I am something of a fan of James Patterson's thrillers. In particular I enjoy the Michael Bennett series. This series centers around Michael Bennett. Michael Bennett is an accomplished and highly visible New York City Police Detective. He is a widower with 10 adopted children. He has a live in Nanny (Mary Catherine - who he is romantically involved with) and a live in grandfather (Seamus) who is a Catholic Priest.

One of the plots in this novell is that one of Bennett's High School sons (Brian) is now facing prison time for selling drugs - an obvious shock. Brian is attending a Catholic School when he somehow felt compelled to sell meth and ecstacy. His excuse is that his drug supplier "forced" him to sell the drugs. The supplier threatened his family if Brian did not sell the drugs.

I in some part appreciate this plot since Patterson seems to be trying to draw attention to the escalating drug problem in this country. But I have a hard time believing that a school kid from this caliber of family is going to end up selling drugs. This plot would be much more believable if Brian was using drugs not selling felony weight. Brian's dad is a very famous New York City Police Detective. Michael is well know for his toughness and is not afraid to use (and has used) lethal force. Michael is very close to his children. So how could Brian not confide in his stud dad that a drug pusher bully was hassling and threatening him and other students? This series depicts an ideal familiy environment. Why would Brian not talk to Mary or Seamus? There was no indication of teanage rebellion or the like. So this scenerio seems rooted in fantasy. Way to contrived.

So James Patterson has written another captivating thriller in the Michael Bennet series. He is be commended for drawing attention to our country's drug problem. It would have been nice however, if he would have made the plot a bit more believable.