Head Cases by John McMahon

 

Someone is playing vigilante and killing serial killers.  The first one was a man about to be indicted for three murders when his house caught fire and a body assumed to be him was found.  That was seven years ago and he had been free to roam the country and continue his killing spree until the new killer found him.  The second case was a killer who had just been paroled after decades behind bars.  

PAR is the Pattern And Recognition unit of the FBI.  Gardner Camden works in the unit, sharing with the others some miscue in his career that didn't warrant dismissal but made it better if he was forward facing with the public.  In his case, it was turning in his beloved wife when he found she and her boss were defrauding a bank, giving his partner, a respected FBI agent and her father, a heart attack.  In others, it was disrespect, hitting on the wrong woman, or other mistakes.  

Everyone in PAR has a unique talent.  Gardner has an eidetic memory and sees patterns where others do not.  His partner, Cassie, has the same pattern sensing ability but more on the mathematical side.  Another woman is an Olympic level sharpshooter.  Frank runs the unit and focuses on the big picture.  Gardner is on the spectrum and the only person who really understands him is his mother but she is now hospitalized with dementia.  

To his surprise, Gardner is put in charge of the case, going over Frank's head.  Gardner was the person who had identified the first killer seven years ago and the Director feels that he would have an advantage on finding the killer who believes his mission is to kill other killers.  As the case progresses, it becomes evident that the killer knows much about Gardner's life and that his plan is to also kill off prominent FBI members.  Can Gardner find him?

This is the first book in a new series by the author, who works in marketing when not writing thrillers.  He has another series also.  In this one, the pace is fast and furious, perhaps a bit too frantic but quite engaging.  I'm looking forward to seeing where the PAR unit goes and more of Gardner's life.  I listened to this book and the narrator had the perfect voice to move the story along.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.