Obsessed: A Psychological Thriller (A Michael Bennett T… (2024)

Whoopsie, I fell off the "Obsessed" bandwagon, I guess. I'm a fan of NYPD homicide Det Michael Bennett, but could not get into this one. Don't read the blurb because it's so not this book.

I do love James P’s books, this was definetly a quieter toned book, but my question was why did the book jacket sound like a totally different book?

It states a killer is obsessed with Michael Bennetts oldest daughter-nowhere in the book did it even say that😕

New York city is obsessed with cracking the killers code-Nope

I was so confused most of the time I was reading because it was so different.

When first one body, then a missing person was also found dead, Detective Michael Bennett felt they were looking at a serial killer. The young women were very attractive and students and when he discovered another murder in a different precinct which linked to his case, he was convinced. Now to find the killer. Bennett and his partner, Terry Hernandez, became fully focused, and gradually small amounts of information came to hand. Bennett had help from many quarters and all came up with helpful details. They needed to catch the killer before he struck again.

Obsessed is the 15th in the Detective Michael Bennett series by James Patterson and it was excellent. Tense, fast paced, plenty of twists and turns - plus the inclusion of Bennett and his family is always special. I'm loving this series and am looking forward to the next. Highly recommended.

James Patterson has several bestselling series, each carrying different levels of readership popularity. Detective Alex Cross is his coveted franchise and most successful series, followed by the Women’s Murder Club, Detective Michael Bennett, NYPD Red, and the Private novels.

The Detective Michael Bennett series is one of Patterson’s better feel-good characters. Bennett is a successful Detective working special crimes in New York City. His home life and (very large) family are really the center of his world and provide the primary reason for the readers to cheer him on. Bennett’s first wife, Maeve, died after fighting a losing battle with cancer, leaving him with their 10 adopted children to raise, along with his sour grandfather and catholic priest, Seamus. During most of the books, Bennett has moved on by falling in love and getting married to his wonderful housekeeper, Mary Catherine, in-between solving crimes and stopping serial killers along the way.

The good news is that most of the books in this series have been pretty enjoyable and worth reading for the most part. The first nine books in the series were co-authored by Howard Roughan and built up a nice consistency and rhythm in the plotting and overall character development. However, from the tenth book on there was a change in co-authors, and not necessarily a good one at first. To be honest, I personally found the first three of the four books co-written with James Born to be less than pleasing due to weak plotting and several characters acting inconsistently. They were definitely my least liked Bennett books in the series. I felt like Born was struggling in his understanding of the characters, especially after having Bennett’s son arrested for selling drugs. That just made no sense at all and was so completely out of character, I am still trying to figure out how this move was consistent to any of the character’s previous history.

However, four of the next five books showed improvement for the most part and the last one – “Shattered” – was my favorite in the series co-written with Born. I felt like the authors hit their happy place with the characters, plotting, and locations. Now, their six book together – “Obsessed” – is out, and having finished it I am ready to share my review.

The primary mystery that drives “Obsessed” is Bennet’s hunt for a serial killer that is murdering young college aged women, including a close friend of Michael’s oldest daughter. The sub-plots involved Mary Catherine and Michael’s looking into fertility treatments while they think about having a child, dealing with three of their sons being bullied nearby their school, and Michael coaching one of his daughter’s school basketball team.

All three plotlines play out, focusing on Detective Bennett’s police procedural search for a killer with the two sub-plots sprinkled in between moments of the investigation in standard James Patterson style. It really felt like this book was a toned-down version of Bennett, with a straight-forward, peel the onion, hunt for a serial killer (with several red-herrings to increase the page count), and more time was spent with the Bennett family. To be honest, I rather liked the increased focus on Mary Catherine and several of the children, including Fiona’s developing basketball talent and how they dealt with the physical bullying challenges. This book certainly reminded us of how much a family man Michael Bennett is above all else. It is what drives and motivates him, which shows in the writing.

