What Happened to the Bennetts is a mystery thriller novel by Lisa Scottoline, published in 2022 by G. P. Putnam’s Sons. It is the 34th novel written by Scottoline, a best-selling author whose books have been translated into 30 languages. Scottoline mostly writes in the mystery genre. Two of her most successful books are Look Again and Don’t Go, both of which reached #2 on The New York Times Best Seller List. She received an Edgar Award for her novel Final Appeal, has served as president of the Mystery Writers of America, and often draws on her professional experience as a trial lawyer. What Happened to the Bennetts mixes elements of a mystery novel with those of an action thriller, following the journey of a suburban dad as he risks his life to save his family from corrupt government officials and law enforcement. On the way, he confronts grief and mortality while deciding what kind of father and husband to be in the future.

The following guide refers to the paperback edition (Putnam, 2022).

Content Warning: The source material depicts murder and torture.

Plot Summary

Jason Bennett owns a court reporting business in the suburbs of Philadelphia. At the outset of the novel, he lives a normal life with his wife Lucinda and two kids Allison and Ethan. One night, while the Bennetts are driving home from their daughter’s field hockey game, two men in a pickup truck stop them on a dark road and attempt to steal their car. The Bennetts’ dog Moonie leaps at one of the attackers, and in the ensuing chaos, one of the carjackers shoots and kills both Allison and the other carjacker.

While struggling to accept the loss, the Bennetts discover that their carjackers are lieutenants in the George Veria drug-trafficking organization (GVO). The one who survived, John Milo, used the carjacking to kill the other, who was the boss’s son, George Veria Jr. Now Milo is looking to eliminate the witnesses while George Veria Sr., known as Big George, is looking for revenge. The Bennetts enter the Witness Protection Program, and they are forced to flee in the middle of the night to a safe house in the marshes of Delaware.

In Delaware, the Bennetts struggle to grieve the death of Allison while maintaining a contentious relationship with the two FBI agents assigned to protect them: Special Agents Dom Kingston and Wiki Hallman. Because the Witness Protection Program is not designed to protect law-abiding families, the FBI is not prepared to deal with the Bennetts’ active social network or “citizen detectives” like Bryan Krieger investigating the family’s disappearance. The Bennetts watch rumors build in their absence while being unable to communicate with friends and family. Feeling helpless in an unfamiliar place and unable to bury Allison, they begin to fall apart emotionally.

Frustrated by the FBI’s failure to capture Milo, Jason investigates GVO online, discovering that Milo avoided jail time in the past thanks to his lawyer, Paul Hart. He also learns, after reading Krieger’s blog, that Lucinda had an affair. After confronting Lucinda, he learns that her affair was with the same Hart, leading them to believe that the carjacking was not a coincidence. At the same time, Jason learns that Milo is an FBI informant. No longer trusting the FBI and fearing that his family will not survive, Jason decides to escape the protection program and stop Milo.

The second half of the novel shifts from a family drama to a series of action-packed scenes following Jason’s investigation. He begins by observing Junior’s funeral. After being chased off the road by a mysterious SUV, Jason steals the cards attached to the flower arrangements at the funeral home. Then he uses Hart’s public appearance at a political fundraiser to follow him. His goal is to find evidence that Milo is an FBI informant and bring it to Big George. But, before he can, Jason witnesses Hart being murdered by someone in a BMW. Using the names on the flower cards, Jason determines that Hart’s girlfriend is a paralegal at the firm, but when he visits her apartment, he finds her dead too. It seems Milo has been cleaning up loose ends.

Turning to plan B, Jason shaves his head, gets his car repainted, and buys a gun. He trolls through the neighborhoods where GVO sells drugs until he finds the BMW and its driver, Phil Nerone. Jason uses Nerone to set up a meeting with Big George, but Nerone had unwittingly called Milo first, leading to a shootout in the middle of the night. During the shootout, Milo kills Nerone and Krieger (who had been following Jason) and injures a truck driver. Jason learns many of these details late in the night, stopping at a truck stop diner after escaping the plant.

