She Treads Softly: Inside Man

Saturday, December 6, 2025

Inside Man

Inside Man by John McMahon
1/13/26; 400 pages
St. Martin's Press
Head Cases #2

Inside Man by John McMahon is an exceptional, very highly recommended investigative thriller. This is the second novel in the series and an excellent followup to Head Cases. Gardner Camden and the Patterns and Recognition (PAR) unit of the FBI are back and this time their investigation reveals potentially connected cases.

In their investigation involving fraud and a militia group stockpiling ghost guns and ammunition, PARs confidential informant Freddie Pecos is found murdered. When Gardner Camden and Joanne "Shooter" Harris are at Freddie's it becomes clear that someone else killed him as his co-conspirators in the militia group are trying to contact him and are on their way to his house. As the team investigates, an unidentified man is caught on camera with Freddie. This man is connected to another case at the FBI, an unsolved series of murdered women. Now they may have a serial killer they need to stop along with the militia group.

The PAR Unit of FBI's Behavioral Sciences department team is composed of FBI Agent Gardner Camden, an analytical genius in solving puzzles, riddles, and codes, as well as recognizing patterns and interconnections between items. Team members Cassie Pardo, who is detail-oriented and brilliant with numbers, Jo "Shooter" Harris is a weapons expert, and tactician, and Richie Brancato, a data analyst. Former leader Frank Roberts comes back to help lead the investigation and may be back to stay.

This is another well written, fast-paced, un-put-downable procedural in the Head Cases series. The plot immediately grabbed my attention as both investigations are suspenseful, intelligent, and intriguing. It is a pleasure to follow the team as they uncover clues, make connections, figure out patterns, and analyzing each new development.

The characters are all fully realized, complex individuals with obvious strengths along with their individual unique abilities, quirks and weaknesses. This second book in the series furthers the character development, including Gardner's personal life and relationship with his daughter. I really enjoy all the members of PAR and can't wait for their next outing!

Inside Man is an excellent choice for anyone who enjoys investigative thrillers that are fast-paced and well-written. Thanks to St. Martin's Press for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

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John Updike's six rules for reviewing:

1. Try to understand what the author wished to do, and do not blame him for not achieving what he did not attempt.

2. Give him enough direct quotation--at least one extended passage--of the book's prose so the review's reader can form his own impression, can get his own taste.

3. Confirm your description of the book with quotation from the book, if only phrase-long, rather than proceeding by fuzzy precis.

4. Go easy on plot summary, and do not give away the ending.

5. If the book is judged deficient, cite a successful example along the same lines, from the author's oeuvre or elsewhere. Try to understand the failure. Sure it's his and not yours?

To these concrete five might be added a vaguer sixth, having to do with maintaining a chemical purity in the reaction between product and appraiser.....Review the book, not the reputation.... Better to praise and share than blame and ban. The communion between reviewer and his public is based upon the presumption of certain possible joys in reading, and all our discriminations should curve toward that end.