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The Russian, by James Patterson and James O. Born, is another installment in the Michael Bennett series of thrillers. For the uninitiated (which included me, until I read this book), Michael Bennett is one of New York’s top homicide detectives. He’s a tough, no bullshit kind of guy, but with a soft side. He’s got 10 adopted kids and a new fiancé. His first wife died of cancer, leaving the second wife to pick up the slack. She doesn’t seem to mind, and the kids do seem pretty easy to manage, compared with my experiences of parenting a smaller brood.
As the book opens, Bennett is breaking in a new, much younger partner, Hollis. It’s not clear how Hollis is going to shape up. His first foray as Bennett’s partner ends with him breaking his nose by running into a pipe. Even with that, Hollis seems to have some of the right stuff, as Bennett sees it.
Meanwhile, a gruesome killing hits Bennett’s desk, and it has the look of a serial killer. Someone is targeting young women and murdering them with a sick signature that involves mutilation and leaving excessively messy, blood soaked crime scenes.
We get to see the killer in action as the book develops the parallel story of the killer and the desperate attempt to find him before he kills again. The FBI wants to get involved, which Bennett opposes, he being congenitally a no bullshit sort of NYPD detective. As the killings mount, the mayor’s office starts putting pressure on everyone, especially Bennett, who reacts with self-destructive sarcasm when the mayor’s lackey comes after him—as only a tough, no bullshit NYPD detective is wont to do.
I generally don’t give bad reviews. I know how much work goes into writing a book, so I like to find something positive to say. This book is entertaining, in its own way, but, if I can honest, it’s pretty badly written. I realize that the standards for suspense and character development tend to drop off in the middle of a series. Devoted readers already know the basic backstories and who is who. That said, this book feels flat. The suspense is not well developed. It gets better late in the story, but the first half of the book is dull.
The book is also larded with corny, obvious phrasing. Of an FBI colleague, Bennett says, “As for Emily’s professionalism, she was tops at the Bureau. He also says, “I was struck by the fact that we were looking for a need in a haystack.” Really? This is the best James Patterson can come up with? I am convinced that if this book were dropped on a slush pile with someone else’s name on it, it would never see the light of day. I’m sure James Patterson has nothing to worry about from the likes of me, but it’s a little off-putting to see such mediocrity packaged into a guaranteed bestseller.
The open nature of the narrative makes you wonder if there’s a surprise twist coming at the end. There is, and it’s such a non-sequitur that you wonder what the heck is going on. However, the book goes for 350 pages before you hear anything about a Russian, and the book is called The Russian, so you start to think that the twist is going to involve a Russian somewhere along the way. so, it’s not really a twist. It’s more evidence of poor plotting and suspense.