What Happened to the Bennetts by Lisa Scottoline

 

If you and your family disappeared one day – would you be missed?  Would anyone in your neighborhood ask what happened to you?  I feel like living in a small town that I would be missed at some point. 

Jason Bennett is a Dad with a court-reporting business driving home one evening from his daughter’s lacrosse game.  When his family is carjacked, a tragedy occurs and their lives are changed forever.  The Bennetts are put into the Witness Protection Program and they are gone from their regular lives.  It leaves the neighbors wondering, what happened to the Bennetts?   After Jason decides to take matters into his own hands, he will discover that nothing is as it seems.

This was a very fast paced suspense novel that kept me on my toes.  I did not guess at all what was going to happen.  It didn’t allow for much character development, although I found myself caring about characters such as Jason’s poor son that was struggling. 

What Happened to the Bennetts was the March pick for the Kewaunee Public Library.  We had a great discussion about this book complete with great questions from the reading guide. 

Book Source:  Kewaunee Public Library.  Thank-you!

Don’t Go by Lisa Scottoline

Don’t Go explores the difficulties faced when a veteran returns home from serving oversees in Afghanistan. Dr. Mike Scanlon was in the army reserves and was called up to serve as a podiatrist in Afghanistan.  His wife Chloe didn’t want him to leave as their daughter was only 1 month old.  Right before his tour of six months is up, Mike gets the terrible news that Chloe died in an accident in their kitchen.  He returns for the funeral, but is unable to stay that long before he has to return to duty.  Facing the perils of war, Mike is stunned to return home to find that the real fight might be on the home front.  How does he become a family again with Emily?  Was there more to Chloe’s death than originally thought?

Don’t Go is the April pick for the FLICKS Book and Movie Club (aka Rogue).  I think it will give us a lot to talk about including what it means to be a parents, the trials of serving overseas and being the spouse left behind, drug abuse, etc.  I thought Don’t Go was a real page turner and I read it relatively quickly.  The only negative I have about this book as the storyline had abrupt changes at times that didn’t really match what had come before it.  In particular, these abrupt changes had to do with Bob’s in-laws and their treatment of him, but I wills say no more to ruin the plot.

My favorite quote:

“They were called grunts, but there had to be a better word for somebody driving a vehicle that could be blown up, to an outpost directly in harm’s way, to serve his country and protect each other.  A better word would be hero.”

Overall, Don’t Go is a gripping tale that is relevant to our times and deals with weighty matters.  It was a real page turner with a compelling story.

Book Source:  Kewaunee Public Library