S. F. Prescott

Action packed and fast paced!

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.

Published January 28th, 2025.

Head Cases by John McMahon is the perfect book if you’re looking for something to break you out of a reading slump. It definitely has series potential and at times it felt like I was watching an episode of Criminal Minds. The PAR team (Patterns and Recognition) of the FBI, led by quirky protagonist, Gardner Camden, are pulled into a game of cat and mouse trying to catch a serial killer who targets other killers.

Compared to other books in the genre, this felt different when it came to the characters, and the author did an amazing job at differentiating them. The crime scenes were grisly, reminding me of Meg Gardiner’s Unsub series, and I was rooting for Camden throughout the story. I was gripped from the first crime scene and raced through, unsure who the killer was until the end. The pace was steady in the first half but really picked up after the mid point. Very enjoyable!

For readers who enjoy nonstop action, unique characters, and twisted crimes.

Synopsis:

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?