HEAD CASES is my first book by John McMahon and I’m intrigued to read more.

If you are a Criminal Minds fan like me then this is a must read. This read was part police procedural and part psychological thriller with serial killer vibes that had me furiously turning the pages, especially at the end where things got very suspenseful.

💭: If gore is not your vibe, then skip this one. Thank you St. Martins Press and Netgalley for the arc ☺️

What a fantastic police procedural! This was like Criminal Minds in book form and I devoured it!

McMahon gives us a cast of compelling characters, a break neck pace, and a mystery that keeps you on your toes. It’s packed full of tension, twists, and quirky but brilliant characters you’ll love.

Seriously, if you have watched an enjoyed Criminal Minds at all, you will live this one.

Gardner Camden has an analytical brain that is perfect for the PAR (Patterns and Recognition) unit of the FBI. With the threat of his unit disbanding, they are tasked with solving the murder of a serial killer they thought dead over a decade ago.

This debut novel from John McMahon is a binge worthy FBI procedural. He has developed a lovable misfit group of team members that have their own stories to tell. I appreciated Camden’s neurodivergent tendencies, challenges with social situations and his relationship with his elderly mom and daughter. This book kept me guessing all the way to the end. It does appear that this is set up to the be the beginning of a series and I look forward to spending more time with the PAR unit.

3.5/5 stars, rounded to a 3.

This is the first book in a new series following the Patterns and Recognition (PAR) unit in the FBI, a ragtag team of brilliant but misfit agents who use puzzles, codes, math, and other analytics to solve cold cases. Agent Gardner Camden is a brilliant agent with an eidetic memory, but his political disgrace and lack of emotional intelligence has set him back in his career. When a serial killer from one of his solved cases, previously identified as dead, reappears as a murder victim, a new investigation filled with puzzles and clues left by a vigilante is opened. But more than only the lives of serial killers are at stake, and the members of PAR need to solve this case quickly to protect their careers and the lives of those they love before it's too late.

I really enjoyed the team members in this book, I thought they each had their own personality that contributed to solving the cases. Additionally, the clues and puzzles were interesting and kept me engaged in the story. I love dark police procedural thrillers, and this really scratched that itch. This story loses some stars because some of the characters do feel a bit like caricatures. Gardner Camden gives huge Spencer Reid (Criminal Mind) vibes, with the amazing intellect, sick mother, and inability to read emotional situations. Another character is constantly speaking in text speak, which is a part of her quirkiness, but I think it really took me out of the story and reduced its believability. Ultimately, I do recommend the book - the final copy will be out January 28, 2025, and I will be picking up the next book in the series!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press / Minotaur Books for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

I can't praise this enough! Utterly gripping! Compelling writing and fantastic characters, I'm really looking forward to this series!

Head Cases by John MacMahon is a dark, psychological crime thriller that explores trauma, mental illness, and the complexities of the criminal mind through a gripping and atmospheric investigation.

I am so excited this is going to be a new series. I love the characters, the plot was well paced and I read it straight through in one sitting. Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and ‎Minotaur Books for an advanced reader copy.

Thanks to NetGallery for sending an email to alert me to this author and title and for providing the download. "Head Cases" is a great, fast paced mystery with a lot of twists and interesting characters. The main character, Gardner Camden, is brilliant at solving puzzles and observing anomalies with his FBI team, but also appears to be neurodivergent. The PAR (Patterns and Recognition) Team all have their own strengths to follow the trail of a serial killer who is targeting serial killers in a case that gets the team out of the office and into the field. It was fascinating to share Camden's thought processes to see the connections he made with information from his own observations and from the team to solve the case. I enjoyed this book so much that I have recommended it to readers to look for it on its publication date already.

John McMahon is a new author to me, so I didn't know what to expect when I received the ARC for Head Cases. I'm so glad I followed the lead of some of my Goodreads friends and trusted reviewers because it was fantastic. In fact, it's in my top five favorite books of the year.

This was not just another run of the mill crime thriller. The plot was so incredibly well crafted, with complex twists and turns, and characters that were each uniquely drawn. As much as I couldn't read it fast enough, as I neared the last page, it was the kind of book I didn't want to end. I really enjoyed my time with Mr. McMahon's characters -- especially his main character, narrator, Gardner Camden. It appears this will be part of a series of at least two books. I look forward to reading the next one, as well as the author's earlier books.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Dark subject matter but I was a huge fan of the main character. I don’t think autism is ever mentioned explicitly but he seems to be on the spectrum and uses his unique and brilliant mind to solve difficult crimes. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book!! Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Minotaur Books for the ARC. This books is like “True Detective” meets “Mind Hunter,” and I loved every minute of it!

This book follows FBI agent Gardner Camden who is a member of the Patterns and Recognition (PAR), a team specializing in solving cases no one else can. This particular case covered is about a serial killer, killing other serial killers, and all of the twisted clues he leaves behind to play games with the FBI.

