Step On A Crack Read online




  Step On A Crack

  James Patterson

  Michael Ledwidge

  Detective Michael Bennett is about to take on the most sinister challenge of his career. The nation has fallen into mourning after the unexpected death of a beloved former first lady, and the most powerful people in the world gather in New York for her funeral. Then the inconceivable occurs. Billionaires, politicians, and superstars of every kind are suddenly trapped within one man's brilliant and ruthless scenario.

  Bennett-father of ten-is pulled into the fray. As the danger escalates, Michael is hit with devastating news. After fighting for many years, his wife has succumbed to a terrible disease. As New York descends into chaos, he has lost the great love of his life and faces raising his ten devastated children alone-and rescuing 34 hostages.

  Day after day, Bennett confronts the most ruthless man he has ever dealt with, a man who kills without hesitation and counters everything the NYPD and FBI throw at him with impunity. As the entire world watches and the tension boils to a searing heat, Bennett has to find a way out-or face responsibility for the greatest debacle in history.

  James Patterson, Michael Ledwidge

  Step On A Crack

  The first book in the Michael Bennett series

  For Richie, Deirdre, and Sheilah. And MaryEllen, Carole, and Teresa.

  Dedicated to W and J and their four children, C, M, A, and N. The book is also dedicated to the Palm Beach Day Academy. Also in appreciation of Manhattan College.

  “Step on a crack, Break your mother’s back.”

  “Step on a crack, and you’ll soon be eaten

  By the bears that congregate at street corners,

  Waiting for their lunch to walk by.”

  – CITY SAYINGS

  Prologue. THE LAST SUPPER

  One

  THE BACK OF THE TABLE captain’s cream-colored evening jacket had just turned away when Stephen Hopkins leaned across the secluded corner booth and kissed his wife. Caroline closed her eyes, tasting the cold champagne he’d just sipped, then felt a tug as Stephen’s hand caught one of the silk spaghetti straps of her Chanel gown.

  “These puppies aren’t exactly secured in this frock, if you haven’t noticed,” she said as she came up for air. “Keep playing around and we’re going to have a serious wardrobe malfunction. How’s my lipstick?”

  “Delicious,” Stephen said, smiling like a bleeping movie star. Then he touched her thigh.

  “You’re past fifty,” Caroline said. “Not fifteen.”

  Having this much fun with your husband, Caroline thought, playfully twisting Stephen’s hand away, had to be illegal. That their annual “Christmas in New York ” date got better every year was beyond her, but there you had it. Dinner here at L’Arène, probably the most elegant, most seductive French restaurant in New York City; a horse-and-buggy ride through Central Park; and then back to the Pierre’s presidential suite. It had been their Christmas gift to themselves for the past four years. And every year it turned out to be more romantic than the last, more and more exquisite.

  As if on cue, snow began falling outside the copper-trimmed windows of the restaurant, big silver flakes that hung in glittering cones from Madison Avenue’s old-fashioned black-iron lampposts.

  “If you could have anything this Christmas, what would it be?” Caroline asked suddenly.

  Stephen raised his gold-tinged glass of Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle Brut, trying to come up with something funny.

  “I wish… I wish…”

  A stilling sadness extinguished the humor from his face as he stared into his flute.

  “I wish this were hot chocolate.”

  Caroline felt dizzy as her mouth opened and her breath left.

  Many years ago, she and Stephen had been homesick scholarship freshmen at Harvard, without enough money to make it home for Christmas. One morning they’d been the only two breakfast diners in cavernous Annenberg Hall, and Stephen had sat down at her table. “Just for a little warmth,” he’d said.

  Soon they learned they were both planning to be poli-sci majors, and they hit it off immediately. In the Yard outside, in front of redbrick Hollis Hall, Caroline impulsively dropped to the ground and made a snow angel. Their faces almost touched when Stephen helped her up. Then she took a quick sip of the hot chocolate she’d smuggled out of the dining hall-so as not to kiss this boy she’d just met and somehow already cared about.

  Caroline could still see Stephen as he had been, smiling in the bright, nickeled winter light. That lovely boy standing before her in Harvard Yard, clueless to the fact that he would marry her. Give her a beautiful daughter. Go on to become the president of the United States.

  The question he’d asked as she’d lowered her cocoa mug thirty years before reverberated poignantly now in her ears, like crystal struck by shining silver: “Does yours taste like champagne, too?”

  Hot chocolate to champagne, Caroline thought, lifting her bubbling flute. Now champagne to hot chocolate. Two and a half decades of marriage come full circle.

  What a life they’d had, she thought, savoring the moment. Lucky and worthwhile and…

  “Excuse me, Mr. President,” a voice whispered. “I’m sorry. Excuse me.”

