Head Wounds
A Daniel Rinaldi Mystery #5
by Dennis Palumbo
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Pub Date Feb 06 2018 | Archive Date Feb 06 2018
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Description
Best Book of 2018 in Thriller/Suspense by Suspense Magazine
Psychologist Dr. Daniel Rinaldi consults with the Pittsburgh Police. His specialty is treating victims of violent crime - those who've survived an armed robbery, kidnapping, or sexual assault, but whose traumatic experience still haunts them. Head Wounds picks up where Rinaldi's investigation in Phantom Limb left off, turning the tables on him as he, himself, becomes the target of a vicious killer.
"Miles Davis saved my life." With these words Rinaldi becomes a participant in a domestic drama that blows up right outside his front door, saved from a bullet to the brain by pure chance. In the chaos that follows, Rinaldi learns his bad-girl, wealthy neighbor has told her hair-triggered boyfriend Rinaldi is her lover. As things heat up, Rinaldi becomes a murder suspect.
But this is just the first act in this chilling, edge-of-your-seat thriller. As one savagery follows another, Rinaldi is forced to relive a terrible night that haunts him still. And to realize that now he - and those he loves - are being victimized by a brilliant killer still in the grip of delusion. Determined to destroy Rinaldi by systematically targeting those close to him - his patients, colleagues, and friends - computer genius Sebastian Maddox strives to cause as much psychological pain as possible, before finally orchestrating a bold, macabre death for his quarry.
How ironic. As Pittsburgh morphs from a blue-collar town to a tech giant, a psychopath deploys technology in a murderous way.
Enter two other figures from Rinaldi's past: retired FBI profiler Lyle Barnes, once a patient who Rinaldi treated for night terrors; and Special Agent Gloria Reese, with whom he falls into a surprising, erotically charged affair. Warned by Maddox not to engage the authorities or else random innocents throughout the city will die, Rinaldi and these two unlikely allies engage in a terrifying cat-and-mouse game with an elusive killer who'll stop at nothing in pursuit of what he imagines is revenge.
A true page-turner, Head Wounds is the electrifying fifth in a critically acclaimed series of thrillers by Dennis Palumbo. Formerly a Hollywood screenwriter, Dennis Palumbo is now a licensed psychotherapist in private practice.
Advance Praise
"Brilliant rationality trying to protect innocent victims from ferocious madness. It's hard to imagine a more gripping contest. Dennis Palumbo's Head Wounds is a spectacular ride." —Thomas Perry, Edgar Award winning, New York Times best-selling author
"Head Wounds delivers relentless action toward a climax as vivid and harrowing as anything I've ever read. This is a book that'll make you lock your doors and check your computer's security settings." —Joseph Finder, New York Times best-selling author of The Switch
"Dennis Palumbo's Daniel Rinaldi books are cerebral thrillers of the first order, with twisting plots, terrifying villains, and a narrative driven by the insight and compassion of the psychologist at the center of it all." —Timothy Hallinan, author of the Edgar-nominated Poke Rafferty mysteries
"With his exciting Head Wounds, author Dennis Palumbo has written a novel that is as relentlessly scary and involving for the reader as it is for his hero, Dr. Rinaldi. A true thriller." —Thomas B. Sawyer, best-selling author of The Adventures of the REAL Tom Sawyer, and several thriller novels
"In Head Wounds, Dennis Palumbo delivers another remarkable first person psychological thriller, told through the eyes of besieged Pittsburgh police psychologist Daniel Rinaldi. When Rinaldi's haunting past takes control of his present, no one in his orbit is safe, and no reader can escape the ever rising tension as you race to the end." —Jeffrey Siger, Barry and Lefty-nominated best-selling author of the Andreas Kaldis series
"Dennis Palumbo always delivers the goods, and Head Wounds is his best yet. From the very first sentence you know you're in good hands. Propulsive action and unexpected twists keep you reading way past bedtime. In Daniel Rinaldi, Palumbo has created a hero for our time—as smart as he is tough, and resolutely humane in the face of madness and brutality." —Sean Chercover, author of Savior's Game
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781464208188 |
| PRICE | $15.95 (USD) |
Featured Reviews
Kavita K, Reviewer
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 !!
