John McMahon and his offer: YOUR NAME in my NEXT BOOK

Readers of this blog know that I am a big fan of John McMahon and his books. If things were not so grim here, I would do this in a heartbeat. As I can't, I asked Mr. McMahon if I could share the news here on my blog to help raise visibility of this very cool opportunity. He enthusiastically gave his support so the relevant part of his  latest newsletter, THE OFFER, is below.  Do it and help some folks and get the opportunity to be in the next book. And, if you have not read his books, get yourself to your favorite bookstore, library, or book selling portal. He writes great stuff!  His author website is here. 

YOUR NAME IN MY NEXT BOOK Hi Friends, This newsletter – I come to you with an offer.  •    Would you like to see – YOUR NAME – as a character in my next book? •    You could live on in immortality in print (and digital). I was challenged to help raise money for some good causes. •    Maybe your name is a judge killed under mysterious circumstances?   •    Or you’re the Director of the NSA?    Not sure if there will be a demand for this or not – but trying something new.   4 GREAT CAUSES & GROUND RULES I have four charities that I have some connection to/passion for – and I’m looking to help them build donations. So – ground rules: 1)    Donate $250 to one of four charities. I will match donations with my own $250. So together, we could raise $500 x 4 causes = $2,000. 2)    You get your name as a character in my next Gardner Camden/Patterns and Recognition book (coming out next Summer). And if you already support good causes – you could just shift your focus this year – and support one of these.  OK. Here are 4 great causes we would together support: charity: water – building wells; ending the water crisis in the world; 100% of our donation goes directly to fund clean water projects. No admin cost. St. Jude Hospital – amazing pediatric research hospital, focusing on children with cancer and leukemia. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance – non-profit parent company of the San Diego Zoo; their mission is simple- to save species worldwide.  Cystic Fibrosis Foundation – supporting research to find a cure for CF and improve the lives of those living with it.   FINE PRINT 1)    You write the check to the charity - but get it to me. I’m going to deliver the checks, but it’s your tax deduction. And no past donations count.  2)    I will make you sign an agreement about your name in the book so you don't sue anyone. Don’t worry. I will not make you a child predator. (I save that for critics of my books (Kidding :)) IF YOU’RE INTERESTED  – respond to this email – mcmahonjohn@att.net

Lesa's Book Critiques: Inside Man by John McMahon

 Lesa's Book Critiques: Inside Man by John McMahon

Review: Inside Man: A Head Case Novel by John McMahon

 

Inside Man: A Head Cases Novel by John McMahon is the very enjoyable sequel to Head Cases. As always in any good series, it is best to have read the first book before the sequel. Agent Gardner Camden leads an FBI unit named PAR. The Patterns and Recognition team exists to find peculiarities in cases that have stalled or gone cold. When they find something, the case goes back to the field office that sent in the case or to a team in Quantico. Led by Agent Garnder, the team consists of Joanne “Shooter” Harris, Richie Brancato, and Cassie Pardo. They solve cases by way of their unique mental skill set each member brings to the table. They look at things differently than most.

 

As Dick Wolfe would now say, “These are their stories…”

 

They have been working a Florida fraud case where a handful of people have been filing false unemployment claims and getting paid. They have identified clusters of where the bogus claims where being filed and the ATMs where, literally, thousands and thousands of dollars have been withdrawn each month for many months now. A person of interest, Freddie Pecos, was identified during the last three months they have been working the case.

 

Their big break came when Pecos got himself arrested for assault. Guilty as heck, he made a deal not to go to jail. He agreed to be an undercover informant. He also explained that what they were seeing is just the tip of the iceberg. The scam is being done to support a militia group that is led by an arms dealer, J. P. Sandoval.

PAR has stumbled across possible domestic terrorism. Sandoval is using the cash from the unemployment scam to accrue a cache of unmarked weapons. Weapons to be used again law enforcement.  They don’t know the specifics of the target or targets and they don’t know where the guns are located. They do know, according to their informant, the high-powered guns are free of serial numbers and therefore don’t exist in the manufacturing system. They can’t be traced and there are, at least, several hundred of them. But, where?

 

As the book begins, Camden and Harris have discovered the very dead body of their informant in his mobile home. He has been shot at very close range. From various indications in the trailer, the agents don’t think his cover was blown. They also soon realize that his cell will be there in minutes. As it is close to four in the morning, their options are limited to protect the case and to be able to continue the investigation with the targets unaware. They need to know where the guns are and where they are headed.

 

Camden makes the decision to do something that solves all the issues. It also might get him fired. The act makes logical sense. It is the only angle they have got to keep the suspects unaware of the presence of the FBI as well as the fact that some evidence is now in their possession. Camden’s decision and their actions at the crime scene keep the case going. And it is one heck of a ride.