  A pasty-looking blond man in a metallic-gray double-breasted suit stood ten feet in front of their booth. He was waving a menu and a pen. Henri, the maître d’, arrived immediately. He assisted Steve Beplar, the Hopkinses ’ Secret Service agent, in trying to escort the intruder discreetly out of sight.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry,” the man said to the Secret Service agent in a defeated voice. “I just thought the president could sign my menu.”

  “It’s okay, Steve,” Stephen Hopkins said with a quick wave. He shrugged at his wife in apology.

  Fame, Caroline thought, placing her champagne glass down onto the immaculate linen. Ain’t it a bitch.

  “Could you make that out to my wife? Carla,” the pale man spoke over the Secret Service agent’s wide shoulder.

  “Carla’s my wife!” the man said a little too loudly. “Oh my God! I just said that, didn’t I? I have the insane luck to run into the greatest president of the last century, and what do I do? Jesus, look, I’m blushing now. I have to say, you guys look terrific tonight. Especially you, Mrs. Hopkins.”

  “Merry Christmas to you, sir,” Stephen Hopkins said, smiling back as graciously as he could manage.

  “Hope it was no bother,” the man said, the sheen of his suit flashing as he backed away, bowing.

  “Bother?” Stephen Hopkins said, grinning at his wife after the man had departed. “Now how could Carla’s husband think that demolishing the most romantic moment of our lives was a bother?”

  They were still laughing when a beaming waiter materialized out of the shadows, put down their plates, and vanished. Caroline smiled at the avant-garde architecture of her terrine of foie gras as her husband topped off her champagne.

  It’s almost too beautiful to eat, Caroline thought, lifting her knife and fork. Almost.

  The first bite was so ethereal that it took a few seconds for her to place the taste.

  By then it was too late.

  What felt like high-pressure superheated air instantly inflated Caroline Hopkins’s lungs, throat, and face. Her eyeballs felt like they were going to pop by the time her scrolled silver fork fell from her lips and clattered against china.

  “Oh my God, Caroline,” she heard Stephen say as he looked at her in horror. “Steve! Help! Something’s wrong with Caroline! She can’t breathe.”

  Two

  PLEASE, GOD, NO. Don’t let this happen. Don’t! Stephen Hopkins thought as he staggered to his feet. He was just opening his mouth to cry out again when Steve Beplar snatched the edge of the dining table and flung it out of the way.

  Crystal and china exploded against the varnished hardwood floor as Agent Susan Wu, the next closest of their four-person security detail, pulled Mrs. Hopkins from the booth seat. The female agent immediately probed Caroline’s mouth with her finger to dislodge any food. Then she got behind her, a fist already under her rib cage as she began the Heimlich maneuver.

  It was as if an ice-cold hand had reached into Stephen’s chest. He watched helplessly as his wife’s face turned from red to almost blackish purple.

  “Stop. Wait!” he said. “She’s not choking. It’s her allergy! She’s allergic to peanuts. Her emergency adrenaline! The little pen thing she carries. Where’s her bag?”

  “It’s in the car out front!” Agent Wu said. She bolted across the dining room and returned a moment later at a run. She had Caroline’s bag!

  Stephen Hopkins upended his wife’s handbag onto the satin of the booth seat. “It’s not here!” he said, sending makeup and perfume flying.

  Steve Beplar barked into his sleeve mike; then he scooped up the former First Lady in his arms as if she were a tired toddler.

  “Time to get to a hospital, sir,” he said, moving toward the exit as everyone else in the restaurant stared in horror.

  Moments later, in the rear of a speeding Police Interceptor Crown Victoria, Stephen Hopkins cradled his wife’s head in his lap. Breath whistled weakly from her throat as if it were coming through a cocktail straw. He ached for his wife, watching her eyes tighten in severe pain.

  A doctor and a gurney were already waiting out on the sidewalk when the sedan came to a curb-hopping stop out in front of the St. Vincent’s Midtown Hospital emergency room entrance on 52nd Street.

  “You th
ink it’s an allergic reaction?” one of the doctors asked, taking Caroline’s pulse as two attendants rushed her through the sliding glass doors on a stretcher.

  “She’s highly allergic to peanuts. Ever since she was a kid,” Stephen said, jogging at Caroline’s other side. “We told the kitchen at L’Arène. There must have been some mix-up.”

  “She’s in shock, sir,” the doctor said. He blocked the former president as Caroline was pushed through a hospital personnel only side door. “We’re going to have to try to stabilize her. We’ll do everything-”

  Stephen Hopkins suddenly shoved the stunned doctor out of the way. “I’m not leaving her side,” he said. “Let’s go. That’s an order.”

  They were already attaching an IV drip to Caroline’s arm and an oxygen mask to her face when he entered the trauma room. He winced as they sliced her beautiful gown to the navel so they could attach the leads of the heart monitor.

  The machine bleated out an awful, continuous beep when they flicked it on. Then a flat black line appeared on the scrolling red graph readout. A nurse immediately started CPR.

