The thrilling prequel to the bestselling Skull Session, published for the first time in the United States.
The New Jersey State Police had started calling him Howdy Doody, after the famous TV puppet of the 1950s. Three people killed in northern New Jersey, then three in Manhattan and another in the Bronx, in a thirteen-month period. And all of them hung up with strings attached to their limbs, like puppets. Finally the murderer was caught in New York City. Or so it seems--until State Police detective Mo Ford finds another victim, killed and arranged in exactly the same way. Is it a copycat crime, or did the police catch the wrong man? Mo's theory about what happened soon expands to involve U.S. intelligence agencies and a horrific experiment with human beings. With so many forces behind the scenes, who is the real puppet master? A Times of London bestseller * A WH Smith Read of the Week
Daniel Hecht is the author of the bestselling Skull Session and Puppets; The Babel Effect; and two novels in the Cree Black series, City of Masks and Land of Echoes. He lives in Montpelier, Vermont.
Description:
The thrilling prequel to the bestselling Skull Session, published for the first time in the United States.
The New Jersey State Police had started calling him Howdy Doody, after the famous TV puppet of the 1950s. Three people killed in northern New Jersey, then three in Manhattan and another in the Bronx, in a thirteen-month period. And all of them hung up with strings attached to their limbs, like puppets. Finally the murderer was caught in New York City. Or so it seems--until State Police detective Mo Ford finds another victim, killed and arranged in exactly the same way. Is it a copycat crime, or did the police catch the wrong man? Mo's theory about what happened soon expands to involve U.S. intelligence agencies and a horrific experiment with human beings. With so many forces behind the scenes, who is the real puppet master?
A Times of London bestseller * A WH Smith Read of the Week
From Booklist
Starred Review Guitarist-turned-novelist Hecht explores the sinister side of science in this gripping prequel to his 1998 bestseller, Skull Session (1998). New York state police detective Mo Ford is in a funk: his relationship with his live-in girlfriend, Carla, has fallen apart, and a violent encounter with a 300-plus-pound assailant has him facing probation or worse. But the detective's investigative talents make up for his reputation as a rebel cop, and the local district attorney is willing to give him a second chance. The case is a doozy: catch a serial murderer who strings victims by their limbs, like puppets. It couldn't be the "Howdy Doody" killer, caught with the help of the FBI several years before, but could it be a copycat, or did they nab the wrong guy? As Ford peels back the layers of the case, he discovers disturbing truths about military mind-control experiments that turned enlisted men into killing machines. Detective Ford pairs up, professionally and romantically, with svelte psychologist Rebecca Ingalls, while his ex, an astrologist and psychic, has eerie premonitions about his demise. Hecht, who's also authored a second mystery series featuring Seattle parapsychologist Cree Black, delivers a first-rate thriller with a killer combination of wit, grit, and gore. Allison Block
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About the Author
Daniel Hecht is the author of the bestselling Skull Session and Puppets; The Babel Effect; and two novels in the Cree Black series, City of Masks and Land of Echoes. He lives in Montpelier, Vermont.