 

This second book in the series is another good one from author John McMahon. Character development of the various main characters continues here as does the action and the complexity of the cases.

 

Regardless of the series, and author John McMahon has several now, he always delivers a great read. Such is the case here with Inside Man: A Head Cases Novel.

 

One hopes that the series continues as they are very good.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/44Ehx82

 

My digital ARC came by way of the publisher, Minotaur Books, through NetGalley, with no expectation of a positive review.

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2026

Lesa's Book Critiques: Head Cases by John McMahon

 Lesa's Book Critiques: Head Cases by John McMahon

Publication Day Review: Head Cases: A Novel by John McMahon

 

I have long been a fan of author John McMahon’s work. See his three-book series that starts with The Good Detective. So, when Head Cases came up on NetGalley, I quickly put in for it. Even though I had quite a few already assigned to me, Minotaur Books quickly approved my request. Very glad they did that. Especially since the book is so very good.

 

FBI Agent Gardner Camden has skills. Not social skills as he has a hard time reading people and situations and, as a result, he is awkward. After a recent event, he does not venture out of the field office in Jacksonville, Florida. He prefers it that way as his skills are aimed at solving riddles and enigmas, and has an incredible wealth of knowledge. His ability to solve things is why he and his partner, Agent Cassie Pardo were put on a plane and sent to DFW airport.

 

How does a dead man die twice, years apart?

 

Ross Tignon, identified as being dead years ago, is very much dead again. This time he is dead on his kitchen floor, next to the kitchen island that borders the living room. The blood pool under the body trails over to and under the refrigerator.

 

Back in 2013, Ross Tignon was the suspect in a series of murders in Florida. Agent Camden was on the hunt, chasing him down while he built the case, and then a fire occurred in Tignon’s home. While his wife was brought out, injured but alive, a male was not so lucky. Dental records indicated that the body was Ross Tignon. At, least what was left of him one the fire was out.

 

The man on the floor, known to the locals as Bob Breckinridge, is Ross Tignon. Clearly, he did not die easy as he was cut open wide in the stomach area. He was cut again in his chest. The killer cut the numbers “5” and “0” into his chest. Agent Camden has no idea what the number could mean though, Agent Pardo thinks it might represent the police, aka 5-0.

 

Agent Camden, Cassie, and three other folks work in a specialized unit of the F.B.I. known as PAR for Patterns and Recognition. Their job is to consider cases that are stalled. Review them, identify peculiarities in them, and offer new theories of investigation. PAR then gives the case back to the relevant field office or sends it to headquarters. They don’t go into the field because everyone in the unit has a particular quirky skill that is useful and a history of screwing up in some way.

 

Being sent out in the field never happens. Yet it has this time. The reason was that it was supposed to be because the boss wanted Agent Camden to see the body and verify it really was Ross Tignon. With that being done, they should be soon on their way back to the home base in Florida.

 

Instead, and just after they turn the scene over to agents out of Dallas office, they are sent to Rawlings, New Mexico. After serving thirty-one years for multiple murders back in the 90s, Barry Fisher was just released days earlier. Every agent studies his case in the FBI Academy. He is a legend in bad way. He is now dead and Camden and Pardo are headed to New Mexico.

 

Not only that, but in a first, Agent Camden will lead the investigation. A serial killer is killing serial killers.

 

What follows is a fast moving and complex police procedural. While the focus is on Camden, the rest of the team and several other characters are fully developed and multifaceted. So too is the killer who the reader gets to know through the working of the case. Not by the usual mind of the killer POV technique in dedicated chapters that so many authors use. The absence of that predictable and utterly boring author technique was a major relief to this reader.

 

We learn everything from Agent Camden’s perspective. A man that has special skills, a different way of looking at the world, and a very hard time fitting in with people. A character that very much spoke to this reader.

 

According to the author’s acknowledgment at the end of the read, this is the first book of a two-book contract. The second in the series will come out early in 2026. I was thrilled to read this news. Head Cases was/is a great read and very much worth your time.

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4a4ObRI

 

My digital ARC reading copy came from Minotaur Books, through NetGalley, with no expectation of a review. 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2025

FFB Review: The Good Detective by John McMahon

I have long been a fan of the books by John McMahon. I don’t know why more folks are not read and supporting his stuff. Having just finished his new one, Head Cases, coming out at the end of the month, I thought I would remind you of The Good Detective. This came out a few years back and was the first book of a series (The Evil Men Do and A Good Kill.) This a great series and one that is well worth your time.

 

 

Set in Mason Falls, Georgia, The Good Detective by John McMahon is a complicated novel of family history, legacy, southern tradition, and in one major way, redemption. In this intense police procedural, deals are made with the devils you know to get not just what you want, but what you need.

