I read James Patterson books for the villains. It’s not that his heroes (or protagonists, or drivers, or whoever) aren’t interesting. Where the guy really shines is in the category of villain creation. However, he and co-author Howard Roughan change things up a bit with MURDER GAMES by introducing a new hero who is immediately appealing in spite of himself, one who is instantly memorable and who drives the book at a speed far beyond to what we are ordinarily accustomed.

The character in question is Dr. Dylan Reinhart, who narrates a good deal of the novel. Dylan, a psychologist, is highly regarded as an expert on the criminal mind and motivation, a reputation propelled by his bestselling book on the subject and his status as a lecturer at Yale. As readers learn within the first couple of paragraphs of his initial appearance in MURDER GAMES, he is extremely comfortable in his own skin and in being described as “smug,” which indeed he is.

"MURDER GAMES is a fast read that you will want to digest in one sitting. That is relatively easy to do, given that the authors write short chapters that propel the story, which itself is full of twists and turns and, yes, some interesting character development."

Dylan shares the spotlight with a very savvy and driven NYPD homicide detective named Elizabeth Needham, who knows all of the right people within and outside of City Hall. It is Elizabeth who alerts Dylan to the existence of a serial killer who comes to be nicknamed “The Dealer,” and that he apparently has been targeted by The Dealer as a future victim. The latter is the conclusion drawn when a copy of Dylan’s book is found at the scene of one of The Dealer’s murders with a message directed at Dylan on the back cover.

The Dealer earns his name as a result of his penchant for leaving a playing card at each one of his murders. Each card is different, for reasons that become clear early on in the story, but Dylan and Elizabeth remain a step or two behind The Dealer even as they draw ever closer to him. All of the victims have something in common, but that element is not immediately evident until late in the game, when his ultimate target is selected. By the time Dylan figures it out, it may be too late.

MURDER GAMES is a fast read that you will want to digest in one sitting. That is relatively easy to do, given that the authors write short chapters that propel the story, which itself is full of twists and turns and, yes, some interesting character development. The book is not short on factoids, either. I learned about a number of things along the way, including something called the “Bayesian inference.”

That aside, there is an inference that MURDER GAMES is the start of yet another Patterson series. Dylan Reinhart, referring to an incident in his past, says near the conclusion of the book, “that’s a story for another time.” Just so. Given that the cast of characters introduced here would number among the more memorable that I have encountered recently, it would be a shame not to utilize them further. Hopefully Patterson and Roughan do so, again and again.