Book Description
FBI Agent Gardner Camden is an analytical genius with an affinity for puzzles. He also has a blind spot on the human side of investigations, a blindness that sometimes even includes people in his own life, like his beloved seven-year-old daughter Camila. Gardner and his squad of brilliant yet quirky agents make up the Patterns and Recognition (PAR) unit, the FBI’s hidden edge, brought in for cases that no one else can solve.
When DNA links a murder victim to a serial killer long presumed dead, the team springs into action. A second victim establishes a pattern, and the murderer begins leaving a trail of clues and riddles especially for Gardner. And while the PAR team is usually relegated to working cold cases from behind a desk, the investigation puts them on the road and into the public eye, following in the footsteps of a killer.
Along with Gardner, PAR consists of a mathematician, a weapons expert, a computer analyst, and their leader, a career agent. Each of them must use every skill they have to solve the riddle of the killer’s identity. But with the perpetrator somehow learning more and more about the team at PAR, can they protect themselves and their families…before it’s too late?
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/211004897-head-cases?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=j7HammCJbK&rank=1
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My Book Review
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
HEAD CASES (PAR Unit #1) by John McMahon is an engaging and exciting first book in a new series featuring a group of extremely talented and specialized FBI agents, who while brilliant in their specific areas, have had a serious misstep in their careers and are now grouped together for a last chance to keep their jobs. While the PAR (Patterns and Recognition) unit is quirky, the book’s crime plot is gripping, gritty and graphic as they chase a serial killer of serial killers.
FBI Agent Gardner Camden is an analytical genius with an eidetic memory who loves puzzles but is extremely socially awkward. The PAR unit is not deployed to the field but is used when all others have failed to solve a case by analyzing data from their office and finding that missing piece that helps solve the case.
But this case is different. The DNA of a murder victim has come back as a match to a serial killer who was presumed dead. Gardner’s supervisor and the head of the FBI have chosen him to lead this hunt in the field. While the Gardner and the team look forward to the field work, they also realize that if this case is not solved, the recriminations will blow back on them and they could be reassigned or terminated.
The killer has personal information on Gardner that could only come from his FBI file as he taunts and threatens him and his family after another kill. Can Gardner and his unit stop this killer before his endgame and final disappearance?
This is an exciting serial killer crime thriller that kept me reading from page one to the end. Gardner is such a great protagonist, and the author brings him to life as a fully developed and believable character. While not stated in the story, you realize he is somewhere on the spectrum, but his mother has taught him how to deal with his special intellect and social awkwardness from childhood. All his other teammates are brilliant and interesting in their own quirkiness and specialties and will probably be more in the limelight in future books.
The crime thriller plot in this story is perfectly paced with a God complex serial killer and the step-by-step hunt to capture him. Some of the surprises along the way come from more than just the antagonist and Gardner must make decisions that not only affect him, but his whole unit. There are graphic descriptions of blood and body parts throughout, but it is a serial killer thriller and to be expected.
I highly recommend this crime thriller police procedural with great new characters that I am looking forward to following in future books.
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About the Author
John McMahon studied Creative Writing at The University of Arizona. In his role as an ad agency creative director, his work has won a Gold Clio for Fiat, and he’s written a Superbowl spot for Alfa Romeo. He currently lives in Los Angeles with his family and two rescue animals. He’s hard at work on another P.T. Marsh book and dreams of splitting time between Cabo San Lucas and Lake Lanier.
Social Media Links
Website: https://www.johnmcmahonbooks.com/
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BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/head-cases-by-john-mcmahon