However, the overall murder/serial killer plotline felt rather run of the mill, basic formula type, with several red herrings along the way to make sure there were over 300 pages of content. It was interesting to see how Bennett used several other law enforcement resources (and one criminal) in order to help him hunt down the killer. I liked them and they played solid secondary roles.

For me, there wasn’t as much suspense or tension in the mystery elements, and it lacked some of the “psychological thriller” type label that comes with this series. Even the ending 40-page chase scene felt a bit predictable. That is not to say that this was a bad book, but more a casual, light reading version, in the Michael Bennett series. I basically read it in two sittings within 24 hours because it was just a fast basic read.

Overall, this was a middle of the road book. The good news is that it didn’t feel disjoined like some of the prior Patterson/Born co-authored books had been. It also engaged me with the family better than in had in the recent books. It felt like the authors had a better understanding and grasp of the characters and how they should really behave. On the flip side, it didn’t necessarily challenge me as a reader. Those were the tradeoffs.

I am in the 2.5 to 3.0 stars out of five rating range.

I am surprised by the 5 star ratings for this book. The writing was very basic and while easy to follow, was difficult to stay interested. It’s also unrealistic that a family with 10 children can afford to live putting their children into a private catholic school on a cops salary and a stay at home mom that’s on fertility treatments to try to have another child. The book just lacked substance and was wildly unrealistic. I’d take a pass on this.

Always eager for an established James Patterson collaborative effort, I was pleased to get my hands on the latest in the Michael Bennett series. James O. Born brings his strong writing style to the series as the NYPD detective of ten children is back to fight crime in Manhattan. As young women begin disappearing. and their bodies turn up soon thereafter, Detective Bennett is worried that one of his daughters might be next. With sharp writing and short chapters, the story builds throughout and provides the reader with something exciting into which they can sink their teeth.

Michael Bennett knows murder all too well, though he has yet to get used to it. While standing on a boat in the Hudson River, NYPD Detective Bennett and members of the force find the body of a missing college student, slain and tossed away, still in an evening gown. It hits home for Bennett, whose daughter has a friend who has gone missing and could be anywhere.

With a new case on his hands, Bennett begins combing though the clues and asking for help wherever he can get it. His CI helps guide him, though the tip will not come cheap and Bennett does not have time to waste. As a second body emerges, Bennett has a chilling sensation run don his spine; this could be his daughter. Rushing to find answers, Detective Michael Bennett realises that this case hits a little too close to home.

Following the leads provided, Bennett and his partner uncover a ‘girlfriend rental’ website, where young women are able to earn a little extra money while accompanying paying men for the privilege. A number of the women from the site have gone missing or commented on some rough action with their dates, including a few who have pressured the women Dior sex, sometimes refusing no for an answer. Bennett will have to follow the intel before another body turns up, while praying that his daughter has yet to entertain the idea for some easy money.

All the while, the Bennett household is rocked with their own drama, when two of the boys are bullied and have a gun pulled on them. A father of ten with a lovely new wife, Detective Bennett will have to juggle all this and keep a killer from striking again. The task seems daunting, but Bennett has never shied away from a little hard work. A strong addition to the series by Patterson and Born, showing that this is a collaborative effort worth fostering.

While I have found some weaknesses in the Patterson publication threshold, this book defies that and proves that the right collaborator can make all the difference. James Patterson and James O. Born work well together and are able to foster a strong relationship to keep Michael Bennett on track for success. A powerful narrative provides the pathway and leaves the reader to find themselves directed as the story moves along.

Characters emerge with ease and find their place in the larger story, as the authors offer some development, albeit minor, to some of the core characters. Those on the periphery provide their own flavour to the story. This helps push things along and keep the reader wondering, without ever losing the momentum of the core story.

Plot lines emerge and find a way to develop as well, though there is little time for slow and methodical emergence. Detective Bennett thrives on the unknown, while using new intel to develop new leads in a short time. The authors do well to creat that and keep the reader wanting more as things progress.

While I am still hoping for a great cross-character story involving some of Patterson’s strongest detectives—Alex Cross, Lindsay Boxer, and Michael Bennett—this piece has keep me sated for a little while longer. I can only hope that something happens, as they are all o very strong and keep me on my toes.

