Step on a Crack by James Patterson: CD Audiobook Cover

    Step on a Crack by James Patterson, Michael Ledwidge, John Slattery (Read by)

    BUY IT NEW

    • $14.98 Online price
    • $13.48 Member price
      • Join Now
      • skip to cart
    • Add To List uiAction=GetAllLists&page=List&pageType=list&ean=9781600242793&productCode=BK&maxCount=100&threshold=3

    Usually ships within 24 hours

    Get It There On Time
    Holiday Delivery Schedule

    BUY IT USED

    3 used from $8.62

    Used Copies Available from our Authorized Sellers.

    FIND & RESERVE AN IN-STORE COPY

    Enter a zip code

    (Compact Disc - Abridged)

    Reader Rating: (60 ratings)

    Detailed Rating: "Plot" See All

    • Publisher: Hachette Audio
    • Pub. Date: June 2008
    • ISBN-13: 9781600242793
    • Sales Rank: 41,874
    • Edition Description: Abridged
     
    • Overview
    • Editorial Reviews
    • Customer Reviews
    • Meet the Writer
    • Full Product Details

    Synopsis

    FIRST THERE WAS ALEX CROSS

    THEN THERE WAS THE WOMEN'S MURDER CLUB

    With the unexpected death of a beloved former first lady, the nation falls into mourning as the world's most powerful people gather in New York for her funeral. Then the inconceivable occurs. Billionaires, politicians, and superstars of every kind are suddenly trapped by one man's brilliant and ruthless scenario.

    NOW MEET DETECTIVE MICHAEL BENNETT, NYPD

    Pulled into the fray, Detective Michael Bennett-father of ten-faces the most sinister challenge of his career: a criminal who kills without hesitation and counters everything the NYPD and FBI throw at him with impunity. As New York descends into chaos, Bennett learns that the great love of his life, his wife, is battling a terrible disease and he may have to raise their children alone. Now with the entire world watching and the tension reaching a boiling point, Bennett must quickly find a way out-or become responsible for the greatest debacle in history.

    From the #1 bestselling author who introduced readers to Alex Cross and the Women's Murder Club comes the beginning of a brand-new, electrifying series from "one of the bestselling writers in history" (New York Sun). STEP ON A CRACK is James Patterson's most fiendishly terrifying thriller yet.

    Publishers Weekly

    Pop a bowl of popcorn, settle into a comfy chair and you might finish this combination thriller and tearjerker before the popcorn. Bestseller Patterson (Cross) and Ledwidge (The Narrowback) spin a fantastic tale of an audacious mass kidnapping and the unlikely detective thrust into the primary role of negotiator, sleuth and hero. Michael Bennett, a senior NYPD homicide detective, has a wife dying of cancer and 10 adopted children of various ethnic origins. When St. Patrick's Cathedral, site of the celebrity-packed funeral of a former first lady, is seized by a dozen ruthless men, Bennett ends up as point man for the hastily assembled negotiating team. From then on, the tale requires the reader to go with the flow as Bennett alternates visits to his wife's hospital bedside, brief trips to check on how his kids are managing and tense dealings with the well-prepared kidnappers. Short on credibility on the crime front, long on sentimentality on the home front, this book would be a good candidate for adaptation as a one-hour TV movie. (Feb.) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

    More Reviews and Recommendations

    Biography

    Not making any bones about his bid for success, James Patterson once declared he wanted to be known as “the king of the page-turners.” While that may seem like a pretty grand ambition, Patterson is as worthy of that title as any author working today.

    More About the Author

    Customer Reviews

    Jennifer Wardrip - Personal Readby TeensReadToo

    Reader Rating:
    See Detailed Ratings

    November 17, 2008: James Patterson introduces us to a new character with STEP ON A CRACK, NYPD Homicide Detective Michael Bennett. A former hostage negotiator, Bennett finds himself once again dealing with psychopaths when the celebrities attending former First Lady Caroline Hopkins' funeral are held hostage.

    I have to say that the actual meat of the story, the hijacking of St. Patrick's church and its funeral-attending creme de la creme of society, was an intriguing storyline. What weighed the story down, at least for me, was that fact that Michael Bennett wasn't a character I could easily relate to.

    It isn't the fact that his wife, Maeve, is dying of cancer, or even that they have ten adopted children. It's not Maeve's seemingly long-lost cousin, Mary Catherine, who shows up out of the blue to serve as the couple's au pair. It's not even Michael's grandfather, the crusty yet heart-of-gold Irish priest. No, the problem is that all of these characters, who could have made the story emotional and heartbreaking, seem to do nothing more than serve as filler.

    The ten children are interchangeable. Mary Catherine could be nominated for the sainthood. And Seamus, the grandfather, could be any number of wise-cracking old codgers from one of today's sitcoms.

    I'll read the next Bennett book when it comes out, mostly out of the hope that the secondary storyline will be as compelling as the main plot. We'll have to see. For fans of Patterson, this is one you'll want to read, but I'd advise checking it out from the library before plunking down the cold hard cash to purchase it in hardcover.

    Junkby Anonymous

    Reader Rating:
    See Detailed Ratings

    August 09, 2008: Nothing but junk writing. A waste of time.


    More Customer Reviews