This story is so propulsive, I couldn’t put it down. I started reading it before bed, and couldn’t wait to wake up the next morning to finish it. The pacing is spot on, the characters are interesting, and the plots and twists were immaculate. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A tense police procedural full of puzzles, serial killers and a serial killer that kills serial killers?! Count me in…
A team of quirky, intelligent and highly skilled FBI agents of PAR ( Patterns and Recognition) are put on the case. It was fascinating on how the MMC mind works to solve this case.
This was such a fun read and it had me guessing until the end!

4 Stars
This was an exhilarating ride and was a lot of fun to follow (it was basically like listening to a super long criminal minds/Mindhunter episode which is right up my alley)! I really enjoyed this read that featured fun, interesting characters and a mystery that kept me guessing until the end. I loved getting to experience how Gardener's mind worked (it's obvious he's neurodivergent) and how he picked up on things that I would've missed to solve the mystery.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for the ARC!

This was a great, fast-paced thriller perfect for fans of Criminal Minds. It kept me engaged the whole way through, and the auxiliary characters were distinct and enjoyable.

This was my first book by John McMahon and I really enjoyed it. Gardner Camden is a uniquely gifted FBI agent working on the Patterns and Recognition team to solve cold cases. He's an expert at solving puzzles and riddles and cracking codes (and he's most likely on the autism spectrum). Each of the PAR members brings a special skill to the team - math, shooting and weapons, and computer analytics. The team is known as the "Head Cases" both for their incredible intellectual abilities but also because people think they're weird. There's a vigilante out there killing serial killers - one of whom was presumed dead ten years ago in a case Gardner closed. The new murderer is leaving clues behind for Gardner and the PAR team. Will Gardner be able to crack this case before others are murdered? Will the PAR team be able to avoid being disbanded by proving their worth? Thanks to #netgalley and #minotaurbooks for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I couldn't quite tell if this book was taking itself seriously or not. If it was meant to be funny, the jokes didn't quite hit for me. I think it would have benefited the book to have a sensitivity reader send notes. I'm sure libraries will purchase this title if it is being turned into a TV series, but this book just wasn't for me.

A groups of brilliant misfit FBI agents hunting a serial killer?! Sign me up! This case has the agents running around the country and even stopping by my favorite book store in Houston! What a wild ride with a satisfying ending. Can’t wait to read more from this author! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

An interesting story about a quirky FBI team. I would recommend it to patrons. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

Thank you to John McMahon, St. Martin’s Press / Minotaur Books, and Net Galley for this arc of Head Cases, out January 28, 2025!

📜Quick Summary: Gardener Camden has a way with puzzles and riddles, but not with people; social scenes are not his thing. Gardener and his team of 5 on the FBI unit are working on solving cold cases. As previous serial killers who were presumed dead start actually showing up murdered ten years later, his team has quite the work ahead of them. Can they start solving these cold cases before more murders take place? Can they follow the clues and bread crumbs left behind to stop this vigilante? The first thrilling novel in what will become an awesome Criminal Minds like series!

❣️Initial Feels: I wish I didn’t have any responsibilities so I can devour this in one sitting! I am loving the cast of characters and the fast pace movement of the book. I feel like I’m trying to solve it along with the PAR (Patterns and Recognition) team!

👀Trigger Warnings: serial killers, gruesome murders

🙋🏼‍♀️Moving Character: Gardner is a star of a person! I absolutely adored his character. The love he has for his mom and daughter…well, it tugged at my heart strings. The intricacies in his brain were unique, and his character continually got stronger as the pages flew by. Gardener knew he was different but used advice from his mom to help in social situations.

📖Read if you want: mystery, first in a thrilling series, Criminal Minds type of read, fast paced novel

💡Final Sentiments: I cannot wait for more in this series! What a phenomenal book! The way the backstories intertwined with the fast moving investigation, brought a lot of depth into these characters. Gardener and his soft spot for his daughter…melted my heart. Serial killers, killers who are taking out the bad guys, but also a bad guy on the inside… It had it all. When the mystery killer comes after Gardener and his family, along with his small FBI group, he knew he had to work fast. But this killer is everywhere…in more than just a couple states, and they have to work fast. Because of that, this book was fast paced, had my heart racing, and I could not put it down. I didn’t want to say good bye to the characters, but I had to know what was happening before I went to bed. The “Head Cases,” Gardner’s special team in the FBI, is surely going to have many more cases coming up.

🌟Overall Rating: 4.75 stars

This novel was provided by the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

4.25 ⭐️ for Head Cases. Head Cases is a name for the analytical brainiacs at the FBI. The main character Gardner Camden is a walking brainiac that loves solving riddles, puzzles, and codes. He is part of a department at the FBI called PAR which stands for Patterns and Recognition. There are only five people associated with this department. They are all misfit agents and get assigned with solving cold cases.

Many years previously, Gardner helped to identify a serial killer who was presumed dead. But this serial killer turns up murdered with many of the similar elements from his own kills. Then another serial killer is found dead. Someone is killing the serial killers.

This was a very engaging and captivating police procedural. It was an intriguing mystery, and the characters were interesting. It was a fast paced criminal thriller. I felt at times the sentence structure could be clearer.

All in all I highly recommend this book and I am looking forward to the second book in this series. John McMahon is on the top of my list for a good crime mystery thriller read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this complimentary copy for an honest review.