Fan of the classic tv show “Profiler” ?
How about the seminal read “Mindhunter” ?

If so, this is the book to read.

Our MMC, FBI Gardner Camden, is unabashedly flawed. And, he knows it, accepts it and tries to do better.

So, too, is his team. Together they hunt the scum, the underbelly of society. Then they are tasked with the undesirable task of hunting down a vigilante. How they arrive to the inevitable conclusion is a journey through multiple states and encounters with individuals in their past and present. There are surpassingly interconnected ties.

I also liked that the author cultivated the MMC’s personality outside of the workplace. How he interacts with his mother and his daughter adds another layer to his character.

This ARC was provided by the publisher, St. Martins Press, Minotaur Books, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fast, entertaining mystery. I think that it would appeal to people who enjoy shows like Criminal Minds. I do wish that there was a bit more character development for the team. It felt a bit like we were thrown in to an established series where the relationships were already set up previously.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Gardner Camden has a brilliant mind, but he’s a bit socially inept. As part of the FBI’s PAR Unit (Patterns and Recognition), he uses his skill at decoding codes, puzzles and riddles to solve cold cases. Now the PAR Unit is tasked with hunting down a serial killer who is killing other serial killers. The unit follows the cryptic clues left by the killer in a race against the clock.

The book started out great with an engaging plot line, but kind of fizzled out after a while. I think it was because Gardner became a very flat character, lacking depth and complexity. The other characters were one-dimensional, and one verged on annoyance with her manner of speaking (bee tee dubs, donezo, hells to the yeah).

Still, it is a good book for those looking for a Criminal Minds-type read.

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Thank you St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio and John McMahon for this ALC and ARC!

Reading Head Cases felt like watching Dexter for the first time all over again. I immediately was able to find myself in Gardner and his isolated, in-his-head type of thinking and processing. I love a good story about someone like this who struggles to fit in with his peers comfortably, who often says the wrong things and spaces out way too much - but! despite this, cultivates a found family of people who love a character like Gardner for who he is. It always gives me hope lol.

For someone who is not a fan of procedural thrillers, I ate Head Cases up. Who doesn’t love a serial killer killing serial killers? Or a band of outcasts in the FBI tasked with a case that not many care about? It was everything my autistic strong sense of justice craved. I am obsessed. And when I wasn’t reading this book, I wanted to be. It’s all I thought about. I really, really hope we get to revisit Gardner and the Pattern and Recognition team!

An FBI unit tracking down a killer that seems to be embedded in the FBI. Agent Gardner Camden has an analytical mind for tracking down and understanding his cases but it becomes a little more intense with a young daughter he is also trying to protect.

Fast-paced and intense - I could not stop listening to the audio as I read along with the audio part of the time. I especially enjoyed reading about the number of places around Texas that I have been to - including Murder by the Book bookstore in Houston!

My thanks to Net Galley and Minotaur Books and Macmillian Audio for an advanced copy of this e-book and audiobook.

John McMahon is no stranger to detective thrillers and his new series (there will be a second book) involves the fictional FBI “PAR” (Patterns and Recognition) team, an offset of the Behavioral Sciences department. but PAR has a lower visibility and isn’t commanding Gulfstreams out Quantico, but getting rental cars in satellite office Jacksonville, Florida (IF they are allowed out of their cubicles). All the members have specialized skills and all have apparently flamed out elsewhere in FBI-land.

Included on the team are:
Gardner Camden, with an eidetic memory, the riddle solver
Cassie Pardo, mathematician
Jo “Shooter” Harris, a weapons experts
Richie Brancato, a newbie data analyst
Frank Roberts, longtime FBI guy, the boss

The main character Gardner is, indeed, a man of details and numbers (like counting that there were 6 black scuff marks on the Quantico lobby floor). He hints that as a child he was regarded as peculiar, and even now the mean-girl colleagues (who are bros) use the “r” word to describe him while upper management refers to the PAR team as “brilliant freaks”. But his eidetic memory and retention of minutiae make this book spectacularly different. We have a mind warrior matched with an equally intelligent predator.

In the first of the series, Camden’s team are called to solve the murder of a serial killer who they sort of caught, but then immediately died seven years ago. This time he’s really dead. A second case also pops up with another serial killer dying at the hands of an apparent vigilante, one who has access to FBI files and secrets. A serial killer is disposing of other serial killers who slipped through the FBI’s hands.

