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Michael Bennett #11

Omicidio a Manhattan

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In seguito a una segnalazione anonima, il detective Michael Bennett e il suo partner Antrole Martens piombano in un condominio fatiscente. Lo scopo è arrestare un sospetto coinvolto in alcuni omicidi legati allo spaccio di eroina. Giunti sul posto, i due poliziotti capiscono che è tutta una messinscena. Un’imboscata in piena regola. Martens viene brutalmente ucciso sotto gli occhi impotenti del collega. Ma l’obiettivo non era lui. L’obiettivo, in realtà, era proprio Michael Bennett.
Bennett si rende presto conto che la minaccia non tocca solo lui. Uno dei suoi figli viene aggredito, e in città si moltiplicano gli omicidi accomunati da una firma ben precisa. La firma di un killer professionista che sta seminando il terrore. Un assassino meticoloso e camaleontico. Un perfetto maestro dei travestimenti.
Bennett non sa quale sia la ragione di questa catena di eventi sanguinosi, ma sa che spezzarla sarà più rischioso del previsto. Perché stavolta si tratta di una questione personale…

276 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 8, 2018

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About the author

James Patterson

955 books355k followers
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James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time and the creator of such unforgettable characters and series as Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride. He has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton, Dolly Parton, and Michael Crichton, as well as collaborated on #1 bestselling nonfiction, including The Idaho Four, Walk in My Combat Boots, and Filthy Rich. Patterson has told the story of his own life in the #1 bestselling autobiography James Patterson by James Patterson. He is the recipient of an Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal.

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5,981 (34%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 971 reviews
Profile Image for Matt.
4,817 reviews13.1k followers
November 16, 2018
Michael Bennett is back, further developed by James Patterson and collaborator James O. Born. In this eleventh novel in the series, Bennett finds himself paired up with a partner, given the task to show him the ropes. When a tip comes in and they are headed out onto the streets of New York, Bennett cannot know what awaits them. As they arrive, a hail of gunfire erupts and Bennett is left injured while his partner dies in a pool of blood. This was some form of ambush, an attack meant to scrub Bennett out of the NYPD equation. Lurking in the shadows is an Columbian national who has been sent to exterminate Bennett as part of a contract to allow the Mexican cartel ready access to the streets of the Big Apple. While Bennett recuperates, he learns that his son, serving time in update New York, has been attacked. Could it be tied to the attempted offing at the ambush? If that were not enough, Bennett’s eldest daughter, Julianna, has been chosen to act in a local television production and has been flexing her independence at every turn. Will a killer on the loose, leaving bodies of rival cartel members strewn around New York, Bennett has little time to wait, especially once he discovers there are crosshairs focussed on him. A man of a million roles, Michael Bennett as little time for capes and phone booths, but he must be a superhero not only to the city he loves, but the family he cannot live without. Patterson and Born offer up a decent continuation to the Bennett series, which has been moving along effectively. Series fans may enjoy this one, though there are also signs that Bennett might want to turn to life with the family and hang up those cuffs!

I have a long history with many of the cop series that James Patterson has crafted over the years. I find that those with a collaborator seem to get a little tepid as they progress, particularly when plots repeat themselves. Bennett was once a sharp cop who sought to juggle life in Homicide with his massive brood of adopted children. It worked well, when backstory and development allowed for adequate action and kept the reader enthralled. It would seem to be that things have remained in neutral, with new killers and more ways to wreak havoc on NYC, but little movement in the protagonist. Sure, as his children grow their life lessons blossom into interesting sub-plots, but they do not have enough momentum to keep the series propelling along for me. Born was brought in recently, perhaps to inject some pizzazz into the series, though it might have been past its best before date already. The handful of characters that have followed the series seem to have grown slightly, but it is time to either make significant changes to them or let the series fade into the sunset. The story is ok, though, as I mentioned above, has not got the spark needed to push it to the top of any list—save perhaps lists that utilise the ‘Patterson’ name for automatic notoriety. Bennett mixes his time between chasing down killers and trying to keep a handle on his family. The series is at a crossroads—or, perhaps it has already left that spot—and needs some revamping and more energetic developments. I leave it to Patterson and Born to see if they want to keep it exciting or let it wither and cause animosity amongst those who have dedicated time and effort into supporting it for this long.

