I, Michael Bennett by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge is the fifth book in the “Michael Bennett” thriller series. Publisher: Little, Brown And Company, July 2012

Police officers shot
Detective Michael Bennett arrests an infamous Mexican crime lord in a deadly chase that leaves Bennett’s lifelong friend Hughie McDonough dead. From jail, the prisoner vows to rain epic violence down upon New York City—and to get revenge on Michael Bennett.

Judges murdered
To escape the chaos, Bennett takes his ten kids and their beautiful nanny, Mary Catherine, on a much-needed vacation to his family’s cabin near Newburgh, New York. But instead of the calm and happy town he remembers from growing up, they step into a nightmare worse than they could have ever imagined. Newburgh is an inferno of warring gangs, and there’s little the police—or Bennett—can do to keep the children safe.

Target: Michael Bennett
As violence overwhelms the state, Bennett is torn between protecting his hometown and saving New York City. A partner in his investigations, federal prosecutor Tara McLellan, brings him new weapons for the battle—and an attraction that endangers his relationship with Mary Catherine. A no-holds-barred, pedal-to-the-floor, action-packed novel, I, Michael Bennett is James Patterson at his most personal and most thrilling best.

Once again, Michael is in the throes of protecting his family when he puts a drug lord in jail and their summer getaway is marred by the presence of gangs. As always, the short chapters makes the reading quick and easy. This fast-paced thriller is filled with never-ending suspense, but the ending…now I’m eager for the next book.