  “Clear,” the doctor yelled, and put the electrified paddles to Caroline’s chest.

  Stephen watched Caroline’s chest surge upward with a pulse, and then a new, gentle bloop-bloop started on the monitor. A sharp, glorious scratch spiked upward on the spooling readout. Then another.

  One for every miraculous beat of Caroline Hopkins’s heart.

  Tears of gratitude had formed in Stephen’s eyes-when the awful beeeeeeeeeeep returned.

  The doctor tried several more times with the defibrillator, but the screeching monitor wouldn’t change its grating one-note tune. The last thing the former president witnessed was another act of mercy by his loyal Secret Service.

  Teary-eyed, Steve Beplar reached over and yanked the plug out of the yellow tile wall, halting the machine’s evil shriek.

  “I’m so sorry, sir. She’s gone.”

  Three

  THE PALE, blond autograph seeker from L’Arène told the pathetic wog of a cabdriver to pull over on Ninth Avenue, a block north of St. Vincent’s Hospital. He stuffed a ten into the grimy divider slot and elbowed open the greasy door latch to avoid touching it. There were good reasons he was known as the Neat Man.

  A Channel 12 EyeScene news van screeched to a halt beside him as he made it to the corner. He stopped on his heels when he saw uniformed NYPD holding back a growing crowd of reporters and cameramen at the entrance to the hospital’s emergency room.

  No, he thought. It couldn’t be! Were the fun and games already over?

  He was crossing 52nd Street when he spotted a distraught-looking female EMT slumping out of the crowd.

  “Miss?” he said, stepping up to her. “Could you tell me? Is this where they’ve brought First Lady Caroline?”

  The full-figured Hispanic woman nodded her head, and then she suddenly moaned. Tears began to stream down her cheeks. A quivering hand went to her mouth.

  “She just died,” she said. “Caroline Hopkins just died.”

  The Neat Man felt dizzy for a second. Like the wind had been knocked right out of him. He blinked rapidly as he shook his head, stunned and elated.

  “No,” he said. “Are you sure?”

  The overwrought paramedic sobbed as she suddenly embraced him. “Ay Dios mío! She was a saint. All the work she did for poor people and AIDS. One time, she came to my mother’s project in the Bronx, and we shook her hand like she was the queen of England. Her Service America campaign was one of the reasons I became a paramedic. How could she be dead?”

  “Lord knows,” the Neat Man said soothingly. “But she’s in His hands now, isn’t she?”

  He could practically feel the billions of germs the woman was carrying. He shuddered, thinking of the indescribable filth a New York City paramedic came into contact with every day of her pitiful existence. A Hell’s Kitchen hospital worker for that matter!

  “God, what am I doing?” the medic said, releasing him. “The news. The shock of it. I guess it tore me up. I was thinking about going to get some candles or flowers or something. It’s just so unreal. I… I’m Yolanda, by the way.”

  “Yolanda? Yeah. I’m… uh… leaving,” the Neat Man said, brushing past her into the street.

  He had his cell phone in his hand by the time he made it to the east side of Ninth Avenue. He could hear loudly clattering plates and chefs yelling in French when his call was picked up at L’Arène.

  “It’s done, Julio,” he said. “She’s dead. Now get the hell out of there. You killed Caroline Hopkins. Congratulations.”

  The Neat Man was about to shake his head in wonder at his good luck, but then stopped himself. Luck had absolutely nothing to do with it.

  Three years to plan, he thought wistfully as he rounded the corner of 49th Street and headed east. Now they had just three days to pull off the rest of this job.

  Minutes later, he was in the back of another taxi, heading north up Eighth. He took a couple of alcohol wipes out of his wallet and scoured his hands and face. He smoothed his lapels and crossed his hands in his lap as he sped through the bright lights, escaping the unclean city.

  I’ll tell you what’s really so unreal, Yolanda baby, the Neat Man thought as the cab swerved around Columbus Circle and made its way up Broadway.

  First Lady Caroline’s death is just the beginning!

  Part One. THE PERFECT TEN

  Chapter 1

  I’LL TELL YOU THIS-even on the so-called mean streets of New York, where the only thing harder to get than a taxi in the rain is attention, we were managing to turn heads that grim, gray December afternoon.

  If anything could tug at the coiled-steel heartstrings of the Big Apple’s residents, I guess the sight of my mobilized Bennett clan-Chrissy, three; Shawna, four; Trent, five; twins Fiona and Bridget, seven; Eddie, eight; Ricky, nine; Jane, ten; Brian, eleven; and Juliana, twelve-all dressed in their Sunday best and walking in size order behind me, could do the trick.

  I suppose I should have felt some privilege in being granted the knowledge that the milk of human kindness hasn’t completely dried up in our jaded metropolis.

  But at the time, the gentle nods and warm smiles we received from every McClaren stroller-pushing Yummie, construction worker, and hot dog vendor from the subway exit next to Bloomingdale’s all the way to First Avenue were completely lost on me.