 

Detective P. I. Marsh desperately needs to have his wife and son back with him. Thanks to a recent tragic accident late one night, that will never happen again on this mortal plane. Now he needs booze to push down the pain and to stop from thinking about his loss and the fact he continues to live without them.

 

That heavy drinking means he does not often remember what he did the previous evening. As the book jacket telegraphs to everyone---“How Do You Solve A Crime If You Killed The Prime Suspect?”--- this is precisely Detective Marsh’s problem. He does not know if he killed the abusive boyfriend of the stripper known to all by her stage name of “Crimson.” He was there, the guy is very much dead, and he can’t remember what happened after he showed up and sent her on her way before explaining reality to the abusive boyfriend. It is possible, but he does not think he is so far gone that he actually did it. He just does not know and has no one he can confide in and no evidence one way or the other.

 

With that issue on him, he has his own murder case to solve. There just might be a link back to the other murder case which might be a way of proving his innocence. He has to work hard and fast to solve his own case with his colleagues actively working the other murder case. Their hard work may soon result in a situation where he is named as the one and only suspect.

 

His case is bad as a young African American male was found burned to death in a farmer’s field. That was bad, but the fact that, at some point, a noose was around his neck makes things so much worse. Beyond that link, there are other links to southern history in this small part of Georgia. It soon becomes clear that these killings happen in pairs and another child is missing.

 

A fast paced and intense police procedural, The Good Detective takes several classic tropes and throws them into a blender before tossing in a bunch of other stuff. What comes out is an intense read that has hints of Shakespeare and Greek tragedies, more than a dash of dark humor, and a trace of redemption that is not one hundred percent pure, among other elements. Race and history play major roles in the read as does grief and trying to go on after you have lost everything that truly mattered.

 

 

For more on the book, head over to Lesa Holstine’s blog where she has an interview with the author. You can read that interview here. This is one of those deals where the fictional character interviews the author. A short interview that also does not spoil the book unlike many such interviews out there on the internet and in print.

 

Amazon Associates Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3W5SSoO

 

My reading copy came by way of the Forest Green Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2020, 2025

Lesa's Book Critiques: KEVIN’S CORNER ANNEX – THE EVIL MEN DO by John McMahon

 Lesa's Book Critiques: KEVIN’S CORNER ANNEX – THE EVIL MEN DO by John McMahon

Lesa's Book Critiques: KEVIN’S CORNER ANNEX – THE GOOD DETECTIVE

 Lesa's Book Critiques: KEVIN’S CORNER ANNEX – THE GOOD DETECTIVE

Lesa's Book Critiques: WINNERS AND A THRILLER GIVEAWAY

 Lesa's Book Critiques: WINNERS AND A THRILLER GIVEAWAY

Review: A Good Kill by John McMahon

A Good Kill by John McMahon marks the return of Detective P. T. Marsh first seen in The Good Detective and The Evil Men Do. Both books made my favorite of the year list. This is a series that must be read in order. This is especially true for A Good Kill as this read ties up some things that have been going on in this entire series.

 

A shooter at a school is very bad news anywhere. The shooter is in Fall Magnet Middle School and that means a full-scale response by the police department of Mason Falls, Georgia. P. T. Mason and his partner, Remy Morgan, arrive on campus to find one gunman holding three students and two teachers hostage. The hostages are being held in the art room.

 

It does not help matters that a teacher is wounded. That teacher needs urgent medical attention. The pressure mounts when Marsh learns that one of the students being held hostage is the thirteen-year-old, Avis Senza. She is the daughter of their boss, Police Chief Dana Senza.

 

The media already knows the gunman is Jed Harrington. Nobody knows why he is in the building with a gun, why he did any of this, and what he wants. His actions do make it clear that he intends to do more harm. He has to be stopped.

 

In the aftermath, it slowly becomes clear the events of that fateful day have links to other events and cases. Including a very personal case that has nearly destroyed Marsh and for good reason.

 

This is one of those really good reads that is nearly impossible to discuss without creating spoilers. A read of the publisher blurb on the hardback makes it clear that the publisher faced the same dilemma. This procedural is complicated in multiple ways, both professionally and personally. Not only are there current cases for the detectives to work, there is the one big case that goes back several years regarding an overall story arc that has been the heart and soul of this complicated series.

 

One could easily think of these three books in the series as a trilogy of sorts. I had come to that conclusion by the time I hit the author note at the end which seems to make clear that the next book from this very talented author will be focused around a new character.

 

The entire series, including A Good Kill, is strongly recommended. 

 

A Good Kill

John McMahon

https://www.johnmcmahonbooks.com/

G. P. Putnam’s Sons

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/667288/a-good-kill-by-john-mcmahon/

ISBN# 978-0-593-32836-1

June 2021

Hardback (also available in audio and eBook formats)

384 Pages 

 

Big time thanks to publicist Wiley Saichek who reached out to me recently to offer the book. I had no idea it was coming out until his email. Scott and I are both big fans of this series so getting the offer was and is very cool. 

