Heartless

A serial killer is on the loose in New York City. He frequents busy nightclubs and undermines his female victims using a soft, unassuming approach that allows them to drop their guard, where he lures them to his killing field. After cutting their throats, he removes their hearts as a personal keepsake.

Detective John Patrick Ryan is a street-smart cop who grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Working with his partner, Detective Jan Dean, and the department psychologist, Dr. Bellagard, he leads the NYPD task force to catch this slick maniac who is terrorizing the streets of New York City.

One of his victims, a woman named Maria, happens to be the sister of Rocky Torriano, a big-time mobster in one of New York City's Crime Families. Rocky and his soldiers are a formidable force and are on a dedicated mission to find the maniac who killed one of their own. The chase is on between New York's Finest and the Mafia. Can the Mafia outwit and outrun a street-smart cop? To make matters worse, the maniac has found a new target: Melissa Burke. Rocky is using Melissa as bait, luring in the killer. Now the race is on to save Melissa from the clutches of this ruthless killer and to avenge the deaths of all of his innocent victims.

Heartless takes the reader on a twisted ride inside the mind of a serial killer, revealing his thoughts and experiences in real-time before, during, and after his kills. The readers are additionally offered a chilling inside look at how the Mafia operates and the lengths they will go to in order to catch this monster.

Another perspective is woven throughout the story of the detective's challenges in pursuing the evasive killer while he struggles with deciding whether to follow his gut feeling or his police training. Will he allow the Mafia to get a hold of this maniac first, eye for eye, or will he uphold the law and justice be served the legal way?

The chase becomes a game of cat and mouse. The detective is after the killer. The Mafia is after the killer, and the killer is after Melissa. The cold-blooded pursuit climaxes in a brutal Machiavellian ending.