Headhunter

“First rate, compelling, nerve-tingling. A novel of sex, death, and the macabre. Extraordinarily vivid. A thinking man’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” —The Vancouver Sun   The first in a series of crime thrillers featuring the Special X team of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police—world-weary cops hardened enough to deal with the most heinous of crimes.    A serial killer is loose on the streets of Vancouver. A sadist preying on women, leaving a trail of decapitated corpses—and a totem pole displaying the grisly head of his latest victim.   If this killer is hoping to rile former Royal Mountie Robert DeClercq, he certainly made his mark. Lured out of retirement, DeClercq tirelessly tracks the psychopath across two continents. But as DeClercq gets closer to understanding complex motivations of a criminally insane killer, he’s more certain than ever he’s about to confront the ultimate evil.   A revised and expanded version of the original Headhunter, which was first published in 1984.   “Michael Slade’s books are blood-chilling, spine-tingling, gut-wrenching, stomach-churning, and a much closer look at the inside of a maniac’s brain than most people would find comfortable—but always riveting.” —Diana Gabaldon, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of the Outlander series   “A real chiller! The most gruesome I have ever read.” —Robert Bloch, author of Psycho   “A novel so terrifying it will haunt your dreams for weeks.” —Book of the Month Club Magazine    “Headhunter stunned me! It’s really good!” —Alice Cooper   “Crime writer Michael Slade is the real deal! As a trial lawyer, Slade knows psycho killers, sex predators, and their horrific crimes inside out.” —RCMP Staff Sergeant Christine Wozney (ret.), CO of the Violent Crime Linkage Analysis team (West Coast)   “[The 1984 edition of] Headhunter enthralled me with its hardboiled realism and noir horror. Now, a third of a century later, the reimagined story is no less exciting or frightening. The dark shadows in a Michael Slade novel make you want to keep your back against the alley wall.” —Det. Insp. Kim Rossmo (VPD ret.)