Kudos, Messrs. Patterson and Born, for working your best to make something out of a series that may be turning beige. Perhaps a BookShot or two to tie things off? I suspect your collaborative efforts in the future could make for brilliant work, away from Michael Bennett.

Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/

A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
Profile Image for Brenda.
5,074 reviews3,012 followers
April 20, 2019
From the beginning the reader knew who the assassin was – Detective Michael Bennett didn’t have that advantage. Fast paced, violent, with Bennett being his usual stubborn but determined self, the two sides to Bennett – loving father to his ten adopted children plus committed cop – were there, so everything I love in a Michael Bennett thriller. But this one didn’t seem to have the punch that the previous in the series have had.

Ambush is the 11th in the series by James Patterson, and although it wasn’t quite up to the usual standard (in my opinion) I am looking forward to #12. Recommended.
Profile Image for Scott.
639 reviews65 followers
November 20, 2018
James Patterson has several bestselling series, each carrying different levels of readership popularity. Detective Alex Cross is his coveted franchise and most successful series, followed by the Women’s Murder Club, Detective Michael Bennett, and the Private novels.

The Detective Michael Bennett series is one of Patterson’s better feel-good characters. Bennett is a successful Detective working special crimes in New York City. His home life and family are really the center of his world and provide the primary reason for the readers to cheer him on. Bennett’s first wife, Maeve, died after fighting a losing battle with cancer, leaving him with their 10 adopted children to raise, along with his sour grandfather and catholic priest, Seamus. During most of the books, Bennett has moved on by falling in love and becoming engaged to his wonderful housekeeper, Mary Catherine.

The good news is that most of the books in this series have been pretty dang good and worth reading for the most part. The first nine books in the series were co-authored by Howard Roughan and built up a nice consistency and rhythm in the plotting and overall character development. However, there was a change. Last year’s and this year’s book have a new co-author - James O. Born - working with Patterson.

I reviewed last year’s book and was less than pleased with the weak plotting and characters acting out of character. It was definitely my least liked Bennett book in the series. I felt like the new co-author was struggling in his understanding of the characters, especially after having Bennett’s son arrested for selling drugs. That just made no sense at all and was so completely out of character, I am still trying to figure out how this move was consistent to any of the character’s previous history.

This year’s book, “Ambush” has some improvements in plotting and characterization; however, it’s offset by more weaknesses that leave a bad taste in the reader’s mouth. The adventure kicks off with Bennett responding to an anonymous tip about a crime that’s a set-up to kill him. The book continues the fight against the Mexican cartel, which is not only killing off members of a Canadian cartel in New York, it has put out a contract on Bennett’s life. They even reach out to attack Bennett’s son in prison.

Bennett’s opponent is Alex Martinez, an experienced hitwoman from Bogota, Columbia. Alex is highly trained and deadly, especially with pistols and stiletto, and she spends most of the book focused on taking Bennett out. It becomes a cat and mouse game in New York city between two worthy opponents, as Bennett races to figure out why he is the target before Alex can catch him.

There were some improvements in this book over the last one. I enjoyed the approach of Bennett vs. Alex, two professionals targeting each other. For the most part it developed pretty well, providing tension and interest. I especially liked the new character of Father Alonzo, the new priest that Seamus is training. His secret background was a nicely added touch that I hope is used more in the future, as well as exploring more of personal development the Bennett children and their interests.

There were also some serious weaknesses that hurt the overall read. First, the book is short. Too short. A normal Patterson book runs around 400 pages, give or take 10 – 20 pages. This book is only 303 pages. To fill the rest of the expected page count, there is an added short story titled “Manhunt” added to the end of the book. It is about Bennet’s family attending the Thanksgiving parade and witnessing an attack that causes Bennett to spend 114 pages investigating and hunting down the attackers with the mysteriously assigned Russian agent, Darya Kuznetsova. “Manhunt” is a decent read, but provides little to the Bennett cannon except for the introduction of Darya, who will hopefully make another appearance.

