INSIDE MAN

An elite team of eggheads tackles the murder of an FBI informant.

After a lively debut in which Mad Dog, a prolific killer of serial killers, was neutralized (Head Cases, 2025), McMahon’s Patterns and Recognition Unit is back and pursuing another savage supervillain under the guidance of veteran FBI bureaucrat Frank Roberts. The plot is twisty. PAR is brought in to investigate after informant Freddie Pecos is murdered. When recovered video pinpoints a suspect already linked to the murder of multiple women, the team finds itself on the trail of another serial killer. The blossoming series puts a shrewd twist on a familiar formula. There’s the ragtag and diverse cast of specialists, including sniper Joanne "Shooter" Harris and eager newbie Richie Brancato, whose auspicious, mysterious past is revealed in tidbits, along with the backstories of other team members, as the mission progresses. Unlike traditional thriller writers, whose books are highlighted by chases, shootouts, and explosions, with detailed descriptions of munitions and weapons systems, McMahon focuses more on patterns and puzzles, analyzing each development in the complex probe. Analyst and team leader Gardner Camden is a peppy, wisecracking first-person narrator, folding his challenging personal story into the plot. The tale moves briskly on a cushion of rhythmic prose and nearly nonstop banter. Gardner’s relationship with PAR math genius Cassie Pardo inches progressively toward an affair, but readers will have to wait for its consummation.

A slick and lively thriller featuring a team you’ll want to hang with.