The plot is clever and you can root for (nearly) all the team members and their quirks, including Camden’s brilliant, insightful and mentally fading mother. It’s an intelligent story with literary, scientific and mathematical references — with normally unseen connections if not for a team trained to spot such patterns. McMahon should definitely keep them around for a sequel.

I was hooked early on and did a binge read until the end. Spellbinding is a good adjective for “Head Cases”! 5 stars!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES Shooter has green eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO Author McMahon knows that state universities (or extension universities) will have the best sources in horticulture, agriculture, agronomy and entomology since their original charters as land grant schools were to assist rural communities.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press/ Minotaur Books and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

PAR consists of minds that run on a different frequency than most. It is an exciting read where connections are made that I may not have found. This was a complex mystery that had numerous obscure threads to follow. I enjoyed being in Camden's mind and seeing how he tackled the obstacles before him. A mind like his sees black and white, and his interactions seem stilted, but there is a lot of contemplation that goes on before action. I got drawn into the story from the start and was carried along on that wild ride to the end. I enjoyed so much about this book and hope that this is a storyline that continues!

Many thanks to John McMahon, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this novel. I used to read a lot of “serial killer” focused mysteries but have moved away from that in recent years. Still, I enjoyed this book — it’s well written and the plot kept me engaged. I’m not sure how believable it all was but I was invested enough to keep reading and not focus too much on that. I’m happy to discover this author, who was new to me, and I’ll be looking forward to the next book in this series.

When the DNA of a serial killer that is believed to be dead is found at two murder scenes, a team of talented FBI agents is assembled to figure out if the serial killer is in fact still alive. With a trail of clues, the team is forced from behind their analyst desks into the field. But while the team is learning everything they can about the killer, the killer is also learning everything they can about the FBI team and their families.

Head Cases concerns a small group of FBI experts who also happen to be misfits. They usually work cold cases but are called into an active investigation.
Gardner Camden sees patterns and is considered brilliant but doesn’t have the best social skills.
Someone is killing serial killers by the same means they killed their victims. It makes the team wonder if the killer is in law enforcement or even the FBI. And the killings are happening one after the other. The team needs to solve this case to redeem themselves.
I enjoyed reading this book - it was fast paced and had interesting characters.

This was a great book. I appreciate the opportunity to read it. 10/10 recommend. The writer really had you guessing who it could be thru out the entirety of the book as if you were solving the case along with the other members of PAR

I am a SUCKER for any novel that centers around a gang of misfits who happen to be employed by some sort of police agency. That is exactly what we find in Head Cases by McMahon. We are following characters who work in a branch of the FBI called PAR (patterns and recognition), but around the office they are whispered about as the "Head Cases." The characters we are following all had different missteps in their career that led them to be hidden away or demoted down to PAR as a punishment. Despite this they are known to be a brilliant group that can solve the unsolvable. Which is exactly what the FBI needs when a serial killer who has a penchant for killing bad guys begins leaving a trail of bodies.

This is a great foundation for the continuation of the story and for a lot more character development. Our main character Gardner Camden is neurodivergent. He has a BRILLIANT mind, but lacks most social skills. The rest of the team were unique enough to stand out, but definitely need to be fleshed out more. The lead up and ending were superb, but the actual answer to what it was all for was just fell a little flat for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, John McMahon and St Martin’s Press for free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This was a good start to a series that I think I’d like to continue. I loved the different type of team that mostly deals with puzzles and see things others don’t. It was fairly fast paced, great twists and wildly action packed.

Well written and engaging police procedural book, reminiscent of Criminal Minds and Slow Horses.

The PAR (Patterns and Recognition) unit of the FBI consists of a group of misfits tasked with helping to solve cold cases. Gardner Camden has a very analytical brain but does not excel with social cues and interaction. They have heard that PAR is likely to be disbanded, and the news they just received doesn't help. Many years previously, Gardner helped to identify a serial killer who was presumed dead in a house fire. But he turns up murdered with many of the similar elements from his own kills. Then another serial killer is found dead. Gardner and his team need to find this culprit--and fast--using the clues the killer leaves behind.