  I had a lot on my mind.

  The only New Yorker who didn’t seem like he wanted to go on a cheek-pinching bender was the old man in the hospital gown who cupped his cigarette and wheeled his IV cart out of the way to let us into our destination-the main entrance of the terminal wing of the New York Hospital Cancer Center.

  I guess he had a lot on his mind, too.

  I don’t know where New York Hospital recruits its staff for the terminal cancer wing, but my guess is somebody in Human Resources hacks into St. Peter’s mainframe and swipes the saint list. The constancy of their compassion and the absolute decency with which they treated me and my family were truly awe-inspiring.

  But as I passed forever-smiling Kevin at reception and angelic Sally Hitchens, the head of the Nursing Department, it took everything I had to raise my head and manage a weak nod back at them.

  To say I wasn’t feeling very social would have been putting it mildly.

  “Oh, look, Tom,” a middle-aged woman, clearly a visitor, said to her husband at the elevator. “A teacher brought some students in to sing Christmas carols. Isn’t that so nice? Merry Christmas, children!”

  We get that a lot. I’m of Irish American extraction, but my kids-all adopted-run the gamut. Trent and Shawna are African American; Ricky and Julia, Hispanic; and Jane is Korean. My youngest’s favorite show is The Magic School Bus. When we brought home the DVD, she exclaimed, “Daddy, it’s a show about our family!”

  Give me a fuzzy red wig and I’m a six-foot-two, two-hundred-pound Ms. Frizzle. I certainly don’t look like what I am-a senior detective with the NYPD Homicide Division, a troubleshooter, negotiator, whatever’s needed by whoever needs it.