Kudos, Messrs. Patterson and Born, for another great addiction to the series.

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3.75 stars

Ok am I on crack? Did the person writing the book jacket read the novel at all? Cause the math ain’t mathing. It said a killer was obsessed with Bennetts oldest daughter…um….no he wasn’t. It was a girl she knew from school that he was obsessed with. The daughter was hardly in it at all. I was so confused expecting to read about a killer coming after his daughter and it wasn’t even close to happening! It threw me off big time. I was a little mad after thinking what the hell? The jacket sounds like a completely different book. Obsessed? Even that’s reaching.

Besides all that just whipping me into a frenzy, this was a pretty tame instalment and really kind of boring. I didn’t like this one at all.

1 more Bennett book and I’m caught up. Would not recommend this one. 2 stars

Great book... Misleading description...

Once again, James Patterson brings his A game with his latest Michael Bennett Thriller... Unfortunately, whoever wrote the descriptive blurb about the killer going after Michael's daughter must have read a different book...

What a damp squib! All 8 hours of it! I clicked on the audiobook version after seeing this book frequently mentioned in the 'Top 10 Patterson books' lists. I've read a few Cross and thought I'd give this an ear too. What a boring 'mystery' and police procedural. This is NOT a psychological thriller. The only 'suspense' occurs in the last 5 minutes which is all the more improbable because it doesn't make sense or even good nonsense.

A supposed 'serial killer' is offing beautiful students - they were all part of the Girlfriend Experience network, i.e. girls who pretend to be your girlfriend for an event; sexual favors are negotiable and cost extra- and it is suggested that a football coach has done it (without any concrete evidence btw). To catch him Bennett uses the 'sort-of pimp' student whose network was used by all the other girls. When this girl 'disappears' with the alleged killer and a chase ensues ending up on the rooftop of a seedy hotel, I actually thought the BIG REVEAL would be that this girl had bumped off the other students over jealousy or money or man problems. She was acting THAT suspicious: example 1: she does not trigger the GPS on so that police can locate her but casually allows the suspect coach to take her to the subway and then a seedy hotel, where she just sits silently, when she could've easily run away when coach went in to shower. Would you sit alone in a room with an alleged killer of 3-4 young women and not even tell a soul where you are? She only gets up and cries when she sees the police. Example 2: she was constantly giving snide remarks to the coach to goad him or the police to act aggressively. But the football coach accepts all of the murders without even a prompt or evidence against him. The police (Bennett and Tracy) don't tell him why they are there, what he is being arrested for, and his rights. And the coach just flips and admits to everything (and his confession is the most ridiculous thing I've read in thriller fiction). He is unsuccessfully tackled by the 2 officers (none of whom have a taser on them) and is eventually shot by the pimp girl!!! Even at ths point, I was fully expecting the pimp girl to be the actual killer because of her actions. Still, the coach is dusted off as the killer without another mention! Where is the suspense or ingenuity of the crime or criminal? If I wanted to hear a newsreel I would turn on the news during exercise, and not a Born book sold under Patterson's name!

You will also get tired of all the 'I', 'I', 'I', 'I's sprinkled in every sentence, especially when you are listening to the audiobook. Nine hours of 'I' walking through NYC.

The story doesn't even start till chapter 30 or so (in a book with 100 or so chapters). And you'll feel yourself forwarding the family chapters to get to the crime chapters, and wish you were reading/ listening to something else. There's a nice balance between the family story and the crime-chasing but it's all so boring. Is this Born and Patterson's way of telling the readers/listeners that daily life is boring and detective work is unexciting and family life is mundane?

The premise of a thrice-married religious-minded homicide detective with 10 adopted kids shacking up with the former housekeeper/maid/nanny now wife who wants a biological kid and has to go through IVF treatments to get pregnant is the only interesting dynamic in the book, and that too, because it's all so weird.