Second, the climax comes at a big disappointment to me. Without giving any details away that may ruin something, I will keep things general. As Alex and Bennett play their dangerous cat and mouse assassination game, Alex is presented as a strong opponent, always selecting the best strategies in eliminating her targets. She is careful, keeps away from public scenes or unnecessarily involving others from being involved. That is… until the delivery of the climax. Suddenly she makes a major uncharacteristic decision on how to get Bennett. One that goes against everything her character has been advertised to do. And that wasn’t enough. That decision is followed by at least two or more less than smart choices that lead to her eventual demise. The authors try to defend her actions as being that of being a professional, but that’s just plain silly. When you read the climax, you will pick up on the out of character errors pretty much right away.

Overall, these last two books are causing my interest in the Detective Michael Bennett series to painfully wane. Even though this mind-candy escapism reading, “Ambush” barely rates a three-star outing. Here’s to hoping you enjoyed it more…



Profile Image for Laura Wonderchick.
1,610 reviews184 followers
October 22, 2018
While this wasn’t such a bad Michael Bennett book it royally pissed me off that it abruptly ended and I still had a thick portion left of pages. JP added a bookshot at the end of this book so it seemed way thicker than what it was. And I’ve already read said bookshot so I feel like I just got ripped off.
Profile Image for Lo9man88.
140 reviews50 followers
November 7, 2018
It was an OK read , rather dull at some moments even with a great first scene , the plot was a little implausible , and those short chapters were getting on my nerves big time, i hope the quality of this series return to it's previous glory .
Profile Image for Daniel Ray.
569 reviews14 followers
August 15, 2025
A good story but something is missing. I think the characters are just not very interesting. Compare the Alex Cross series, full of great characters. I did like the villain though.
Profile Image for Stacey.
1,090 reviews154 followers
July 30, 2019
Be still my heart, my crush Michael Bennett is back. He's back keeping the mean streets of NYC safe. You can target Michael Bennett, but when you mess with his family, it's going to get ugly. Another fun, fast paced addition to this series :)
Profile Image for Suzzie.
954 reviews172 followers
January 29, 2019
These Michael Bennett thrillers are some of my favorite James Patterson co-authored books. Michael and his family crew are just very amusing with some of the most entertaining dialogue in crime literature. In this addition to the series, Michael is being pursued by a female, paid assassin. I was actually surprised that I enjoyed it as much as I did because of some reviews that have been posted on the book. In the end, I really enjoyed it!

My quick and simple overall: moved at a good pace and was a great way to stay entertained for a few hours.
735 reviews19 followers
October 10, 2018
Why oh why do I keep buying his books ! I was cranky right at the start of the book because I always check where the book ends; 68% & IT'S OVER ! If you pay $14.99 for a book, do you want it to end at 68% ? I keep telling myself STOP buying his books but this was his Michael Bennett character who I've been following for years. I need to stop buying his books because during the whole reading I was angry and feeling cheated. I did enjoy the story but not worth the money.

In this book he added a "bookshot" at the end called Manhunt which was published in Nov 2017 and I purchased at that time. Last Sept 2017 I read Patterson's book, Haunted and at the end he indicated that story would continue in a bookshot call Manhunt available Nov 2017. I don't buy his bookshots because I don't like short stories but I bought Manhunt because he said it was a continuation. NO - nothing to do with the last book.

NOW to get that same bookshot FREE in this current book, really pisses me off. Hopefully I've learned my lesson and will stop buying his books.

TOO MANY GREAT AUTHORS OUT THERE TO WASTE MONEY ON PATTERSON.
Profile Image for JR.
353 reviews16 followers
March 14, 2024
Book 11 in the Michael Bennett series. I swear this series is driving me crazy. Just coming off number 10 and one of the best ones so far, this just continues where it left off with Bryan’s warning of imminent drug war and the plot to once again kill Michael.

