Headcase by Jack Heath

Publisher's Synopsis

A Chinese astronaut is found dead in a NASA training environment in Houston, Texas. No one can explain how he got there. Amid fears of a diplomatic catastrophe, the CIA dispatches Timothy 'Hangman' Blake to investigate a convicted kidnapper who works in the facility – someone Blake put away seven years ago.

Blake is deeply insane, afflicted by terrible urges he can barely control - but he's also brilliant. Zara, his beautiful and deadly CIA handler, suspects a secret Chinese spacecraft is surveilling the United States, but Blake can see something much more sinister is going on. Something connected to the kidnapping seven years ago, to the technologies being developed at NASA, and to the serial killer known as the Texas Reaper.

Will Blake survive long enough to uncover the truth? And if he does, will anyone even believe him?

My Review of Headcase by Jack Heath

In this, the 4th book in the Timothy Blake series we rejoin the cannibal as he sits in a psychiatrist’s room explaining what makes him tick. The room is inside the mental facility where he is now housed, the compulsion to eat human flesh having finally caught up with him in the eyes of the law.

But a few things happened that led him to his incarceration and so we backtrack a further two weeks to begin to find out what crazy stuff he’s been involved in. First of all, he’s now working with Zara who recruited him (she knows what he is) at the end of Hideout. And secondly, he still holds a torch for Reese Thistle, the FBI agent and his one true love.

What appears to be an astronaut is lying on the faux Martian landscape on a Houston NASA communications site. The man is dead and is wearing what appears to be a Chinese uniform. The implications are explosive and Timothy Blake, as a CIA asset, is on the scene to investigate the circumstances surrounding the man’s presence. Not a simple task when everyone he deals with is well versed in misinformation and diversion.

The pressing questions are: Where did the “astronaut” come from? How did he die? Who is he? Does his presence represent a diplomatic emergency? Can Timothy take a bite out of him without anyone else noticing?

As a CIA asset Blake has to find out as much about this unusual situation and then put a lid on it so the public don’t hear about it. But, apart from his cannibalistic tendencies which are quite dominant in his waking thoughts, Blake is also a dogged and determined investigator who picks apart anomalies with precision to work out the truth behind the gloom.

It doesn’t take terribly long before what is already a head-scratcher of a case becomes an increasingly complicated one. The NASA training center seems to be loaded with potential suspects with motives and opportunities galore.

On the periphery of the investigation there’s another case unfolding. This is a serial killer case with the killer having been dubbed The Reaper. At rare intervals we’re reminded that this case is ongoing. It’s seemingly separate, but then, why is it constantly pushing its way into our consciousness? Another thread to be aware of, if nothing else.

It feels more than ever that Timothy Blake is walking a treacherous tightrope between genius and insanity. He demonstrates that his powers of deduction are as strong as ever, as is his weird sense of humour and it’s these factors that makes Headcase another success. As the case becomes increasingly involved and confusing, Blake’s there to make light of the situation and then unpicks the knots for us. 

Sure, there’s plenty of twists, some outrageous scenes and the occasional moments of absolute pandemonium. It’s compelling reading as a whole slew of disparate threads are drawn together for an almost-neat finish.

On a final note, given that, on balance, I enjoyed this book, I feel I should point out that we’re into book 4 of the series here and there appears to be an even greater need to ram through the fact that Blake is a cannibal. With every person he meets we’re given a description about how delicious they look. I find this extremely strange, after all, as a carnivore I definitely don’t wander around checking out cows or sheep with a view to imagining how delicious their legs, rumps or livers might taste. All’s I’m saying is, it gets a bit much when we’re reminded every second page about just how much of a cannibal he is. I found it unnecessarily distracting and added little to what turns out to be a thoughtful and well-contrived mystery.