I haven’t read a Lisa Scottoline book in a very long time, but was looking for a thriller and decided to try her latest thriller, about a regular guy who has to take the law into his own hands. Check out my review of What Happened to the Bennetts!
What Happened to the Bennetts by Lisa Scottoline
To be published on March 29, 2022 by Putnam.
Synopsis: 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 lacrosse game when a pickup truck begins tailgating them. Suddenly two men jump from the pickup and pull guns on Jason, demanding the car. A horrific act of violence changes his life forever. Later that awful night, Jason and his family receive a visit from the FBI. The agents advise the Bennetts to enter the witness protection program, 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.
Review of What Happened to the Bennetts
I used to read all of Lisa Scottoline’s books back in the 90s. Then I switched to chick lit (that’s what they called it back then) and YA. But now I am thrilled to be BACK as a mystery and thriller reader and decided to try her latest. I remember her books as heavy on family relationships, usually law-related, and often filled with humor.
What Happened to the Bennetts is a story about family relationships. It’s an everyman vigilante story. It does have legal elements. While I thought some of the individual elements worked well, at times I also thought that some of them also didn’t fit together. (I don’t want to get into too many details, but my spoiler discussion post has my complete thoughts, as well as a plot summary.)
I thought the family elements and the relationships between the characters were the strongest part of the story. There was a true crime blogger element that I wish had been incorporated more fully. When the Bennetts went into witness protection, their friends and neighbors were completely alarmed and perplexed, and all kinds of crazy theories sprung up as to what might have happened to them. What Happened to the Bennetts was definitely suspenseful, but there were certainly, for me, also elements that required a suspension of disbelief.
If you’re a fan of Lisa Scottoline and have been reading her books throughout the years, please let me know in comments what you thought of this OR what is your favorite book of hers, because reading What Happened to the Bennetts reminded me that I do enjoy her writing and need to catch up a bit.
And if (or when) you’ve read this, please come join the spoiler discussion, where we can really get into discussing all the plot elements, characters, and more!
If you love vigilante thrillers, I have been seeing a LOT of them these days. Here are some suggestions:
The Collective by Allison Gaylin
If you’ve read The Collective (and it is a WILD ride) then some check out my spoiler discussion of The Collective here.
Another pick, which I only reviewed on Goodreads, is The Heights by Louise Candlish. You can find my Goodreads review here.
Finally, the new Harlen Coban has a vigilante element – a group of online vigilantes who use animal avatars.
You can find my spoiler free review of The Match here AND if, like me, you need to talk out all those DNA connections in the book, get over to my Spoiler Discussion of The Match and let’s figure it out together!