I enjoyed this intriguing mystery, and the characters make it more interesting. There are a lot of moving pieces, a large number of characters, clues, elements, and details to keep straight. I listened to this as an audiobook and I liked how the narrator portrayed Gardner, helping me root for his success throughout.

The mystery itself is surprising and clues are revealed at the right times to keep the reader invested in discovering the outcome along with the characters. It's fast paced, with a good balance of action and suspense. I really hope this is the start to a series, because there are so many different directions and storylines this group of agents can pursue.

What a wild ride!!! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Wow!!!! This is seriously a debut? Incredible.

This grabbed me from the opening chapter and kept me on the edge of my seat! The novel follows the FBI's specialized Patterns and Recognition Unit (PAR) in St. Augustine, Florida. The story centers on a group of agents unflatteringly called "head cases" by their colleagues. They are a group of outcasts with genius abilities in puzzles, patterns, codes, etc., but have all messed up somewhere in their careers, and PAR is their last chance. They usually work cold cases but get called to help catch a serial killer who is killing other serial killers and leaving riddles behind.

Analytical puzzle genius Gardner Camden leads an ensemble cast of well-developed, quirky, and distinctive characters. Each team member has a unique skill set, and seeing how they worked together was interesting and fun. Gardner's interactions with his mother and daughter also added an emotional layer to the story. I enjoyed seeing both the professional and private sides of Gardner's life right from the start.

This was my first book by this author, and I enjoyed his writing style, the carefully constructed plot, and how he built suspense. The twists were well done, and I did not anticipate some places this went. The premise was unique, and the crime set up a morally complex chase as the killer targets other killers. So, that was an interesting angle.

I hope this becomes a series, as I'd be interested in more stories with this group. The whole time I was reading this, I thought it would make a great TV show, and then I found out it was optioned for an adaptation.
Very entertaining and one that fans of thrillers and procedurals will want to check out!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press Minotaur Books and Netgalley for the gifted ARC!

Within the world of the FBI sits a special unit called PAR: Patterns and Recognition, which is dubbed Head Cases by those outside the unit. Meant to be derogatory because the team consists of members who have “messed up” at some point during their time in the Bureau and relocated to this team. Still, they are all brilliant individuals and together they usually work on cold cases but in this instance there’s an active case they’re called in to solve, and it’s a doozy!

I absolutely devoured this book. It was one of those rare instances where I couldn’t wait to be back in these pages and found myself shirking responsibilities just so I could keep reading and listening! Dark, twisty, and utterly addicting this clever story is one I won’t soon forget and I really REALLY hope this is the first in a series. I need more from these characters!

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the alc and Minotaur Books for the arc via Netgalley!

Pub day: January 28, 2025
Rating: 5/5⭐️

I would like to start off by thanking Netgalley for giving me an advanced copy of this book. WOW! Those three letters are how I feel about this book. Not only did I finish it in a day but I literally could not put it down. Set in a fictional FBI world where a team called PAR standing for Patterns and Recognition, is hunting for a murderer that is taking justice into their own hands.
Although this team is made up of a motley crew they are the best at what they do and the perfect person to solve this is our protagonist Gardner. Although he may lack social cues his intelligence makes up for it in spades. I was obsessed with all the twists and turns and needed to see what happened next. McMahon does such a brilliant job of describing everyone and everything in this book in the mind of Gardner that I felt as if I was in this world with them. Everything and everyone is connected and the farther you get into the book the more you learn how.
If you love criminal minds or mind hunter than you will love this book!
If I could give this more than 5 stars I would, but unfortunately I only got 5.

Head Cases was an enjoyable read. I thought the PAR department of the FBI was fascinating to read about. This story was winding, but not overly so. I thought Gardner Camden was a good main character, and there was enough background to keep him mysterious but still interesting, and you wanted to root for him. I definitely will pick up more books involving the PAR team.

This is the book you will read in two sittings because it grabs on and you
do not want to miss a minute. The inner workings of the FBI might seem
like a common thread for a thriller/suspense story but this is unlike
anything I have read. The best news is that I’m pretty sure there will
be a series with this starting out (and ending) the way it did ~it’s a rock
solid entry into a long running series. Here’s the sneak peek~
EVERYTHING works out just the way I was hoping for and there is
a, good setup for a sequel.
My thanks to Minotaur books via NetGalley for the download
copy of this book for review purposes.