Cost: $1.25US
Page Count: 373
James Patterson doesn't do long chapters. I actually appreciate this. A reader can seemingly plow through numerous chapters in one sitting and feel like he/she has actually accomplished some real reading. So, I turn to Patterson when I feel like reading something light and just don't have the attention span to tackle any tougher writers. James Patterson books are kind of like the book equivalent of a sit-com.
However, Patterson can also hook you with characters. Where other writers fall so absurdly short with their character development, he can actually draw you into really knowing his characters in just a few words. I actually envy his character writing. Note: I am not going to give credit to Mr. Ledwidge, who I'm sure is a quality writer, in this short post. Sorry Mike.
Anyway, Run For Your Life begins with the reader getting to know Detective Michael Bennett and his huge motherfucking family. Seriously, dude has ten kids. That's outrageous. Plus, we learn early on that his wife had passed away a year earlier. Sucks to be a widower and have a hive of children to tend. Bennett luckily has the help of an Irish chick, Mary Catherine. Who must be some sort of saint.
Bennett is tracking a mastermind criminal known as The Teacher. The criminal is killing all kinds of uppity-up people in NYC and slaughtering them one by one. This is putting the whole city in a bit of unease. The police commish and the like have pegged Bennett as the one to lead the task force against The Teacher. His team searches for the killer valiantly only to have the dude murder even more folks. Eventually, they catch up to him and Bennett (the Hero!) takes him down.
Which leads to my major fault with the book: the ending. Seriously, how the fuck does a Cessna get shot down by a military jet and the protagonist survives? This is a bullshit ending. It sucked, for reals. Maybe Patterson let Ledwidge write the ending, or something. But, it was a real let down. The story built up at a pretty nice pace only to end in a steaming turd.
All in all, Run For Your Life is a good, quick read. Now, Bennett won't be taking over as Patterson's cash-cow any time soon. Alex Cross, you are safe. But, I could definitely see the Michael Bennett saga taking place again. Hellooooo sequels. Hell, there probably are sequels by now. I'm just too lazy to look 'em up.
*Edit: Just looked on JP's website and this is actually the 2nd Bennett book. And yes, there are more.
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