A brutal crime in the Midwestern woods leads to a string of grisly murders that test the sleuthing skills of Detective Edward "Red" Shaw. The first is one of the most gruesome killings Shaw has ever seen. The killer horribly mutilated his victim, carving a crude crossword puzzle grid into his skin along with an ominous, bloody clue.Shaw knows instantly the case will be like nothing he's worked on before. It doesn't help that his longtime, trusted partner is on medical leave with a bum leg, that his ex-wife Sally has finally moved on, and that he arrives at the crime scene with a raging hangover.Known as "Red" to a select few, Shaw does his best to get along with the brash, ambitious prosecutor assigned to the case, and he relies on the counsel and expertise of Dr. Paul "Penny" Penawalt despite the medical examiner's smartass attitude.Manipulating the media and co-opting a conflicted psychologist to get what he needs, Shaw follows a deadly path through the puzzling twists and turns of this "compelling, gut-wrenching thriller" to the ultimate confrontation with a murderous sociopath.