Detective Michael Bennett arrests an infamous Mexican crime lord in a deadly chase that leaves Bennett's lifelong friend dead. From jail, the prisoner vows to rain epic violence down upon New York City—and to get revenge on Michael Bennett. 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. 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.
The series
In the shadows of New York City’s chaos, where high-profile crimes collide with the everyday grit of street life, one man stands at the intersection of both worlds—with ten kids at home and a badge on his chest. The Michael Bennett series thrives on contradiction: it’s part gritty police procedural, part intimate family drama, and all heart-pounding tension.
Read full series description
This isn’t your typical crime thriller. The pulse of the city runs through every scene, from hostage crises in glittering Manhattan penthouses to quiet, tense dinners around a worn kitchen table in the Bronx. Bennett is a detective who carries more than a gun—he carries the weight of being a single father, a protector, and a man constantly pulled between duty and devotion.
What makes the series stand apart is its emotional core. The cases may be cinematic in scale—terror plots, serial killers, corruption that cuts deep—but the real suspense is personal. With his sprawling, unconventional family always in the background, every choice Bennett makes reverberates beyond the crime scene. That balance between explosive action and tender vulnerability gives the story its punch—and its staying power.
Taut, fast-paced, and unflinching, the writing delivers thriller lovers everything they crave: layered mysteries, moral ambiguity, and a protagonist whose humanity is as compelling as his detective instincts. The Michael Bennett novels don’t just tell stories of justice—they ask what justice costs, and who pays for it in the end.
For those drawn to character-driven crime fiction set against the relentless thrum of urban life, this series offers both the adrenaline of high-stakes investigation and the quiet, stubborn hope of a man trying to hold his world together, one case—and one dinner table conversation—at a time.
#1 · 2007Step on a Crack 
#2 · 2009Run for Your Life 
#3 · 2010Worst Case 
#4 · 2011Tick Tock 
#5 · 2012I, Michael Bennett 
#6 · 2013Gone 
#7 · 2014Burn 
#8 · 2015Alert 
#9 · 2016Bullseye 
#10 · 2017Haunted 
#11 · 2018Ambush 
#12 · 2020Blindside 
#13 · 2021The Russian 
#14 · 2022Shattered 
#15 · 2023Obsessed 
#16 · 2024Crosshairs 
#17 · 2025Paranoia 
#18 · 2026Delusional 
#19 · 2027Michael Bennett Book 19 Be the first reviewer
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