It’s a good week for thriller readers with the release of James Byrne’s Chain Reaction, Andrew Welsh-Huggins’ The Mailman, and John McMahon’s Head Cases. McMahon might be known to some readers as the award-nominated author of the P.T. Marsh thrillers, including The Good Detective. Now, he launches a new series featuring an unusual group of agents at the FBI. The first book is Head Cases.
There are four people on the Patterns and Recognition team for the FBI, a group that identifies peculiarities, solves puzzles, and highlights them, and then hands the case off to other groups in the FBI or law enforcement. FBI agent Gardner Camden is able to easily solve riddles and puzzles, but he needs clues in social situations. His mother, a psychiatrist, gave him advice and helped him find those clues.
PARs latest case sends the group directly into action. Gardner’s boss meets the team in Texas where a body has been found. Identification of the victim flagged Gardner Camden’s name because he identified the body as dead in a fire seven years earlier. Ross Tegnion was the primary suspect in the murder of thee in Florida until he supposedly died in a fire at his house. Now, his body has turned up in Texas.
But, it’s a second victim, this one in New Mexico, that starts the team on a chase. Barry Fisher was just released from prison when he was killed. It seems “A serial killer was murdering serial killers.” And, the new killer is trying to attract Gardner Camden’s attention.
At times, the details involved in the investigation became a little heavy, but the PAR team is a fascinating combination of misfits, led by Gardner Camden. They all have strengths and weaknesses, and Gardner, as narrator, is the most flawed. It will be interesting to see if future books focus on Gardner Camden or other members of the team. Since PAR is made up of an analyst, a shooter, and a rookie, along with Gardner and his boss, there is room for additional exploration. Despite the details that can be a little graphic or a little too descriptive at times, Head Cases is a welcome addition to the group of books featuring those who hunt killers.
John McMahon’s website is https://www.johnmcmahonbooks.com/
Head Cases by John McMahon. Minotaur Books, 2025. ISBN 9781250348296 (hardcover), 352p.
FTC Full Disclosure – I received a galley from the publisher through NetGalley, with no promise of a review.
Might be too quirky for me, but if you liked it, then… Would you recommend starting with the P T Marsh series instead? I’ve never read any of them.
Kim, personally I liked this book better, but Kevin has the best answer below.
I very much enjoyed the read. I very much enjoyed the far different PT Marsh series as well. I am a big fan of the author and his work. Lesa has allowed me to guest review his stuff here and he has made by best/favorites of the year lists.
I had no issues with this read at all. From his author note at the end of this book, it appears the next one will be like this one and not from the POV of another member of the team. Hopefully, after this two book deal, the publisher will commit to more and not kill it like the other series.
Keeping my fingers crossed, Kevin. Good information. Thank you!