 
    Miracle at Augusta Read onlineMiracle at AugustaThe Store Read onlineThe StoreThe Midnight Club Read onlineThe Midnight ClubThe Witnesses Read onlineThe WitnessesThe 9th Judgment Read onlineThe 9th JudgmentAgainst Medical Advice Read onlineAgainst Medical AdviceThe Quickie Read onlineThe QuickieLittle Black Dress Read onlineLittle Black DressPrivate Oz Read onlinePrivate OzHomeroom Diaries Read onlineHomeroom DiariesGone Read onlineGoneLifeguard Read onlineLifeguardKill Me if You Can Read onlineKill Me if You CanBullseye Read onlineBullseyeConfessions of a Murder Suspect Read onlineConfessions of a Murder SuspectBlack Friday Read onlineBlack FridayManhunt Read onlineManhuntFilthy Rich Read onlineFilthy RichStep on a Crack Read onlineStep on a CrackPrivate Read onlinePrivatePrivate India Read onlinePrivate IndiaGame Over Read onlineGame OverPrivate Sydney Read onlinePrivate SydneyThe Murder House Read onlineThe Murder HouseMistress Read onlineMistressI, Michael Bennett Read onlineI, Michael BennettThe Gift Read onlineThe GiftThe Postcard Killers Read onlineThe Postcard KillersThe Shut-In Read onlineThe Shut-InThe House Husband Read onlineThe House HusbandThe Lost Read onlineThe LostI, Alex Cross Read onlineI, Alex CrossGoing Bush Read onlineGoing Bush16th Seduction Read online16th SeductionThe Jester Read onlineThe JesterAlong Came a Spider Read onlineAlong Came a SpiderThe Lake House Read onlineThe Lake HouseFour Blind Mice Read onlineFour Blind MiceTick Tock Read onlineTick TockPrivate L.A. Read onlinePrivate L.A.Middle School, the Worst Years of My Life Read onlineMiddle School, the Worst Years of My LifeCross Country Read onlineCross CountryThe Final Warning Read onlineThe Final WarningWord of Mouse Read onlineWord of MouseCome and Get Us Read onlineCome and Get UsSail Read onlineSailI Funny TV: A Middle School Story Read onlineI Funny TV: A Middle School StoryPrivate London Read onlinePrivate LondonSave Rafe! Read onlineSave Rafe!Swimsuit Read onlineSwimsuitSam's Letters to Jennifer Read onlineSam's Letters to Jennifer3rd Degree Read online3rd DegreeDouble Cross Read onlineDouble CrossJudge & Jury Read onlineJudge & JuryKiss the Girls Read onlineKiss the GirlsSecond Honeymoon Read onlineSecond HoneymoonGuilty Wives Read onlineGuilty Wives1st to Die Read online1st to DieNYPD Red 4 Read onlineNYPD Red 4Truth or Die Read onlineTruth or DiePrivate Vegas Read onlinePrivate VegasThe 5th Horseman Read onlineThe 5th Horseman7th Heaven Read online7th HeavenI Even Funnier Read onlineI Even FunnierCross My Heart Read onlineCross My HeartLet’s Play Make-Believe Read onlineLet’s Play Make-BelieveViolets Are Blue Read onlineViolets Are BlueZoo Read onlineZooHome Sweet Murder Read onlineHome Sweet MurderThe Private School Murders Read onlineThe Private School MurdersAlex Cross, Run Read onlineAlex Cross, RunHunted: BookShots Read onlineHunted: BookShotsThe Fire Read onlineThe FireChase Read onlineChase14th Deadly Sin Read online14th Deadly SinBloody Valentine Read onlineBloody ValentineThe 17th Suspect Read onlineThe 17th SuspectThe 8th Confession Read onlineThe 8th Confession4th of July Read online4th of JulyThe Angel Experiment Read onlineThe Angel ExperimentCrazy House Read onlineCrazy HouseSchool's Out - Forever Read onlineSchool's Out - ForeverSuzanne's Diary for Nicholas Read onlineSuzanne's Diary for NicholasCross Justice Read onlineCross JusticeMaximum Ride Forever Read onlineMaximum Ride ForeverThe Thomas Berryman Number Read onlineThe Thomas Berryman NumberHoneymoon Read onlineHoneymoonThe Medical Examiner Read onlineThe Medical ExaminerKiller Chef Read onlineKiller ChefPrivate Princess Read onlinePrivate PrincessPrivate Games Read onlinePrivate GamesBurn Read onlineBurn10th Anniversary Read online10th AnniversaryI Totally Funniest: A Middle School Story Read onlineI Totally Funniest: A Middle School StoryTaking the Titanic Read onlineTaking the TitanicThe Lawyer Lifeguard Read onlineThe Lawyer LifeguardThe 6th Target Read onlineThe 6th TargetCross the Line Read onlineCross the LineAlert Read onlineAlertSaving the World and Other Extreme Sports Read onlineSaving the World and Other Extreme Sports1st Case Read online1st CaseUnlucky 13 Read onlineUnlucky 13Haunted Read onlineHauntedCross Read onlineCrossLost Read onlineLost11th Hour Read online11th HourBookshots Thriller Omnibus Read onlineBookshots Thriller OmnibusTarget: Alex Cross Read onlineTarget: Alex CrossHope to Die Read onlineHope to DieThe Noise Read onlineThe NoiseWorst Case Read onlineWorst CaseDog's Best Friend Read onlineDog's Best FriendNevermore: The Final Maximum Ride Adventure Read onlineNevermore: The Final