Michael Bennett series is one of the more consistent of the author's prolific output. I've really enjoyed reading about Bennett and his extended family of 10 kids, a priestly grandfather, and an Irish nanny/love interest. This unique family dynamic couples with Patterson's penchant for a fast pace and short chapters to make consistently satisfying novels.

Alert, the eighth novel in the Bennett series, sees Michael and his nanny Mary Catherine back in her homeland. The couple has finally decided to pursue their relationship, ending a series-long "will they/won't they" that was beginning to overstay its welcome. Plans for the sale of Mary Catherine's property fall through, leaving her in the motherland while Michael heads back to his responsibilities in New York.

New York brings challenges to both Michael's personal and professional lives. His grandfather recently had a bout of amnesia that doctors fear may have been the result of a stroke. Just as he is beginning to deal with the realities of his grandfather's health, Michael is faced with an even worse event. A large explosion has gone off in the NYC subway system, a terrorist attack the likes of which the city hasn't experienced in years.

All told, Alert delivers on just about everything you'd come to expect from a James Patterson novel. Patterson strikes a perfect balance between the family and thriller aspects of his story. The thrills may be mostly surface level, but I still enjoyed them. More importantly, Paterson places his characters in life situations that are both vital to their evolution and relatable to readers. Alert may not be remembered as one of the great literary works of all time, but it certainly works as a diversional thriller. In the end, that's all it really needs to be.

For more information, visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads.

(2018, 35)

By now I know exactly what to expect when I open a James Patterson novel. His heroes will be classic good guys with just enough personal baggage to keep us invested in them. His villains will be psychopaths hellbent on taking down the hero. The story will unfold through short chapters that usually end in mini cliff-hangers. All combined, these elements keep the pages turning quickly and provide a mild diversion from everyday life. It is a tried and true formula that has turned Patterson into one of the bestselling authors of all time. Even when I complain about his use of co-authors to churn out multiple books a year and the deficit in quality this has caused, I can't help but come back for more. And so I started Burn, the seventh installment in the Michael Bennett series knowing pretty much what I was in store for.

Michael Bennett and his brood of adopted children finally return home to New York after being hidden in witness protection for most of the last novel. Despite having nabbed one of the most notorious drug lords in the world, Bennett is not given the hero's welcome he expected. Instead, the NYPD has assigned him to lead a community outreach squad in Harlem. The poorly supported squad lacks the resources and personnel to adequately assist the large population that it has been charged with. The bureaucratic systems that people have to follow to provide tips to the squad means that potentially valuable information goes unnoticed by the people who are supposed to act on it. When a burned body is found at a property of a previously ignored tip, Bennett vows to correct the broken system and bring justice to the people he has been tasked with serving.

Just as Michael is starting to implement changes at the squad, he gets pulled into another high profile case. This time a string of jewelry heists have left the department stumped. When the higher ups beg Bennett to step in, he only agrees to assist if he can continue his duties with the outreach squad as well. Soon he finds himself back in the crazy juggling act that his turns into all too often. The stresses of work coupled with a budding romance with his live in nanny and the duties of being a single father begin to take their toll on him. But Michael is determined to give his best in all aspects of his life. He is the hero after all.

As I expected, Patterson delivered on all of the usual fronts. The Michael Bennett series is probably my second favorite Patterson saga behind the Alex Cross books, and Burn is certainly a worthy continuation of the story. More so than usual, I found the real joy of this novel was in reading about Michael's personal relationships with his family. That drama seemed to outweigh the more surface level crime threads in the book. In fact, with so much time devoted to developing a romance and maintaining the unique Bennett clan, the actual mystery was too brief. As I got to the last couple of pages, I would have even preferred a cliff-hanger that the rushed ending that we got. Still, Burn does nothing to deter me from looking forward to the next installment. The next time I'm looking for a quick and fun read, I'll definitely turn to a Patterson novel again.

For more information, visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads.