 

Kevin R. Tipple © 2021

Lesa's Book Critiques: JOHN MCMAHON, GUEST AUTHOR

 Lesa's Book Critiques: JOHN MCMAHON, GUEST AUTHOR

This Week In Book Mail

 

Two different books arrived here at Casa Tipple and Home Eatery Library. 

Review: The Evil Men Do by John McMahon

The Evil Men Do by John McMahon starts just a few weeks after The Good Detective. Mason Falls Detective P. T. Marsh is doing his best to stay sober and move on with his life. The old demons are there, but they slumber in their cages for now. Not only is he sober, for now, he still has a job. This beautiful Tuesday morning in May finds Marsh and his partner, Remy Morgan, at the Georgia Safe doing range practice with their weapons. The annual weapon recertification is going to have to wait as Chief Jeff Pernacek wants them to go check on a friend of his, Ennis Fultz.

A retired, for the most part, hard-nosed real estate magnate and a bit eccentric, Ennis Fultz is known for his punctuality among other things. He missed the monthly Tuesday morning bridge game without any notice, so Pernacek wants them to go out to his house by the Condesale Gorge and check. Within minutes of arrival, it is obvious somebody has forced entry into the home. They also have a murder to solve as Mr. Ennis Fultz is dead and clearly has been that way for quite a few hours.

Ennis Fultz did not get wealthy by being a nice guy. He went over or through people for his success and the suspect list of locals with a reason to kill him is a long one. Who did the deed and why are just two questions to be answered in this complex crime novel where things escalate quickly.

While one could start here with The Evil Men Do, it would be far better to start with the previously mentioned first book in the series before reading this excellent police procedural. A wide foundation was laid with The Good Detective and there are many references to those events in The Evil Men Do. As a result, what can be said about this book is limited as to avoid any and all spoilers which means, among other things, a secondary storyline cannot be mentioned.

John McMahon has weaved a complex tale in each read as well as a complex overarching storyline across two books. I firmly believe he will be at the top of the award lists in the coming months. If his books are not on your radar, they should be. The Good Detective which I reviewed here as well as The Evil Men Do are both strongly recommended. 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2020

Review: The Good Detective by John McMahon

Set in Mason Falls, Georgia, The Good Detective by John McMahon is a complicated novel of family history, legacy, southern tradition, and in one major way, redemption. In this intense police procedural, deals are made with the devils you know to get not just what you want, but what you need.

Detective P. I. Marsh desperately needs to have his wife and son back with him. Thanks to a recent tragic accident late one night, that will never happen again on this mortal plane. Now he needs booze to push down the pain and to stop from thinking about his loss and the fact he continues to live without them.

That heavy drinking means he does not often remember what he did the previous evening. As the book jacket telegraphs to everyone---“How Do You Solve A Crime If You Killed The Prime Suspect?”--- this is precisely Detective Marsh’s problem. He does not know if he killed the abusive boyfriend of the stripper known to all by her stage name of “Crimson.” He was there, the guy is very much dead, and he can’t remember what happened after he showed up and sent her on her way before explaining reality to the abusive boyfriend. It is possible, but he does not think he is so far gone that he actually did it. He just does not know and has no one he can confide in and no evidence one way or the other.

With that issue on him, he has his own murder case to solve. There just might be a link back to the other murder case which might be a way of proving his innocence. He has to work hard and fast to solve his own case with his colleagues actively working the other murder case. Their hard work may soon result in a situation where he is named as the one and only suspect.

His case is bad as a young African American male was found burned to death in a farmer’s field. That was bad, but the fact that, at some point, a noose was around his neck makes things so much worse. Beyond that link, there are other links to southern history in this small part of Georgia. It soon becomes clear that these killings happen in pairs and another child is missing.

A fast paced and intense police procedural, The Good Detective takes several classic tropes and throws them into a blender before tossing in a bunch of other stuff. What comes out is an intense read that has hints of Shakespeare and Greek tragedies, more than a dash of dark humor, and a trace of redemption that is not one hundred percent pure, among other elements. Race and history play major roles in the read as does grief and trying to go on after you have lost everything that truly mattered.

The Good Detective by John McMahon is a very good read and strongly recommended. Next in the series, The Evil Men Do, is scheduled to be released March 3, 2020.

For more on the book, head over to Lesa Holstine’s blog where she has an interview with the author. You can read that interview here. This is one of those deals where the fictional character interviews the author. A short interview that also does not spoil the book unlike many such interviews out there on the internet and in print. 

My reading copy came by way of the Forest Green Branch of the Dallas Public Library System. I am also on the holds list for the next book.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2020

Lesa's Book Critiques: An Interview with John McMahon

Lesa's Book Critiques: An Interview with John McMahon