I liked the plot and the continuation of the last story. I didn’t like the awkwardness between Michael and MC AGAIN after finally feeling right after the first book. Patterson knows how to write about relationships. There’s Cross and Bree, Lyndsey and Joe, but these two? It’s so weird. It’s so wish washy every book. I’m not sure if it’s done on purpose but it just seems like such a weird relationship and it makes me roll my eyes after every book.

Good story 3 and a half stars
Profile Image for Mandy White (mandylovestoread).
2,778 reviews849 followers
November 9, 2018
So much murder in this one... wow! Really enjoyed this one, I do have a soft spot for Michael Bennett and his 10 children. I hope this series keeps going strong for a while longer! Great listen in what has been a very stressful week
Profile Image for Carol Irvin.
1,147 reviews21 followers
November 29, 2018
Quick read but I felt like something was missing...
Profile Image for Katrina.
84 reviews4 followers
November 9, 2023
This one is good…like the others. The paid assassin is a chick this time. She’s smart. Wants to kill Bennett…like the others. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…this series is awesome!!
Profile Image for Amy.
2,642 reviews2,022 followers
January 18, 2019
2.5/5

Ugh I’m worried about this series. I loved following Michael Bennett from the beginning and have become invested in his family’s lives but this one just was not as good as the other books in the series. It was predictable and even boring at times, where is the excitement I’ve come to expect from this series?! The only saving grace for me was that I listened to this and Danny Mastrogiorgio is an amazing narrator! Hoping the next installment is better or I’m abandoning.
Profile Image for Adrienne.
527 reviews128 followers
August 22, 2019
A wonderful read. Detective Michael Bennett, NY. A family man with 10 adopted children. He is pursued by an assassin.
After various, plausible twists and turns: he is unharmed. The assassin is captured.
I look forward to reading with the Detective Michael Bennett character. And his amazing children. Unputdownable
Profile Image for Rawan.
86 reviews
August 11, 2019
4
I was planning to read this book as something to pass my time, but it turned out to be a very nice book indeed. It's a short read so more details would have made it more interesting. Also, there was no mind blowing plot twist or anything of the sort. Overall, it's very nice and I'm looking forward to reading the next book of the series.
Profile Image for Natalie M.
1,436 reviews89 followers
December 18, 2018
Sadly a three-star read because I really enjoy the Micheal Bennett series. Replacement co-author O’Born collaborates with Patterson in a so-so read which really doesn’t progress much further than where the last one finished off. Yes, there are murders, a hit-woman, drug dealers, Seamus and Mary-Catherine.
The pace is fairly good, the plot is initially intriguing but becomes increasingly far-fetched and the characters just don’t develop or progress.
That said I’ll read the next one...I’m a sucker!
294 reviews
October 22, 2018
Disappointing, short, seems the bar (standard) of writing has dropped very low.

On the good side...it was a very quick read and borrowed from the library. Glad I didn't waste any money, I would not recommend paying for books in this series.
Profile Image for Carol Jones-Campbell.
2,024 reviews
February 20, 2025
This book is a joint effort between James Patterson and James O. Born. Ambush is the 11th in the Michael Bennett Series.

Something I rarely do, is read all the reviews before I write my own. This time I did as I was curious as to what the consensus was about this book. Folks, hate to tell you this, but we all are very close in our thinking and opinions of this book.
1. Not quite as vital and exciting as it used to be.
2. Losing the excitement that we looked forward to in the early days.
3. Thank goodness he has family. That helps create interest and plot which is desperately needed.

Good points.
1. Mary Catherine announces that she is ready to get married, and soon!!!
2. Son, Brian is doing better in prison. Was stabbed in prison while serving for drug dealing. Is transferred to a less rigid facility, to all our relief.
Overall, an okay book. Just lacking in some areas. Good luck!!
 
