- Hardcover: 400 pages
- Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1 edition (Feb 7 2007)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0316013943
- ISBN-13: 978-0316013949
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 15.2 x 3.6 cm
- Shipping Weight: 476 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #288,803 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From 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 © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Patterson and Ledwidge introduce a new hero in an exciting thriller set in the heart of Manhattan. NYPD detective Michael Bennett is concentrating on getting his family through a particularly difficult Christmas: he and his 10 adopted children are facing the loss to cancer of his brave wife, Maeve. But a major crisis calls him away: the funeral of a former First Lady at St. Patrick's Cathedral goes horribly awry when men storm the church and take hundreds of attendees hostage. Michael is asked to try to reason with a sinister man named Jack. Jack releases all but the most famous people, and makes his demands: he wants several million dollars from each celebrity hostage, including the mayor, a popular comedic actor, a beloved talk show host, and a pop starlet. Once Jack starts killing, Michael realizes he's up against a truly diabolical foe. Patterson has a knack for creating genuinely likable heroes, and Michael fits the bill. As readers rapidly turn the pages to learn how the tense hostage drama plays out, they will also be sympathizing with Michael as he faces the agonizing loss of his wife. Totally gripping and downright impossible to put down, this is a promising start to a potential new series. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
TOPNOTCH NARRATORS GIVE VOICE TO AN AFFECTING HERO,
By
This review is from: Step on a Crack (Audio CD)
Get ready, thriller fans, James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge have just introduced a new hero, and what a man he is! Michael Bennett is a NY police detective, the adoptive father of ten, and the husband of Maeve who is dying of cancer. Their Brady bunch family is rounded out by Seamus, Michael's grandfather who is a priest and Mary Catherine, the family's au pair.Home is where their hearts are and St. Patrick's Cathedral, of all places, is where hell breaks loose. Former First Lady Caroline Hopkins has died quite unexpectedly. She was beloved by all and the list of those attending her funeral at the vaunted cathedral reads like the A-List of politicos, millionaires, sports figures, entertainers - they're all there. Of course, security is high but that doesn't keep the minions of an evil plotter from holding some of these high profiles hostage. Ransom is demanded and just as the money is being collected a VIP is shot. The mastermind behind this astounding act kills randomly, with impunity. Michael enters the scene as negotiator, trying to balance outwitting these ruthless men, visiting his wife in the hospital, and keeping on eye on his brood. Half thriller, half three Kleenex listen, Step On A Crack has a socko finish - totally unexpected, quite unnerving. Tony Award and Drama Desk nominee Reg Rogers and John Slattery bring all to life from the heartless villains to the good guys, young and old. They're well paired as a narrating team with voices that complement as they reflect a range of emotions from tough to tender, frightened to brave. Expect to hear more adventures in the life of Michael Bennett, he's a likable and affecting hero. - Gail Cooke
5.0 out of 5 stars
Step on a crack,
By jordan brookes (Norquay Sask. Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Step On a Crack (Mass Market Paperback)
love it, can't put it down. I would be a good movie, Actually all Patterson books should be movies, Like Kiss the Girls, I will never get that brilliant book out of my head
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
A movie script not a novel!,
By
This review is from: Step on a Crack (Hardcover)
My wife (who loves James Patterson) brought this book home on Monday and by Wednesday we both have finished reading it, and not because I could not put it down, its just there is not much there (to be fair, my loved the book). This is light weight fluff that is more a movie script than a novel. I had about given up on Patterson, but he brought me back to the table with Mary Mary, which I enjoyed very much. This book is more tear jerker than thriller. The plot's credibility is tissue paper thin, I won't be a spoiler, but it did not hold up to close scrutiny. I can't totally trash the book as I did finish it and it did keep me turning the pages, its worth three stars. If you are looking for something light you can finish in an afternoon, then this will work, but as a best seller?? Doesn't make sense.. If your looking for thrills and a plot that will test you, try the cult classic "Tourist in the Yucatan." best thriller I have read recently.
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