Maximum Ride AdventureI Funny: A Middle School Story Read onlineI Funny: A Middle School StoryNYPD Red Read onlineNYPD RedTill Murder Do Us Part Read onlineTill Murder Do Us PartBlack & Blue Read onlineBlack & BlueFang Read onlineFangLiar Liar Read onlineLiar LiarThe Inn Read onlineThe InnSundays at Tiffany's Read onlineSundays at Tiffany'sMiddle School: Escape to Australia Read onlineMiddle School: Escape to AustraliaCat and Mouse Read onlineCat and MouseInstinct Read onlineInstinctThe Black Book Read onlineThe Black BookLondon Bridges Read onlineLondon BridgesToys Read onlineToysThe Last Days of John Lennon Read onlineThe Last Days of John LennonRoses Are Red Read onlineRoses Are RedWitch & Wizard Read onlineWitch & WizardThe Dolls Read onlineThe DollsThe Christmas Wedding Read onlineThe Christmas WeddingThe River Murders Read onlineThe River MurdersThe 18th Abduction Read onlineThe 18th AbductionThe 19th Christmas Read onlineThe 19th ChristmasMiddle School: How I Got Lost in London Read onlineMiddle School: How I Got Lost in LondonJust My Rotten Luck Read onlineJust My Rotten LuckRed Alert Read onlineRed AlertWalk in My Combat Boots Read onlineWalk in My Combat BootsThree Women Disappear Read onlineThree Women Disappear21st Birthday Read online21st BirthdayAll-American Adventure Read onlineAll-American AdventureBecoming Muhammad Ali Read onlineBecoming Muhammad AliThe Murder of an Angel Read onlineThe Murder of an AngelThe 13-Minute Murder Read onlineThe 13-Minute MurderRebels With a Cause Read onlineRebels With a CauseThe Trial Read onlineThe TrialRun for Your Life Read onlineRun for Your LifeThe House Next Door Read onlineThe House Next DoorNYPD Red 2 Read onlineNYPD Red 2Ali Cross Read onlineAli CrossThe Big Bad Wolf Read onlineThe Big Bad WolfMiddle School: My Brother Is a Big, Fat Liar Read onlineMiddle School: My Brother Is a Big, Fat LiarPrivate Paris Read onlinePrivate ParisMiracle on the 17th Green Read onlineMiracle on the 17th GreenThe People vs. Alex Cross Read onlineThe People vs. Alex CrossThe Beach House Read onlineThe Beach HouseCross Kill Read onlineCross KillDog Diaries Read onlineDog DiariesThe President's Daughter Read onlineThe President's DaughterHappy Howlidays Read onlineHappy HowlidaysDetective Cross Read onlineDetective CrossThe Paris Mysteries Read onlineThe Paris MysteriesWatch the Skies Read onlineWatch the Skies113 Minutes Read online113 MinutesAlex Cross's Trial Read onlineAlex Cross's TrialNYPD Red 3 Read onlineNYPD Red 3Hush Hush Read onlineHush HushNow You See Her Read onlineNow You See HerMerry Christmas, Alex Cross Read onlineMerry Christmas, Alex Cross2nd Chance Read online2nd ChancePrivate Royals Read onlinePrivate RoyalsTwo From the Heart Read onlineTwo From the HeartMax Read onlineMaxI, Funny Read onlineI, FunnyBlindside (Michael Bennett) Read onlineBlindside (Michael Bennett)Sophia, Princess Among Beasts Read onlineSophia, Princess Among BeastsArmageddon Read onlineArmageddonDon't Blink Read onlineDon't BlinkNYPD Red 6 Read onlineNYPD Red 6The First Lady Read onlineThe First LadyTexas Outlaw Read onlineTexas OutlawHush Read onlineHushBeach Road Read onlineBeach RoadPrivate Berlin Read onlinePrivate BerlinThe Family Lawyer Read onlineThe Family LawyerJack & Jill Read onlineJack & JillThe Midwife Murders Read onlineThe Midwife MurdersMiddle School: Rafe's Aussie Adventure Read onlineMiddle School: Rafe's Aussie AdventureThe Murder of King Tut: The Plot to Kill the Child King Read onlineThe Murder of King Tut: The Plot to Kill the Child KingFirst Love Read onlineFirst LoveThe Dangerous Days of Daniel X Read onlineThe Dangerous Days of Daniel XHawk Read onlineHawkPrivate Delhi Read onlinePrivate DelhiThe 20th Victim Read onlineThe 20th VictimThe Shadow Read onlineThe ShadowKatt vs. Dogg Read onlineKatt vs. DoggThe Palm Beach Murders Read onlineThe Palm Beach Murders2 Sisters Detective Agency Read online2 Sisters Detective AgencyHumans, Bow Down Read onlineHumans, Bow DownYou've Been Warned Read onlineYou've Been WarnedCradle and All Read onlineCradle and All20th Victim: (Women’s Murder Club 20) (Women's Murder Club) Read online20th Victim: (Women’s Murder Club 20) (Women's Murder Club)Season of the Machete Read onlineSeason of the MacheteWoman of God Read onlineWoman of GodMary, Mary Read onlineMary, MaryBlindside Read onlineBlindsideInvisible Read onlineInvisibleThe Chef Read onlineThe ChefRevenge Read onlineRevengeSee How They Run Read onlineSee How They RunPop Goes the Weasel Read onlinePop Goes the Weasel15th Affair Read online15th AffairMiddle School: Get Me Out of Here! Read onlineMiddle School: Get Me Out of Here!Middle School: How I