Michael Bennett Books in Order: How to read James Patterson’s series?

The main protagonist in the crime series written by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge, Michael Bennett is a New York City cop. He is also a six-foot-three Irish American with 10 adopted kids. He cares for them with the help of his au pair, Mary Catherine, and his grandfather Seamus. His wife, Maeve, died of cancer in December 2007 (in the first book). It’s a lot of work, but it doesn’t stop Michael Bennett from being the best at what he does. And being that good comes with a lot of enemies…

How to read the Michael Bennett Series in Order?

Every entry in the Michael Bennett book series works as a standalone story, but the lives of the different characters evolve from one novel to the other.

1. Step on a Crack – 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. Michael Bennett, father of ten, is pulled into the fray. As the danger escalates, Michael is hit with devastating news: his wife has succumbed to a terrible disease. As New York descends into chaos, Bennett has lost the great love of his life and faces raising his ten devastated children alone–and rescuing 34 hostages.
2. Run for Your Life – A calculating killer who calls himself The Teacher is taking on New York City, killing the powerful and the arrogant. His message is clear: remember your manners or suffer the consequences! Only one man can tackle such a high-profile case: Detective Mike Bennett.
3. Worst Case – The son of one of New York’s wealthiest families is snatched off the street and held hostage. But this kidnapper isn’t demanding money. Instead, he quizzes his prisoner on the price others pay for his life of luxury and wrong answers are fatal. Detective Michael Bennett heads the investigation.

4. Tick Tock – When a rash of horrifying crimes tears through the city, the city calls on Detective Michael Bennett, pulling him away from a seaside retreat with his ten adopted children. Not only does it tear apart their vacation, it leaves the entire family open to attack. Immediately, it becomes clear that the crimes are not the work of an amateur, but of a calculating, efficient, and deadly mastermind.
5. I, Michael Bennett – Detective Michael Bennett arrests an infamous Mexican crime lord in a deadly chase that leaves Bennett’s lifelong friend dead. From jail, the prisoner vows to rain epic violence down upon New York City-and to get revenge on Michael Bennett..
6. Gone – Manuel Perrine doesn’t fear anyone or anything. A charismatic, ruthless strongman, he slaughters rivals as effortlessly as he wears his trademark white linen suits. Detective Michael Bennett is the only U.S. official ever to succeed in putting Perrine behind bars. But now Perrine is out–and vows to find and kill Bennett and everyone dear to him.

7. Burn – At last, Detective Michael Bennett and his family are coming home to New York City. Thanks to Bennett, the ruthless crime lord whose vengeful mission forced the Bennett family into hiding has been brought down for good. Back in the city, Bennett takes over a chaotic Outreach Squad in Harlem, where he receives an unusual call: a man claims to have seen a group of well-dressed men holding a bizarre party in a condemned building.
8. Alert – New Yorkers aren’t easily intimidated, but someone is doing their best to scare them, badly: why? After two inexplicable high-tech attacks, the city is on edge. Detective Michael Bennett, along with his old pal, the FBI’s Emily Parker, have to catch the shadowy criminals who claim responsibility–but they’re as good at concealing their identities as they are at wreaking havoc.
9. Bullseye – Tensions between America and Russia are the highest they’ve been since the Cold War. As the countries’ Presidents travel to the United Nations to iron out their differences, a husband and wife team of assassins prowls the streets of Manhattan hunting their prey–a professor hiding a scandalous secret. Their next target: the President of the United States of America. Pressed into service, Detective Michael Bennett must trace the source of a threat that could rip the country apart.

10. Chase (short story) – A man plunges to his death from the roof of a Manhattan hotel. It looks like a suicide–except the victim has someone else’s fingerprints and $10,000 in cash.
11. Haunted – Detective Michael Bennett is ready for a vacation after a series of crises push him, and his family, to the brink. He settles on an idyllic small town in the beautiful Maine woods. But just when Bennett thinks he can relax, he gets pulled into a case that has shocked the tight-knit community. Kids are disappearing with no explanation – until several bodies turn up in the woods.
12. Manhunt (short story) – Someone attacked the Thanksgiving Day Parade directly in front of Michael Bennett and his family. The television news called it “holiday terror”–Michael Bennett calls it personal. The hunt is on….
13. Ambush – An anonymous tip about a crime in Upper Manhattan proves to be a setup. An officer is taken down–and, despite the attackers’ efforts, it’s not Michael Bennett. One of Bennett’s children sustains a mysterious injury. And a series of murders follows, each with a distinct signature, alerting Bennett to the presence of a professional killer with a flair for disguise.
14. Blindside – Michael Bennett leaps into the case and sources lead him to a homicide in the Bronx. The victim has ties to a sophisticated hacking operation — and also to the mayor’s missing daughter, Natalie, a twenty-one-year-old computer prodigy. The murder is part of a serial killing spree, one with national security implications. Suddenly Bennett is at the center of a dangerous triangle anchored by NYPD, FBI, and a transnational criminal organization.

15. The Russian – Weeks before NYPD Detective Michael Bennett is to marry his longtime love, Mary Catherine, an assassin announces his presence in the city with a string of grisly murders. Each victim is a young woman. And each has been killed in a manner as precise as it was gruesome. Tasked with working alongside the FBI, Bennett and his gung-ho new partner uncover multiple cold-case homicides across the country that fit the same distinctive pattern — proving the perpetrator they seek is as experienced at ending lives as he is at evading detection.
16. Shattered – NYPD master homicide investigator Michael Bennett and top FBI abduction specialist Emily Parker have a history. Working case after case, each can predict the other’s next move. So when she fails to show at FBI headquarters in Washington, DC, Bennett risks venturing far outside his jurisdiction. The investigation her undertakes is the most brilliant detective work of his career…and the most intensely personal. A portrait begins to emerge of a woman as adept at keeping secrets as forging powerful connections. A woman whose enemies had both the means and the motives to silence the real Emily Parker–and her protectors.
17. Obsessed – Detective Michael Bennett must discover who’s murdering glamorous young women – before his eldest daughter is targeted. Detective Michael Bennett and the NYPD are aboard a police boat in the Hudson River searching for a murder victim – a young college student. They find her tossed in the dark waves, dressed for a night out. The gruesome sight fills Bennett with dread only a father could fathom.

18. Crosshairs – In New York City, a sniper dubbed ‘The Longshot Killer’ is taking out impossible targets. Nothing links the victims – except the brutal circumstances of their deaths. Detective Michael Bennett quickly develops a profile of the killer. Great with a gun. Probably ex-military. A profile that his new partner, Rob Trilling, fits to a terrifying degree. With Trilling taking ever more suspicious absences from duty, Bennett must find out the truth – before the Longshot Killer strikes again.

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