Step on a Crack

James Patterson , Michael Ledwidge

Edition	Hardcover
List Price	$27.99
	$18.47 (Save 34%)

Published by	Little, Brown and Company
Release date	2007-02-06
ISBN	0316013943
Availability	Usually ships in 24 hours

Detective Michael Bennett is about to take on the most sinister challenge of his career. The nation has fallen into mourning after the unexpected death of a beloved former first lady, and the most powerful people in the world gather in New York for her funeral. Then the inconceivable occurs. Billionaires, politicians, and superstars of every kind are suddenly trapped within one man's brilliant and ruthless scenario. Bennett--father of ten--is pulled into the fray. As the danger escalates, Michael is hit with devastating news. After fighting for many years, his wife has succumbed to a terrible disease. As New York descends into chaos, he has lost the great love of his life and faces raising his ten devastated children alone--and rescuing 34 hostages. Day after day, Bennett confronts the most ruthless man he has ever dealt with, a man who kills without hesitation and counters everything the NYPD and FBI throw at him with impunity. As the entire world watches and the tension boils to a searing heat, Bennett has to find a way out--or face responsibility for the greatest debacle in history.

Customer Reviews - courtesy of Amazon.com ( Marked4Sale.com is not responsible for review content )

What's Happened To JP?

First off, I don't understand why an author as established as James Patterson continues to "co-write" books. You don't see Mary Higgins Clark or Nora Roberts doing that. It makes the author seem lazy and uninterested, and it fools readers into thinking they're going to get a real JP effort, rather than some whittled-down wannabe with his name stamped on the cover.

I also can't believe that JP is going to make this Michael Bennett a new series character. Yes, the dying wife and 10 kids was over the top, but how much more could he have mimicked Alex Cross without making Michael a black widower with two kids? Single father with dangerous job...check. Mature-for-their age, understanding kids...check. Elderly grand-relative willing to become the kids' caretaker...check. The main difference, however, was that Alex was interesting from the start and made you care about him and want to get to know him better. Michael didn't interest me in the least, and I couldn't care less if I ever read his name again.

Finally, the whole book was way too long and obvious. I don't see why this book was 373 pages -- it seemed like it was about 300 pages too long. And at one point, "The Neat Man" leans back against the police trailer across from St. Pat's. Since that was a restricted area, it was obvious where the whole storyline was going. And what of the hostages? We never found out what happened to any of them after the escape, and they certainly seemed to be setting us up for that throughout the siege.

This book makes me angry -- perhaps if JP stopped spending so much time "co-authoring" garbage like this and put his time and effort back into Alex Cross, that series would get back to being the top-notch one it used to be.

The Kids Make the Hero Real (Spoilers)

I am frankly astonished at the number of reviewers here who have found a relatively minor character trait of the book's hero to be a reason to trash what is otherwise a pretty good piece of work. Detective Mike Bennett being the father of 10 children probably *is* a bit contrived, but the point isn't the number of children, it's his role as a struggling father of a large brood. Would it have been easier to take if he'd had four or five kids? Perhaps, but the dramatic point Patterson's making about the difficulty of balancing life on two edges would have been diminished.

Anyone who comes to a James Patterson novel expecting literary brilliance will be disappointed. He's a wonderful storyteller to whom the plot is all, characterization is a second thought, and suspension of disbelief is essential to enjoyment. Several reviewers here have compared this work to a movie script and that analogy is apt. More and more pop fiction these days reads like it's a first draft of a movie script. With the tie-ins between movie production houses and publishers at the conglomerate level, that's not only unsurprising, it's inevitable. I didn't think that fact detracts an iota from the enjoyability of the plot.

In fact, the plot is ingenious. The notion of using a large state funeral as a means of capturing a few dozen excruciatingly wealthy people to hold for ransom is a slick idea. Is it believable? Probably not. But in today's world, nothing is completely unbelievable, either. Truth is indeed stranger than fiction these days.

If I have a criticism of this book, it's not the fact that the hero has a wife dying of cancer and 10 kids to take care of (facts that humanize what might otherwise be a pretty 2D kind of character). The bone I'd pick is with the way Patterson apparently thinks he's hiding the fact that this whole thing is an inside job within his own agency. I picked that up about 50 or 60 pages into the story and even had focused in on the likely (and correct) villain fairly early. I doubt I'm alone. So the story suffered a bit for me because a lot of suspense goes out of the plot when you have a pretty good idea how the mystery resolves.

As a potboiling quick read, "Step on a Crack" is a solid recommendation.

Outstanding Read - Great New Main Character

I never thought I would enjoy a character as much as Alex Cross, but Michael Bennett was great. Imagine being a police detective with 10 adopted kids. The twists in this book were great. I can't wait for the next book! Great job, Mr Patterson. S.L. Chessor author of Poodlums, Boogeymen and Booglers and My Tongue Fell Out.Poodlums, Boogeymen and Booglers: A Poetry Collection

review of the audio version

Getting through those highway miles only means one thing... buy a thriller, put it in the CD player and don't pull over until the book's done. That's pretty much what I did with this one.
I understand that some reviewers don't agree with Patterson's 'ghostwriting' here. Well, he's not actually a ghostwriter because his name is on the cover, right? He simply co-wrote with someone he seems to believe in. I don't think that an author of Patterson's caliber would put his name on something he doesn't believe in.

Anyway; over the years I've read many Patterson books and always enjoyed them. The characters grew on me, especially Alex Cross and the gals from the Murder Club. I think that Michael Bennett has a future as a protagonist in a Patterson Series. He's a kick a$$ cop with a soft heart, loves his ten (adopted) children and survived losing his wife when she didn't.
The plot was suspenseful and intriguing, maybe a little 'out there'. The side characters developed depth quickly and even the bad boyzz had a 'likeable' side to them. I like it when I have access to their warped minds.
I'm not sure if I would have been as entertained reading the book as I was listening to it. The narrators, no doubt, were outstanding and gave me the feeling I was listening to an old AM radio station mystery story, I used to love so much when I was a kid.

I laughed out loud and I shed a tear.
Was the story Patterson's best? Naah. Was it a believable plot I'd like to see in a movie? Naah. Was I entertained to the point that I didn't want to stop and fuel the truck? Absolutely; and therefore I give it 4 stars.

Rebecca Lerwill, author of Relocating Mia

interesting

I'm a newbie to the james patterson theme. this is the second book i've read by him ad they do seem to follow a pattern but what writer doesn't have a pattern. i enjoyed this book because one i love adventure and i love heists and a good ole hostage situation. this hostage takeover was unique simply because it was like no other. who would've thunk it to kill a first lady and hijack a historical church full of political figues and celebrities in NY city of all places?

now where my problem comes in at is the neat man although clues were dropped along the way but nothing indicating who he was. i knew the hijackers had to be law enforcement because they went beyond measure to keep their identity a secret. but the revealing of the neat man wasn't well thought out it could've been better.

the plot giving the man 10 kids and a ailing wife was touching how he needed them and vice versa. how he did his job and still went on to still be there for his wife's last breath but i feel it could've been more there. i loved the bantering between him and the grandfather that was a bright spot in the book.

i enjoyed step on a crack but just felt it could've been wrapped up better and dropped more concise clues on the neat man. i look forward to more of mr patterson's books. so far i'm a fan