Oh what fun games can be! There is always cat and mouse or hide and seek, but when they are played by psychotic killers, those games take on a whole new adrenaline high -- at least for the killers. FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit is a specially trained unit that delves into the minds of serial killers for the purpose of getting them before they get to their next victim. Called into Lawrence, Kansas, the team is sent in to profile and find the sick-o murderer or murderers whose victims seem to have homelessness as their only common thread. Collaborating with the locals, the team sets about fighting time and stigmas of this small college town. The town government seems to want to sweep the problem of homelessness under the rug, but they did not have this in mind. But who knows what is in the mind of killers? Can it really be as simple as gathering a group of specialist to research the aspects of this serial murderer to catch him or her before the next strike? In addition to the murders in this small town, there is a kidnapping. The odds of serial murders and a kidnapping happening at the same time in this a town this size are almost unheard of, unless they are connected somehow. Therein lies the next dimension of the mystery. Is the missing college student a victim or a killer? Finally, complete the victim profiles with cleaned up men and women who have looked like they were dressed up and well fed. Drugged maybe, but they each looked like they were in a game of cat and mouse with their assailant only after they have had a good cleaning up. How did these killers get a group of people to trust that are naturally not very trusting by nature? Unfortunately, there is nothing natural about any of this. It is just the horrific acts of some very sick minds.

CRIMINAL MINDS: JUMP CUT is an excellent, well organized psychological thriller. The research and profiling of serial killers is compelling. The detailed insights of each member on the team make the book read like a finely tuned machine. Every statement is critical and every move is exact. The writing is phenomenal. I have never seen the show in which this book is based, but I can't wait until next week so I can tune in to see if it is as good as the novel.