Survived Bullies, Broccoli, and Snake Hill Read onlineMiddle School: How I Survived Bullies, Broccoli, and Snake HillFrom Hero to Zero - Chris Tebbetts Read onlineFrom Hero to Zero - Chris TebbettsG'day, America Read onlineG'day, AmericaMax Einstein Saves the Future Read onlineMax Einstein Saves the FutureThe Cornwalls Are Gone Read onlineThe Cornwalls Are GonePrivate Moscow Read onlinePrivate MoscowTwo Schools Out - Forever Read onlineTwo Schools Out - ForeverHollywood 101 Read onlineHollywood 101Deadly Cargo: BookShots Read onlineDeadly Cargo: BookShots21st Birthday (Women's Murder Club) Read online21st Birthday (Women's Murder Club)The Sky Is Falling Read onlineThe Sky Is FallingCajun Justice Read onlineCajun JusticeBennett 06 - Gone Read onlineBennett 06 - GoneThe House of Kennedy Read onlineThe House of KennedyWaterwings Read onlineWaterwingsMurder is Forever, Volume 2 Read onlineMurder is Forever, Volume 2Maximum Ride 02 Read onlineMaximum Ride 02Treasure Hunters--The Plunder Down Under Read onlineTreasure Hunters--The Plunder Down UnderPrivate Royals: BookShots (A Private Thriller) Read onlinePrivate Royals: BookShots (A Private Thriller)After the End Read onlineAfter the EndPrivate India: (Private 8) Read onlinePrivate India: (Private 8)Escape to Australia Read onlineEscape to AustraliaWMC - First to Die Read onlineWMC - First to DieBoys Will Be Boys Read onlineBoys Will Be BoysThe Red Book Read onlineThe Red Book11th hour wmc-11 Read online11th hour wmc-11Hidden Read onlineHiddenYou've Been Warned--Again Read onlineYou've Been Warned--AgainUnsolved Read onlineUnsolvedPottymouth and Stoopid Read onlinePottymouth and StoopidHope to Die: (Alex Cross 22) Read onlineHope to Die: (Alex Cross 22)The Moores Are Missing Read onlineThe Moores Are MissingBlack & Blue: BookShots (Detective Harriet Blue Series) Read onlineBlack & Blue: BookShots (Detective Harriet Blue Series)Airport - Code Red: BookShots Read onlineAirport - Code Red: BookShotsKill or Be Killed Read onlineKill or Be KilledSchool's Out--Forever Read onlineSchool's Out--ForeverWhen the Wind Blows Read onlineWhen the Wind BlowsHeist: BookShots Read onlineHeist: BookShotsMurder of Innocence (Murder Is Forever) Read onlineMurder of Innocence (Murder Is Forever)Red Alert_An NYPD Red Mystery Read onlineRed Alert_An NYPD Red MysteryMalicious Read onlineMaliciousScott Free Read onlineScott FreeThe Summer House Read onlineThe Summer HouseFrench Kiss Read onlineFrench KissTreasure Hunters Read onlineTreasure HuntersMurder Is Forever, Volume 1 Read onlineMurder Is Forever, Volume 1Secret of the Forbidden City Read onlineSecret of the Forbidden CityCross the Line: (Alex Cross 24) Read onlineCross the Line: (Alex Cross 24)Witch & Wizard: The Fire Read onlineWitch & Wizard: The FireWomen's Murder Club [06] The 6th Target Read onlineWomen's Murder Club [06] The 6th TargetCross My Heart ac-21 Read onlineCross My Heart ac-21Alex Cross’s Trial ак-15 Read onlineAlex Cross’s Trial ак-15Alex Cross 03 - Jack & Jill Read onlineAlex Cross 03 - Jack & JillLiar Liar: (Harriet Blue 3) (Detective Harriet Blue Series) Read onlineLiar Liar: (Harriet Blue 3) (Detective Harriet Blue Series)Cross Country ак-14 Read onlineCross Country ак-14Honeymoon h-1 Read onlineHoneymoon h-1Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment Read onlineMaximum Ride: The Angel ExperimentThe Big Bad Wolf ак-9 Read onlineThe Big Bad Wolf ак-9Dead Heat: BookShots (Book Shots) Read onlineDead Heat: BookShots (Book Shots)Kill and Tell Read onlineKill and TellAvalanche Read onlineAvalancheRobot Revolution Read onlineRobot RevolutionPublic School Superhero Read onlinePublic School Superhero12th of Never Read online12th of NeverMax: A Maximum Ride Novel Read onlineMax: A Maximum Ride NovelAll-American Murder Read onlineAll-American MurderMurder Games Read onlineMurder GamesRobots Go Wild! Read onlineRobots Go Wild!My Life Is a Joke Read onlineMy Life Is a JokePrivate: Gold Read onlinePrivate: GoldDemons and Druids Read onlineDemons and DruidsJacky Ha-Ha Read onlineJacky Ha-HaPostcard killers Read onlinePostcard killersPrincess: A Private Novel Read onlinePrincess: A Private NovelKill Alex Cross ac-18 Read onlineKill Alex Cross ac-1812th of Never wmc-12 Read online12th of Never wmc-12The Murder of King Tut Read onlineThe Murder of King TutI Totally Funniest Read onlineI Totally FunniestCross Fire ак-17 Read onlineCross Fire ак-17Count to Ten Read onlineCount to TenWomen's Murder Club [10] 10th Anniversary Read onlineWomen's Murder Club [10] 10th AnniversaryWomen's Murder Club [01] 1st to Die Read onlineWomen's Murder Club [01] 1st to DieI, Michael Bennett mb-5 Read