"Worst Case”                                                                                        by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge

Review #60

Homicide Detective Michael Bennett and FBI Abduction Specialist Emily Parker reluctantly team up to stop a killer targeting not only the children of New York's wealthiest families--but the entire city of New York. 

Within the first part of the book, the body count escalates rather quickly and sharply thanks to our antagonist. His methods are simple but brutal: abduct the only children of rich families in order to quiz them on statistics dealing with Third World Nations. His "exams" come at a cost though...too many wrong answers, and the victim is dead.

The killer doesn't want money, he only wants his captives to apologize for the pain their families have caused society including polluting the environment and failing to help those in Third World nations whose lives beg for assistance. Running out of time, Bennett must locate the victims before they are killed off, one by one.

Note: Bennett is a widower who has 10 children of many races that he and his wife had adopted prior to her illness and subsequent death. He has household help in the form of an Irish nanny named Mary Catherine who, the reader can see, would like a more personal relationship with Bennett...that is, if Emily doesn't get to him first.

Bennett’s grandfather, the local neighborhood priest helps with the family from time to time. (His grandfather had joined the priesthood after his wife passed and after they had raised their family.)

This is the third in the Detective Bennett series written by Patterson and Ledwidge.

I think you will find this an interesting read!