WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BENNETTS by Lisa Scottoline

 

From #1 bestselling author Lisa Scottoline comes a pulse-pounding new novel.

Your family has been attacked, never again to be the same.
Now you have to choose between law…and justice.

     Jason Bennett is a suburban dad who owns a court-reporting business, but one night, his life takes a horrific turn. He is driving his family home after his daughter’s field hockey game when a pickup truck begins tailgating them, on a dark stretch of road. Suddenly two men jump from the pickup and pull guns on Jason, demanding the car. A horrific flash of violence changes his life forever.
 
Later that awful night, Jason and his family receive a visit from the FBI. The agents tell them that the carjackers were members of a dangerous drug-trafficking organization - and now Jason and his family are in their crosshairs.
 
The agents advise the Bennetts to enter the witness protection program right away, and they have no choice but to agree. But WITSEC was designed to protect criminal informants, not law-abiding families. Taken from all they know, trapped in an unfamiliar life, the Bennetts begin to fall apart at the seams. Then Jason learns a shocking truth and realizes that he has to take matters into his own hands.
 
Sometimes justice is a one-man show.

MY THOUGHTS

I'm a huge fan of Lisa Scottoline's books. This one though fell a tiny bit short for me.

It started out with a bang. Really drew me in completely and I was in tears rather quickly. 

This is a story of a family in the witness protection program. After a horrible thing happens to them they have to go into hiding from a drug family. But is that really the reason? Is that a cover for something much deeper? Has this family lost everything for no logical reason? 

On a drive one evening the Bennetts are stopped in a carjacking. Their lives will never be the same...ever. Things take a turn even deeper when they carjacking is investigated. A group of people who are not to be messed with are involved and the Bennetts have to go into protection. 

Everything in this story is interesting and seems realistic but... It started dragging for me once the family moved into another house and their home and businesses were burned. They try to figure out who and why. Someone is lying to them and it seems it's up to Jason Bennett to find out the truth. Find out who is lying and why. Who may be trying to kill his family. Could it be the very people who are suppose to be protecting them or is it truly the drug family? And why? That is the big question.

This book is well written and gives you lots of emotion. Tears will be shed and anger will come to the surface. I never found myself laughing though. You will root for this family to survive. For Jason and Lucinda to work things out. To live. Or at least I did. 

The only problem I had was all the chasing and fighting. That part I didn't really enjoy. But it was an important part of the story. I did find parts to be very unbelievable but it was still ok. I can't imagine anyone as easy going as Jason doing some of the things he did. But it was for his family so that made up for my lack of total belief. Parts did drag for me but I kept on reading. It's not that it's back. It's very good. Just parts were a bit slow for me.

Thank you #NetGalley, #Penguingroupputnam, #LisaScottoline for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

3.5/5 stars. I recommend you read it for yourself as you may really love all the parts that I didn't. It's well written and is good. Just not my kind of action or thriller.