Part of Michael Bennett, book 2
First published 2009
Detective Mike Bennett faces his most challenging case yet when a murderer calling himself The Teacher begins systematically killing New York's powerful elite. The killer's message is simple: the wealthy and arrogant must pay for their bad behavior. While some New Yorkers secretly applaud these brutal lessons in manners, the city's upper class lives in terror. Bennett must juggle this high-stakes investigation with a personal crisis at home, where all ten of his children have fallen ill with severe flu. As bodies pile up across Manhattan, Bennett discovers The Teacher follows a deliberate pattern in choosing victims. Time runs short when Bennett realizes the killer's ultimate plan threatens to unleash catastrophe on the entire city. With only hours remaining, Bennett races to decode the final lesson before New York faces one of its darkest moments. The detective must solve the case while managing his overwhelming family responsibilities in this gripping installment of Patterson's series.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective, action
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: high-stakes, race-against-time
Setting: Manhattan, New York
Period: contemporary
373 pages · Hardcover · Little, Brown and Company
Content warnings: murder, violence