Inside Man: A Head Cases Novel

Description

In this sequel to McMahon’s electrifying series debut, Head Cases, Gardner Camden and the PAR team return to investigate potentially connected cases.

FBI Agent Gardner Camden is an analytical genius with an affinity for puzzles. He and his squad of brilliant yet quirky agents make up the Patterns and Recognition (PAR) unit, the FBI’s hidden edge, brought in for cases that no one else can solve.

PAR’s latest case involves a militia group stockpiling weapons. When their confidential informant in the case is killed, it quickly becomes clear that the militia did not kill him.

As the squad looks into the evidence surrounding his murder, an unidentified man is caught on camera with their informant. This mystery man’s picture is connected to another case at the FBI, an unsolved series of murdered women, buried in the ground in north Florida. Could they have uncovered a serial killer? And if so, what is his connection to their C.I.?

As PAR juggles an investigation into both the dead women and the militia, they enroll a new informant, only to find the case escalating in dangerous ways. How will PAR handle a case that increasingly looks like a terrorist plot? And in the serial case, with no puzzles or witnesses, and few leads, how will a group set up to decode riddles be successful?

Binding Type: Hardcover
Author: John McMahon
Published: 01/13/2026
Publisher: Minotaur Books
ISBN: 9781250348326
Pages: 400
Weight: 1.35lbs
Size: 1.50″ H x 9.30″ L x 6.50″ W

About the Author
JOHN McMAHON’S debut novel The Good Detective was labeled “pretty much perfect” by the New York Times, which listed it among their “Top Ten Crime Novels of 2019.” The book was also a finalist for the 2020 Edgar Award and the ITW Thriller Award, both for Best First Novel. Head Cases is his fourth novel, and is currently in development with Warner Bros TV for a streaming series on HBO Max. John currently lives in Southern California with his wife, two kids, and a rescue dog. He splits his time between crime-writing and his day job in advertising.