Joshua Kane, the narrator, has a heavy baritone voice which sounds like the voice of a 60s TV detective and grows to bear your ears down after 20 minutes. After listening to the monotonous delivery for 7 hrs and 45 minutes, you'll wonder why his Bennett is suddenly speaking in a hurried excited voice (as in what did Kane have for lunch or did the producer/editor forget what his tone was for the book).

The description / blurb is misleading: the killer is not obsessed with Bennett's daughter or anyone else, and neither is Bennett.

This book is No. 1 Best Seller (Paid) on Amazon's Audible Top 100 Police Procedural Mysteries List today. Why? That's the real mystery.

This was a good fast paced thriller. My mind wasn’t blown but I enjoyed it.

I like that almost all of JP’s books can be read as standalones , because let’s be honest. I wasn’t going to go back and read all 14 books before this. Lol.

I haven’t read any of the Detective Michael Bennett books yet, so I wasn’t familiar with his character at all going in.

I found him very likable and family oriented; it seems his family is a large part of his character. Down to earth cool guy.

I’m thinking if I would have known more of the history it could have pushed my rating a bit higher. Or maybe I’m just really partial to Lindsay Boxer and Alex Cross.

I’ll definitely check out more from this series..

This book was a toned-down version of the usual Michael Bennet books. There were no explosions or car chases. There was a bit more of his family life, which I liked.

After reviewing my reading journey from last year, I discovered that more than half (55%) of the books that I read were installments to many of my fave series. This actually makes me happy. I definitely want to do as much or more of that this year. So, it’s nice to be able to start my 2024 reading journey with another installment of my beloved Michael Bennett series.

Well, the book summary was kind of misleading and in a really stupid kind of way too. I never fault GR over inaccurate book summaries because they just pull those things off the publisher’s website. So, this is all on the publisher. For the record, the killer never targeted Michael’s daughter and she was never in any danger. The closest his daughter came to the case was that she went to school with and knew one of the victims. Why a publisher would put out that kind message is just plain stupid.

Most of the story has Michael and his partner, Teri, tracking down clues and leads from the previous victims and their friends and family. More than once, they head down the wrong path, strongly feeling that they have the killer, only to discover they were on the wrong track and then they have to backtrack and start over again. There are also other storylines like the one where Michael and his wife, Mary Catherine, are trying to have another child (they currently have 10) and Mary Catherine is going through fertility treatments. There is also another one where three of Michael’s sons are getting bullied by some neighborhood kids, one of which apparently carries a gun.

One of the things that I enjoy about this series is the kids! The kids are all as adorable and entertaining as a boatload of puppies, each with their own personalities, quirks, and sassiness (LOVE the kids!!!). So often with a lot of domestic drama stories, I end up feeling sorry for the kids in the stories for getting stuck with such crappy parents. Not with the Bennetts. They are definitely a force, especially Grampa Seamus, the local Catholic priest who is always around to offer adult supervision and assistance with the kids as well as spiritual guidance (LOVE Seamus!!!)

Anyway, it’s well into the second half that Micheal and Teri finally zero in on the real killer and that storyline comes to an abrupt end. As for the other two storylines? Well……yes and no. More to come later I guess.

I don’t read a lot of Patterson and was even a late comer to his work at all. On that note, let’s all agree that the real writers of this series are the co-writers and not Patterson. Having said that, the Michael Bennett series remains one of my fave series. So, thank you James O Born and Micheal Ledwidge for your wonderful talents and work.

Great ending in a fantastic series!

Another great book in this series

When the temperature is -11 and too cold to go outside what do you do? You binge read.

I love this series. This one had me from page one. Fast paced. Quick read.

I love how Bennett interacts with all his children. I’m thinking about starting the series over. Absolutely one of my favorites.

Michael Bennett is certainly growing older. His books used to be action packed with good amount of humour thrown in. Now throughout the book you get reminded about the family man he is and how important it is to spend quality time with grandfather, wife and ten kids. Of course it is important to do so but a constant reminder of it jangles the nerves. The book otherwise is a run of the mill serial killer chase. More work is done towards the solution by the other characters then Bennett himself.

