Matson's Case No. 5

A young woman is found naked in a basement, drugged into a near-catatonic state and surrounded by the disturbing signs of a ritual. She isn't the first.

When Captain Robert Matson of the NYPD catches the case, what initially appears to be an isolated and bizarre crime quickly becomes something far more troubling. Similar victims have been discovered in Florida, and the investigation leads Matson toward Oscar Ortiz, a Cuban immigrant who arrived in the United States during the Mariel boatlift.

Ortiz portrays himself as a spiritual leader whose Afro-Cuban religious beliefs have made him the target of persecution. His followers fear him, the press questions the police investigation, and separating genuine religious practice from the rituals surrounding the crimes becomes increasingly important. Matson refuses to let prejudice dictate the investigation, but he is equally determined not to let Ortiz hide behind accusations of religious intolerance.

As Matson and his partner, Smith, dig deeper, the evidence points toward kidnapping, drugs, manipulation, and murder. Women have been terrorized and controlled, and four deaths may ultimately be connected to the man at the center of the investigation.

Matson will need old-fashioned police work, forensic science, and relentless deductive reasoning to uncover what is really happening and build a case strong enough to survive not only the courtroom, but the controversy surrounding it.

Because this isn't a case about what a man believes. It's about what he's willing to do to others in the name of those beliefs.

Matson's Case No. 5: The Occult Serial Murders is a dark police procedural and crime thriller featuring murder, ritualistic crime, a serial killer investigation, and one of Robert Matson's most disturbing cases.