(2016. 21)

If you've ever read a novel by bestselling author James Patterson, you pretty much know what to expect from him. Usually assisted by a co-author, Patterson delivers numerous novels throughout the year, all of which follow the same basic formula. Despite this cookie-cutter approach, I've always been a fan of this prolific author. While his books rarely offer more than surface level thrills, their fast pacing and straightforward prose are often the perfect cure for a reading slump.

After the events of the previous novel, I, Michael Bennett, NYPD Detective Michael Bennett and his clan of ten adopted children, Irish nanny Mary Catherine, and Grandfather/priest Seamus are in hiding. The capture and arrest of Mexican drug lord Manuel Perrine was one of the greatest achievements of Bennett's career, but with Perrine's recent escape and vow of vengeance, Michael isn't taking any chances. He's moved his family from their home in New York to a secluded ranch in Northern California. The kids have adapted well to their new rural surroundings, but Michael knows the transition has not been easy on them. They wake up each day with the fear that Perrine will use his vast resources to discover their location and exact his revenge.

In addition to his personal vendetta against Michael, Perrine has also declared war on every criminal who has ever done him wrong and plans to expand his thriving drug business into the United States. He methodically executes anyone who stands in his way and has no trouble traveling between the border undetected. After eight months of violent escalation, a desperate FBI contacts the only man who has ever had any success against Perrine. . . Michael Bennett. With the safety of his family and the entire nation on the line, Michael attempts to bring the world's most wanted man to justice.

I was extremely disappointed in the cliffhanger ending of the last book in the Michael Bennett series. So much so, in fact, that it took me nearly three years to get around to reading this conclusion to that story. Fortunately, this one brings the story to a satisfying end. While this novel works as a stand-alone story, you really should read the previous book to get the full context of the narrative. As this is the sixth novel in the series, Patterson devotes much less time to Michael's personal life and spends the majority of the novel writing the page-turning action that he's become so well known for. I raced through this book in a few hours and enjoyed every second of it. Still, this novel is closer to the more generic Patterson books than the much better first novels of this series. If you've already read the rest of the Michael Bennett books, you'll probably find everything you're looking for in this one. If, however, you're looking for an original or deeper story, you may be slightly disappointed with this installment.

For more information, visit the author's website, Amazon, and GoodReads.

(2015, 36)

As critics and readers have slammed most of James Patterson's recent novels, his Michael Bennett series, co-written with Michael Ledwidge, has maintained a level of quality and entertainment that reminds us why he is one of the bestselling authors of all time.

Michael Bennett, a single father of 10, is used to being busy. Ever since he lost his wife to cancer, he has struggled to maintain both his family life and his job of solving high profile crimes for the New York City Police Department. Thankfully, Bennett has the faithful assistance of his priest grandfather, Seamus, and irish nanny, Mary Catherine.

As the Bennett clan prepares for a lengthy summer vacation, Michael is called in to assist his friend in taking down a Mexican drug runner who has entered NYC. The bust has mixed results. While Bennett manages to capture the leader, two officers, including his friend, are killed in the process. Even worse, the drug leader continues to wreak havoc from inside the jail. During an interrogation, Bennett refuses to assist the drug leader, despite a proposed $2.5 million bribe. The leader takes this personally and vows to do everything in his power to destroy Bennett and those close to him.

This novel left me with mixed feelings, mainly due to the complete lack of resolution. Patterson makes no attempt at bringing the story to a close, causing the novel to feel very unfinished. I'm sure the next novel in the series will pick up where this one leaves off, but the lack of even the smallest amount of closure leaves the entire novel completely disjointed. Michael Bennett is easy to care for and is arguably Patterson's strongest character to date. This story focusses less on character development than the previous installments, but having read all of the other novels, I already understood the emotions stakes that the situations held. As far as action is concerned, Patterson expertly walks the line between reality and unbelievable, providing genuine suspense. Overall, I would recommend reading some of the others in this series before picking up this one. Fans of the early Alex Cross novels and vintage Patterson thrillers should enjoy this one as well.

For more information, visit the author's website www.jamespatterson.com,
Amazon http://www.amazon.com/review/R213A45BSTQC1G/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm,
and http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13037558-i-michael-bennett.

(week 32, book 36)