Book #21 - The Program

I’ve read more than a few books by Swain, mostly the Tony Valentine series. This is somewhat a continuation of the Jack Carpenter books, but The Program has very little Carpenter in it. Instead we have the FBI agents he’s dealt with in the past taking over this book, mostly Ken Linderman. From previous books, Linderman is searching for his long lost daughter in Florida while handling other serial killers.

A kid is kidnapped at the beginning of this one and the agent learning from Linderman thinks it’s a serial killer they’ve dubbed Mr. X. Linderman agrees and they start the search and a trap with a police website. At the same time they discover this serial killer is in contact with another one in prison, one that was convicted on a lessor charge and is about to get out of prison.

The book keeps you interested, moving between the chance to find the kidnapped kid, the struggles of the younger agent (a woman) working with the local police, and Linderman’s down demons. When the killer in prison offers Linderman information on his daughter, it’s a tense moment. Linderman turns him down, but continues to search on his own. A brief appearance from Carpenter gives him an idea and helps him move forward.

The characters are a little shallow, but the writing, the excitement, and the twisted mind of the killers keep the reader interested and excited along the way. I’d at least read the book before this one in the series, if not the other ones before you tackle this one. It will help set the stage for a few references, even though this one stands alone.