Patterson and Ledwidge do a great job of showing how team writing can really create a wonderful book. They waste no time jumping right in as the readers join the former president and his wife as they are celebrating their honeymoon with a dinner out on the town. It ends in disaster as she has an allergic reaction to something in her food and dies.

This sets the novel for its surprising and well-thought-out crime. There is no shortage of celebrities, who attend the First Lady's funeral at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. While names are changed, it is clear that some of them are representative of names like Lindsey Lohan, Madonna, and Steven Seagall. A group of men rush in during the funeral and take the group hostage.

And in steps in our hero, a man who is just as interesting and well designed as Patterson's Alex Cross. Detective Michael Bennett works in Homocide for the New York Police Department and has experience with negotiations. He spends a good chunk of the book in verbal battle with "Jack" the leader of the hijackers.

While all of this is going on with the arrival of the Christmas season, Michael is also dealing with a crisis at home. He and his 10 adopted children are faced with the fact that his wife Maeve is losing a battled with cancer. She is in the hospital, and it is only a matter of days becore she will be gone. She provides them with a wonderful example of strength of will as she holds the family together.

Through the rest of the book, the reader joins Michael as he balances the two challenging situations, keeping the reader on the edge of his or her seat as both sides of the hijacking make grave errors and Maeve's decline continues.

This is easily one of my favorite books by Patterson.