James Patterson and James O. Born. Ambush and Manhunt. Grand Central, 2018.
After reading some heavy theological works, I felt I should take a break and read something a little less serious. After I picked up James Patterson’s Ambush and discovered that there was a second novel in the edition, Manhunt.
Patterson is famous for promoting reading. He writes that people who say they don’t like to read simply have not found the right thing for them to read. His police and action tales are not for everyone, but they will appeal to many readers in spite of the high body count in Ambush.
Patterson and Born produced a couple of page turners. The average chapter length was three pages. Both were entertaining. It would be easy to envision Ambush as an action film and the shorter Manhunt as an episode of a TV show along the lines of the old Columbo series.
Although critics may not take Patterson seriously because he writes potboilers, one other Patterson I read before I started this blog had a clever unreliable narrator. Ambush also had an interesting narrative technique. Half the chapters were first person narratives told by NYPD Detective Michael Bennett. The other half are third person describing the actions of the criminal.
Bennett is a very appealing character. He is a real family man—ten adopted kids and a grandfather who is a Catholic priest. (The grandfather went into the ministry after his wife died.) Bennett enjoys people, but also understands the criminal mind.
Our criminal is an intriguing character. She is a mother of two and a Colombian contract killer. She sometimes does her business in New York City. She is in town for a couple of contracts—and one of them is on Bennett. We read about how careful she is and that most people do not associate her various hits with the same person since she varies her technique.
The story indeed begins with an ambush. A relatively new homicide detective gets a tip about a suspect at a certain apartment. It is a setup organized by the contract killer. Not only were there bullets, but there was a hand grenade. Bennett escapes with some injuries, but the other detective is killed. Meanwhile, Alexandra, our hired gun, is down the street in a different building conducting a fashion photo shoot at the same time. We begin to see that no one suspects that an attractive Latina photographer is really a hired assassin.
While the plot is focused and Alex is clever, there are some clues that Bennett deciphers. His oldest son is attacked while serving in prison. Bennett understands that someone is sending him a message. Alex, who owns a stable in Colombia, goes on a couple of dates with a city mounted policeman. She likes the guy, but also learns a few things about the police department and Bennett from him.
The plot develops step by step leading to an ending that is tense and intense. The last fifty pages or so just fly by. It is not a mystery to the reader since we know who the killer is from the beginning, but it is a mystery to Bennett. How he discovers her and how he deals with her make for some real excitement.
Manhunt is shorter. Some might call it a novella. Bennett, his fiancée, and his nine children (Brian, the tenth, is still in prison) go to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. A truck with a bomb plows into the crowd near them. The bomb explodes and the driver runs away shouting something about Allah. Bennett chases him but the man gets away, but not before Bennett gets a look at his face.
Because he is NYPD and a witness, he is called in to help with the FBI because this is viewed as a terrorist attack. He partners with a Russian because a fingerprint from the truck points to a Russian from Kazakhstan.
This is more of a procedural story since the two of them question a number of people and contacts to see what they can find. The FBI agent in charge will actually dismiss Bennett from the investigation because he did not heed to their instructions, although he learned some valuable information. At one point the agent in charge even tells Bennett that he was thinking of joining the NYPD, but he chose the FBI because he “wanted to make a difference.” That is not how to win friends and influence people…
This plot has a few surprises. We learn some things about Russian immigrants to the United States and about Russian criminals. Even Bennett’s Russian partner works for the Russian embassy, but we wonder where her loyalties lie—or is the Russian government itself involved in organized crime?
Yes, the manhunt ultimately is successful in spite of FBI bluster and mistakes by everyone involved including Bennett.
Patterson and Born do have some interesting views expressed in a few places.
When Alexandra is talking to the drug lord who hired her, she admits she may have made a mistake in hiring some Dominican thugs to do some of her dirty work. “Besides,” she tells him, “they are expendable.” Her cartel handler says, “That’s the way I feel about you.” Hmm (99).
A member of the vice squad once noted about how some countries deal with crime:
“The Dutch had a problem with prostitution, so they legalized it. Then they had a problem with drugs, so they legalized them. Let’s hope they never have a problem with homicide.” (114)
And then there is a profound discussion in Manhunt among some of Bennett’s family after the terrorist attack on the parade.
Fiona looked at her great-grandfather [the priest] and said, “Why didn’t God stop the truck driver in the first place?” It was a simple question asked by an innocent girl, no trap or guile in it.
My grandfather turned and put his hand on Fiona’s cheek. “Because, dear girl, God gave man free will. It is not something he can turn on and off.”
Fiona said, “I learned about free will at CCD. Does it basically mean we are responsible for the things we do?”
Seamus said, “Exactly”….
Trent said, “C.S. Lewis wrote, ‘Free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having.’” (323)
Gee, maybe Carlo Rovelli should read Manhunt. He might learn something.