Profile Image for sol ♡.
29 reviews1 follower
February 1, 2023
this was my first James Patterson book i’ve read, i did not know it was part of a series and i was starting off at number 11 but it didn’t seem like i needed to read the others to understand what was going on but it would’ve made it even more interesting, perhaps.

i did enjoy it and felt like i was watching a cop show, the fights and the investigating were very well described to have me imagine the entire scene in my head. i did think the priest was suspicious and now feel guilty because the man was actually a hero. i did find the grandfather and the whole dynamic of the family to be very entertaining.

the book did have me gasping and on the edge of my seat towards the end. however, i did find the story to be rushed at the end. the rest of the book was a bonus story, so the entire build up was just dramatically cut off and kinda left the book open ended, with many questions still unanswered. i am thinking bout starting this whole series maybe not now but if i find them in store i’ll definitely give them a read since i’ve always had an interest in cop shows and stories.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Kim.
255 reviews2 followers
June 17, 2023
Another fun read by James Patterson! Love the interesting characters he intertwines with all the violence and mayhem in New York City!
95 reviews
February 24, 2024
Thought it was just ok. He spins in a lot about his big family, and it just bores me (note, I come from an even larger family…so it’s not any comment about that….I just would rather read about the case and it’s own twists). But. An easy quick read.
Profile Image for Melody.
698 reviews12 followers
October 12, 2018
Mike Bennett stories are always filled with action, family, a little laughter, and getting the “bad guy”. This book really has two stories in it. A full book and a mini book, which is just as good.
282 reviews
February 7, 2021
80% Amazing

What I thought of Ambush: Riveting and exciting, it was a great book to listen to. Centered around a cop, who is a father of ten and the fiancé of the woman he loves, it is a thriller about fighting the drug cartel while with-holding integrity.

FULL MICHAEL BENNETT SERIES:

Step on a Crack (Michael Bennett, #1) by James Patterson ~TBR
Run for Your Life (Michael Bennett, #2) by James Patterson ~TBR
Worst Case (Michael Bennett, #3) by James Patterson ~TBR
Tick Tock (Michael Bennett, #4) by James Patterson ~TBR
I, Michael Bennett (Michael Bennett, #5) by James Patterson ~TBR
Gone (Michael Bennett, #6) by James Patterson ~TBR
Burn (Michael Bennett, #7) by James Patterson ~TBR
Alert (Michael Bennett, #8) by James Patterson ~TBR
Bullseye (Michael Bennett, #9) by James Patterson ~TBR
Chase (Michael Bennett, #9.5) by James Patterson ~TBR
Haunted (Michael Bennett, #10) by James Patterson ~TBR
Manhunt (Michael Bennett, #10.5) by James Patterson ~TBR
Ambush (Michael Bennett, #11) by James Patterson ~READ
Blindside (Michael Bennett, #12) by James Patterson ~TBR
The Russian (Michael Bennett #13) by James Patterson ~TBR
Is is just me or does it seem like James Patterson has written a million books??

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Author: James Patterson
Pages: 432
Ages: 12+ for violence







Profile Image for Darlene.
845 reviews6 followers
November 25, 2018
One of the most lovable Detectives is back Michael Bennett. He is a NYPD hero and the father of 10 adopted children. A tough cop and a father who loves all of his children. This book is filled with action and also with family love.
This book is #11 in the Bennett series and a very welcome addition to the series.
Profile Image for Laur.
705 reviews125 followers
June 29, 2025
When a tip comes about a crime, Michael Bennett and his partner respond. Little did they know that it was an ambush and they were set up. Michael Bennett was the target, but not without repercussions and a trail of bodies.

This is personal although Bennett doesn’t put the pieces together right away. It’s not long when his own family is put into jeopardy…first an attack on his son in prison, and later on another one of his adopted children.

Bennet has no idea who is exactly after him and why, put a professional assassin with a distinct signature of using a deadly stiletto won’t rest until the job is done.

It’s a cat and mouse game on steroids with surprises and twists.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 971 reviews

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