onlineI, Michael Bennett mb-5Nooners Read onlineNoonersWomen's Murder Club [08] The 8th Confession Read onlineWomen's Murder Club [08] The 8th ConfessionPrivate jm-1 Read onlinePrivate jm-1Treasure Hunters: Danger Down the Nile Read onlineTreasure Hunters: Danger Down the NileWorst Case mb-3 Read onlineWorst Case mb-3Don’t Blink Read onlineDon’t BlinkThe Games Read onlineThe GamesThe Medical Examiner: A Women's Murder Club Story Read onlineThe Medical Examiner: A Women's Murder Club StoryBlack Market Read onlineBlack MarketGone mb-6 Read onlineGone mb-6Women's Murder Club [02] 2nd Chance Read onlineWomen's Murder Club [02] 2nd ChanceFrench Twist Read onlineFrench TwistKenny Wright Read onlineKenny WrightManhunt: A Michael Bennett Story Read onlineManhunt: A Michael Bennett StoryCross Kill: An Alex Cross Story Read onlineCross Kill: An Alex Cross StoryConfessions of a Murder Suspect td-1 Read onlineConfessions of a Murder Suspect td-1Second Honeymoon h-2 Read onlineSecond Honeymoon h-2Chase_A BookShot_A Michael Bennett Story Read onlineChase_A BookShot_A Michael Bennett StoryConfessions: The Paris Mysteries Read onlineConfessions: The Paris MysteriesWomen's Murder Club [09] The 9th Judgment Read onlineWomen's Murder Club [09] The 9th JudgmentAbsolute Zero Read onlineAbsolute ZeroNevermore: The Final Maximum Ride Adventure mr-8 Read onlineNevermore: The Final Maximum Ride Adventure mr-8Angel: A Maximum Ride Novel mr-7 Read onlineAngel: A Maximum Ride Novel mr-7Juror #3 Read onlineJuror #3Million-Dollar Mess Down Under Read onlineMillion-Dollar Mess Down UnderThe Verdict: BookShots (A Jon Roscoe Thriller) Read onlineThe Verdict: BookShots (A Jon Roscoe Thriller)The President Is Missing: A Novel Read onlineThe President Is Missing: A NovelWomen's Murder Club [04] 4th of July Read onlineWomen's Murder Club [04] 4th of JulyThe Hostage: BookShots (Hotel Series) Read onlineThe Hostage: BookShots (Hotel Series)$10,000,000 Marriage Proposal Read online$10,000,000 Marriage ProposalDiary of a Succubus Read onlineDiary of a SuccubusUnbelievably Boring Bart Read onlineUnbelievably Boring BartAngel: A Maximum Ride Novel Read onlineAngel: A Maximum Ride NovelStingrays Read onlineStingraysConfessions: The Private School Murders Read onlineConfessions: The Private School MurdersStealing Gulfstreams Read onlineStealing GulfstreamsWomen's Murder Club [05] The 5th Horseman Read onlineWomen's Murder Club [05] The 5th HorsemanZoo 2 Read onlineZoo 2Jack Morgan 02 - Private London Read onlineJack Morgan 02 - Private LondonTreasure Hunters--Quest for the City of Gold Read onlineTreasure Hunters--Quest for the City of GoldThe Christmas Mystery Read onlineThe Christmas MysteryMurder in Paradise Read onlineMurder in ParadiseKidnapped: BookShots (A Jon Roscoe Thriller) Read onlineKidnapped: BookShots (A Jon Roscoe Thriller)Triple Homicide_Thrillers Read onlineTriple Homicide_Thrillers16th Seduction: (Women’s Murder Club 16) (Women's Murder Club) Read online16th Seduction: (Women’s Murder Club 16) (Women's Murder Club)14th Deadly Sin: (Women’s Murder Club 14) Read online14th Deadly Sin: (Women’s Murder Club 14)Texas Ranger Read onlineTexas RangerWitch & Wizard 04 - The Kiss Read onlineWitch & Wizard 04 - The KissWomen's Murder Club [03] 3rd Degree Read onlineWomen's Murder Club [03] 3rd DegreeBreak Point: BookShots Read onlineBreak Point: BookShotsAlex Cross 04 - Cat & Mouse Read onlineAlex Cross 04 - Cat & MouseMaximum Ride Read onlineMaximum RideFifty Fifty: (Harriet Blue 2) (Detective Harriet Blue Series) Read onlineFifty Fifty: (Harriet Blue 2) (Detective Harriet Blue Series)Alex Cross 02 - Kiss the Girls Read onlineAlex Cross 02 - Kiss the GirlsThe President Is Missing Read onlineThe President Is MissingHunted Read onlineHuntedHouse of Robots Read onlineHouse of RobotsDangerous Days of Daniel X Read onlineDangerous Days of Daniel XTick Tock mb-4 Read onlineTick Tock mb-410th Anniversary wmc-10 Read online10th Anniversary wmc-10The Exile Read onlineThe ExilePrivate Games-Jack Morgan 4 jm-4 Read onlinePrivate Games-Jack Morgan 4 jm-4Burn: (Michael Bennett 7) Read onlineBurn: (Michael Bennett 7)Laugh Out Loud Read onlineLaugh Out LoudThe People vs. Alex Cross: (Alex Cross 25) Read onlineThe People vs. Alex Cross: (Alex Cross 25)Peril at the Top of the World Read onlinePeril at the Top of the WorldI Funny TV Read onlineI Funny TVMerry Christmas, Alex Cross ac-19 Read onlineMerry Christmas, Alex Cross ac-19#1 Suspect jm-3 Read online#1 Suspect jm-3Fang: A Maximum Ride Novel Read onlineFang: A Maximum Ride NovelWomen's Murder Club [07] 7th Heaven Read onlineWomen's Murder Club [07] 7th HeavenThe End Read onlineThe End