Jason sets up a meeting with Big George. He is blindfolded and brought to a cabin in the woods where Big George beats Jason before agreeing to hear him out. Jason learns that Big George has final-stage pancreatic cancer and that he knew Milo was an FBI informant. But Jason convinces him that Milo killed his son, and they agree that Milo had probably been working with Hart. Big George convinces Jason that Hart wouldn’t kill him for Lucinda, and they realize that it probably has something to do with the politician Hart works with, Senator Michael Ricks, the CIA, and Jason’s time as a court reporter in Guantanamo Bay.

After researching Guantanamo Bay, Jason discovers that Ricks was a military interrogator who was there at the same time as him. Ricks, who is planning to run for president, previously avoided accusations related to the torture and murder of Rohan Doha, one of the detainees at the military prison, by claiming that he had been in the infirmary at the time. Jason discovers that all his work files regarding his time at Guantanamo have been erased, but he finds a personal photograph of himself and Ricks on a cruise that proves Ricks was not in the infirmary when he claimed. Having solved the mystery and obtained evidence, Jason heads back to the Delaware safe house.

Arriving at the house, Jason discovers that his family and Dom are not there. The other FBI agent, Wiki, tries to lure him into a trap by claiming that his family is being held hostage by Milo, but Jason sees through the deception when Wiki cannot account for the family’s dog. Guessing that Wiki is working with Milo, Jason steers the car off the road and knocks him out, taking his gun and car. Jason guesses that Dom escaped with Jason’s family to a check-cashing agency in West Philadelphia they discussed earlier. He drives in that direction but discovers that there are now roadblocks in his way. Milo killed Wiki and framed Jason, alerting the authorities. Jason only manages to get to Philadelphia because of the generosity of Collins Consolidated driver Flossy Bergstrom, who likes that Jason is good with her three chihuahuas.

In West Philadelphia, Jason knocks on doors until he meets with Leonard Richardson, an old friend of Dom’s uncle Tig. After some initial distrust, Richardson, Tig, and a friend named Skeet (who call themselves “The Three Musketeers”) take Jason to an old rowhouse where Dom is hiding out with Lucinda and Ethan. They reunite, Jason debriefs everyone on the events of the past couple of days, and they devise a plan to stop Milo. They plan to lure him to an empty warehouse using Jason as bait. Dom plans to call Special Agent Reilly, who he believes is also working with Milo, to set the trap. Lucinda is worried for Jason’s life. They share a passionate kiss before he leaves, but Jason is still unsure if he can forgive her.

At the warehouse, Dom, the Three Musketeers, and Jason set the trap. The plan is for the Three Musketeers to hide while Dom flags down Milo’s car and then for the group to rush the car at once. Dom orders Jason to wait safely in the warehouse, and Jason agrees after some protest. While they wait, Jason and Dom talk about Jason’s difficulties forgiving Lucinda, and Dom advises him to decide what he wants without being influenced by pride. Then Tig secretly gives Jason a gun, asking Jason to ignore Dom’s order and do what it takes to save his nephew’s life.

Milo avoids the trap by arriving in a second car, and it becomes a shootout. Richardson and Dom are shot, and it is clear they are outgunned even with Jason running in to help. Suddenly, more SUVs arrive, and Big George and his men enter a shootout with Milo. Big George had called Special Agent Reilly, who now also wants Milo dead. Big George and Milo end up killing each other, and Jason comforts Big George as he dies. Richardson and Dom are injured, but they survive.

Afterward, Jason debriefs the US Attorney and hands over the photo evidence about Ricks. Then he decides to return to Delaware with Lucinda and Ethan so they can look for their dog Moonie, who had run away, and recover as a family. Dom drives them. When they arrive, Jason and Ethan go look for Moonie in the marshes. After a few hours, they give up, but when they arrive back at the house, they find Moonie there. Flossie found him with the help of other Collins Consolidated drivers. Flossy also gives them one of her chihuahuas, who had bonded with both Jason and Moonie. Later that night, Jason and Lucinda talk about their marriage. They decide they want to stay together, and Jason forgives her.

Months later, Jason testifies in the Senate chamber during new congressional hearings about Ricks and the Doha case. The news had become politicized, but the Bennetts care only about getting justice for Allison. In the end, Ricks resigns and eventually is indicted, and the Bennetts rebuild their lives in the same Philadelphia suburb as before. The novel ends with Jason, Lucinda, and Ethan planting a tree in their backyard in honor of Allison.