Step on a Crack by James Patterson, Michael Ledwidge Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Step on a Crack
Book Review: ST. PATS IS UNDER SIEGE AGAIN
Summary: 2 Stars
Step on a Crack has all the requisite ingredients for a suspense/thriller. We have NYPD Detective Michael Bennett a quick thinking, analytical and in this instance somewhat sympathetic hero, we have the ominous "neat man" an obsessive/compulsive who is the brains behind the ransom plan and whose true identity is somewhat surprising, we have the usual number of unlikable characters (some of them celebrity hostages that you would not be sorry to see killed off), and then we have the peripheral story of the heroes' stalwart spouse who is dying of cancer and their ten (yes I said ten) kids that adds yet another piece to our hero's already overflowing plate. Oh, did I mention that the kids are PERFECT. Not a whiner in the bunch......probably because of their perfect au pair......an angel named Mary Catherine who can cook, clean and anticipate your every need with one arm tied behind her back. This is a book of extremes with very little middle ground. The bad are verrrry bad and the good are almost saintly.
Let me just say that the takeover of New Yorks' St. Patricks Cathedral and holding of hostages for ransom is not a new premise. Nelson DeMille did it several years ago with his novel "Cathedral". This Patterson/Ledwidge rework of DeMilles scenerio is adequate enough to hold the readers attention but DeMille's is by far the superior work.
Book Review: Step On A Crack
Summary: 2 Stars
I will grit my teeth and give this novel a 2 star based on the rules of reviewing. However, the story is unbelievable and not too compelling.
Patterson introduces his new detective, Michael Bennett with 10 children. Ouch. Plus, his wife is sick and dying of cancer and this is the most "moving" part of the book. The story seems real here and is touching.
I was disappointed because I saw the ending before it was revealed, one of my pet peeves. Placing my opinion to the side, you have a funeral for the former First Lady. This is part of a terrorist plot. The terrorists uses the death of the former First Lady to carry out their plot to extort lots of money from the rich. They hold the richer celebs hostage, releasing the somewhat less richer celebs.
It's obvious that the terroists will make a perfect escape, leaving you nowhere to turn to wonder. Michael Bennett sure does take a lot of breaks while a serious hostage situation is taking place, but...he does have to go see his wife. It's unbelievable that he would be able to leave the crime scene at the particular times that he does though.
Patterson introduces the "Neat Man." I am shocked to think that this is the only name he can come up with, but, this is what the man is revealed as. It's obvious that the "Neat Man" is a cop and helping and the terrorists, but poor Michael Bennett has not figured this out yet.
After a long, drawn out process, the terrorists do in fact escape. This leads to a chase and in the end, guess what? Michael Bennett gets the man and the "Neat Man." This is very predictable in Patterson's novels and I would like to see for once - that maybe some of the bad guys could get away. Leaving more room for more series and plus, leaving the reader shocked a little.
Book Review: Two unrelated stories masquerading as a thriller
Summary: 2 Stars
OK, let me get this straight. Mike Bennett and his wife Maeve have adopted 10 kids because they could not have any of their own. Now, Maeve is dying rapidly of cancer and Mike is barely able to keep the household going. In comes his grandfather - Seamus the priest (???!!!) - and an Au Pair named Mary Catherine. Both of them take over as Mike attends to his dying wife. She dies on Christmas day in Mike's arms and Mike has to attend to funeral details etc.
While this is going on, we also find out that Mike's 'day' job is as an NYPD homicide detective. Of course, he is also a former hostage negotiator so when a group of armed men take over a state funeral at St. Paul's Cathedral and demand large amounts of ransom, Mike is the man who steps in to become the lead negotiator. Of course, that makes perfect sense, especially since there are two additional negotiators involved - although at least one of them is considered the senior and he is dismissed immediately.
So, now we see the two parallel stories. Besides Mike Bennett is there any connection between the two? nope.
The thriller part was completely action-filled and predictable. Of course the kidnappers are always a step ahead of the police at every plot twist and turn. The cathedral is impenetrable as the FBI finds out when they attempt to enter via a secret entrance and run straight into a trap. Every move that the police make is foreseen by the bad guys and they always have a prepared answer for it. I was particularly 'impressed' when the FBI tries to find out who is a hostage and who a kidnapper by using thermal imaging for weaponry - and, of course, each of the people scanned has a weapon! Of course! The hostages would NEVER use the weapons they were given to try and escape after all! Even if there are 33 hostages and less than ten kidnappers!
As you can see, this story is completely silly. The characters were very poorly developed and completely stereotypical: we have the black TV show hostess (say Oprah) who has made good and observes on how she tried losing the ghetto speak all of her life, while the pop-starlett who was born in a lilly-white environment speaks like a ghetto-born person after she makes multiple millions as a rap star. There is the aging domestic diva (Martha Stewart) who is hooked on oxycontin but realizes while captive that she has mislead the world, there is the Al Sharpton kind of captive who always blame the police and the white world for the scrapes he gets in - but this time he's proven right. etc.
So, when you put together two completely unrelated stories; do not develop characters beyond their introduction; populate the story with unbelievable plot twists; and then bring it all to a quick resolution while tying all the knots together; what do you have? A sorry excuse for a novel.
Yuck.
Book Review: Unable to suspend disbelief
Summary: 1 Stars
This read like a late book review completed to avoid an "Incomplete" in a compulsory English class; there must have been a deadline from the publisher to keep the advance. I found the Women's Murder Club mysteries entertaining, but this was popular writing for hire -- a reputation for sale to an aspiring co-writer. The plot reminded me of the incredibly weak "Armageddon" movie from 1998 with Bruce Willis, because I was also unable to suspend disbelief for that project; throughout the book, I reacted with "Come On!" Maybe it's time for me to give up on Patterson.Book Review: You can't sleep until it's finished- Step on a Crack
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of the best page turners to ever come along.
Everyone that I recommended it to loved it. 100% !