Talk about a roller coaster ride! This is a stressful thriller full of terrible acts. If you're a fan of shows like Criminal Minds, you'll devour this 5th entry in the Dr. Daniel Rinaldi series. As a psychologist, he often consults with the Pittsburgh police working with victims of violent crimes. This time around the stakes have been ratcheted up to unbearable.

FIRST SENTENCE: "Miles Davis saved my life."

THE STORY: A dying man directs Dr. Daniel Rinaldi to a dossier with information on his wife's death. Twelve years earlier Rinaldi and his wife Barbara were mugged down at the Point. Both were shot but Barbara died. "All my forty-plus years condensed into a stack of documents, copied records, data printed off the Internet. The gains and losses, both professionally and personally, that made up my life."

With an explosive start, the reader is caught in the same web that ensnares Rinaldi and his friends. The scary part is that they are "Engaged in a duel to the death of which everyone around us was unaware. With an enemy about whom no one knew."

The reader is warned that things are going to turn to horror and they do. The dread builds and results in horrific situations. There doesn't seem to be a way out alive.

WHAT I THOUGHT: Suspension of disbelieve is required. There is language, some sex, and painful violence. The stakes are the highest yet in the series. The story can be read without knowledge of earlier books, but if you are familiar with the series, the situations are even more disturbing. Interesting off-beat characters add to the story which is well-plotted and well-written. I'll have to admit that this was a disturbing read for me, but then I have been known to turn off crime shows or at least walk out of the room.

You don't have to know Pittsburgh, but the descriptions of wonderful places like the Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh and the view from Mount Washington will make you want to visit.

BOTTOM LINE: Dennis Palumbo's mysteries are page turners and highly readable. It's not necessary, but I would still recommend reading the series in order. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED if you're not squeamish.

Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press (February 6, 2018)
ISBN-10: 1464208166
ISBN-13: 978-1464208164

Disclaimer: An electronic copy of this book was provided to me by NetGalley/Poisoned Pen Press for a fair review.

Dennis Palumbo, formerly a Hollywood screenwriter, is now a licensed psychotherapist in private practice. He's the author of a mystery collection, From Crime to Crime, and his short fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, The Strand, and elsewhere. Head Wounds is the fifth in the Daniel Rinaldi series. His first Daniel Rinaldi mystery, Mirror Image was published in 2010, followed by Fever Dream in 2011, Night Terrors in 2013, and Phantom Limb (2014) He was formerly a Hollywood screenwriter and his credits include the feature film My Favorite Year. He also wrote for Welcome Back, Kotter.

This was a well written book with a good story. However, the overuse of adjectives and adverbs was maddening. I'm afraid that, by the time I'd reached the closing chapters, the descriptor-cluttered sentences had me rolling my eyes so much I lost all sense of pace and excitement. For example:

"I reared back and kicked at the wire mesh. Once, twice. The gate swung open, bits of bone and twisted wire hanging loose from the mesh. Another wave of nausea convulsed me, as the image seared itself into my brain. Piercing, penetrating. Shattering. But I fought against it. Pushed it down. To be replaced by an anguished, inchoate rage. In two strides I was on Maddox."

How much stronger and pacier it would read if the above were edited down to:

"I reared back and kicked at the wire mesh. Once, twice. The gate swung open. In two strides I was on Maddox."

I think if I could read this book again after a really merciless edit I would enjoy it.

An amazing thriller !! Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for kindly providing me with a copy of this book for my honest review.

Plot : 4
Main Characters : 4
Side Characters : 4
Feel/Emotions : 4
Twists : 4
Writing Style: 5

Let's start with a brief summary of the plot. So, we have psychiatrist Dr.Daniel Rinaldi, who is a widower and also works as a private consultant for the cops. His wife was killed in a mugging incident 12 years ago and he had accepted that and moved on. Until one man who was hired to do a background search on Danny, so that a rich client could consult with him,found something in the dossier he had prepared which made him think Dan's wife was murdered. Too bad, that he informed Danny of this, when he was mortally wounded and could not explain more. Dan's wife's death is at the center of the whole plot !! Who the killer is not a suspense and is revealed pretty early. What is thrilling is the cat and mouse game that the pyscho is playing.

Now mind you, the killer is a genius with hardcore computer skills. He hacks into all systems with ease as if he is simply photo-bombing. He seems to be a little self obsessed too, puts up his picture as the cover photo in Dan's devices. What makes him dangerous is that he is willing to take on any collateral damage in course of taking revenge on Dan. So, anyone who is in Dan's close circle can be a target. Dan is trying his best to make use of his expertise and psychoanalyze the killer's next move.Some are saved and some are lost. To help in this battle of minds are his 2 friends, FBI Agent Gloria Reese (she is bad ass) and retired FBI profiler Lyle Barnes. They race against time and a pyscho killer to try to save the victims.

I must mention here throughout 95% of the book, the killer is always one step ahead of Daniel and his team.It's just towards the end that Dan does some reverse pyschology thing on the killer. I liked that the book was fast paced and kept me guessing what the killer might do next. The flow of the investigation was also very good. One note here, the book is loooong..like really long !! The game is played for quite some time,with the killer winning almost every round.

I've not read the previous books of the series, but this book can be read as a stand-alone and I enjoyed reading it !! It also gave me some creeps, thinking how ridiculously easy it is to be a victim in a plot totally not related to you. And the worst was, the victims were already troubled and were trying to cope with the help of Daniel. sigh.. Circumstances !!

Great work, Mr Palumbo !!