5 Stars. Patterson books are almost always fun and this was no exception. Bennett is every bit as fun to read as Cross. This one grabbed me from the beginning and held on. The mystery was solid enough that I figured it out at the right time. That’s always a plus.

Bennett’s family played its part as well as expected. Their stories are growing and that’s a good thing. Bring on the next one!

I was a bit disappointed because it was not anything like it was described on the book flap. In my opinion not as good as earlier Michael Bennett books. Perhaps Mr. Patterson should rethink quality over quantity.

Inside front cover states: A KILLER IS OBSESSED..... with Detective Michael Bennett"s eldest daughter.

I was very confused when reading this book and waiting to see how this would play out.

After finishing the book, I am still confused.

great read

As usual, Both James did not disappoint. I have read all of the Bennett books and I have to say this is one of the best.

The book seemed more about Michael's family then looking/resolving the murder. Very little suspense, tension or thrilling moments in my opinion.

What’s not to like about another James Patterson book? I need to catch up up on his previous books I missed!

Wait…what’s going on? The book description does not fit the book at ALL!!! The book description sounds interesting unlike this story. JAMES PATTERSON you should be ashamed of yourself! Reading the ingredients on a cereal box would be a better read than this book! You so sold out ☹️. Your short chapter writing style had such a knack for making the reader want to keep turning the pages to find out what happened next! Now we are just turning the pages to more mediocrity- poor plot development ( there were 2 suspects for half the book; then there turned out to be a bunch more then viola the killer) WAY WAY too much filler ( the bully line - nothing happened; Mary Catherine’s infertility - sorry no one cares… the one that really got me “A few minutes later, I was easing my head down on my hypoallergenic, memory form, oversized pillow” - REALLY???? . Too much preaching throughout!!! Back in the day, we fans couldn’t wait for the next/newest Alex Cross to come out - it was usually a year and the stories were worth the wait! Now with multiple releases per year with numerous co-authors the quality of the story lines plummeted!! Might be time to take some time off from writing to recharge and refresh - getting stale.

I did not know this is a series. I know James Patterson is not the best author around but I grab his books up every once in awhile when I want a quick read with lots going on with short chapters. This does not disappoint me. So then I find out this is a series. I don't think by reading it out of order, made any difference. I will for sure read more with this character in the future.

UGH
When I started this series I was eager to turn the page, read the next installment. Michael Bennett was a no nonsence NY cop and the story lines were intense, serious and kept me wanting more. Since the introduction of wife, 'saint angel Mary Catherine' it has lost its edge. I wasn't crazy when he chose her but continued because the storyline was good. However, now it's more about his need to find balance with his perfect wife and balance with family and profession. Are the authors planning on ending Bennett's career and sending him off into the retirement sunset? Boring.
I'm not sure where the series is headed and I will hesitate when the next one comes out.
As for this storyline and the characters involved, it was rather predictable and the constant missteps of Bennett was annoying.

Keeps you guessing all the way through. Gripping reading as always and keeps you on the edge of your seat. A fair bit of humour as well.
Read most of James Patterson and looking forward to September for the next Women's Murder Club 23rd Midnight.

Excellent Detective Michael Bennett story by Patterson & Born.
Easy reading.
Real life issues.
More family oriented than past Bennett stories.
Rating 4+.
I’m looking forward to the next Bennett book.
I recommend “Obsessed”.

A solid, if unspectacular, continuation of the Michael Bennett series, by James Patterson. This time someone is killing young women that take part in a "date" for hire service. Solving the crime is complicated because the women were hired by an anonymous individual over a burner phone. Subplots involve two of Bennett's sons being bullied by young thugs, Bennett coaching a basketball team with his daughter being one of the team's stars, and Bennett and Mary Catherine struggling with infertility and deciding whether to take additional measures to have a child of their own.

Although I had only read one Michael Bennett book before this one, it did not take away from my enjoyment of the story. The balance between the detective solving a crime and the interactions with his large family added a sense of normalcy to the story. He’s not a super hero, he is just a good cop doing his job. I’m going to see if my library has the rest of the books in the series.