Review: Hangman by Jack Heath

Author: Jack Heath
Publisher: Hanover Square
Datre of publication: June 2018

A 14-year-old boy vanishes on his way home from school. His frantic mother receives a disturbing ransom call. It's only hours before the deadline, and the police have no leads.

Enter Timothy Blake, codename Hangman. Blake is a genius, known for solving impossible cases. He's also a sociopath - the FBI's last resort.

But this time Blake might have met his match. The kidnapper is more cunning and ruthless than anyone he's faced before. And Blake has been assigned a new partner, a woman linked to the past he's so desperate to forget.

Timothy Blake has a secret, one so dark he will do anything to keep it hidden.

And he also has a price. Every time he saves a life, he takes one…

I never thought in a million years would I ever say I liked a character like Timothy Blake.  Why?  Because he is the most likable cannibal I have ever read about.  Yes, Timothy Blake is a cannibal.  He is also a brilliant puzzle solver and last resort for the FBI when solving hard cases. And despite being a sociopath, he's actually pretty likable.  He has an agreement with parts of the FBI that for every case he solves, he gets to have criminal up for execution.

I ended up really enjoying Hangman.  The mystery was good and kept me guessing.  Through flashbacks, we learn more about Timothy and how he came to be a cannibal and work for the FBI. He was a very sympathetic character.  As for the flesh eating part, those descriptions were kept to a minimum. So it wasn't really graphic.  The next book featuring Timothy comes out in a couple of months.  Stay tuned for a review.