First published 2011
Detective Frank Janek stares at two crime scenes that make no sense. A call girl lies murdered on the West Side. A schoolteacher dies across town on the Upper East Side. The women never met, but someone has cut off their heads and switched them. No robbery, no sexual assault. Just surgical precision and twisted artistry. Janek knows he faces a different kind of killer. This murderer sketched the crimes first, following his victim for weeks until obsession took hold. The switch itself was the motive. Janek has only the crime's awful symmetry to guide him. He must think like his prey to catch him. The investigation pulls Janek into his own past. His mentor's suspicious suicide. His reputation as a marked man in the department. His growing feelings for Caroline, a woman connected to everything. When Janek finally understands the killer's purpose, he realizes the switched heads case might be bait for something larger.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: cat-and-mouse, detective-story, psychological-suspense
Setting: Upper East Side, West Side
Period: 20th-century
ebook · Crossroad Press
Content warnings: graphic-violence, murder