Matson’s Case No. 1

New York City, 1950s. A killer is leaving behind more than bodies. He's leaving a message.

Matson has survived war, served his country, and proven himself as an investigator. But in 1950s New York, the color of his skin matters more than his experience.

Shut out of the law-enforcement career he wants and working as a janitor, Matson gets an unexpected opportunity to put his investigative skills to use. Black women are being murdered across the city, and their deaths are receiving far too little attention from the police. When Matson is quietly brought into the investigation, he soon realizes these are no ordinary killings.

Each victim has been deliberately staged.

Each scene appears to be part of a ritual.

And the killer is far from finished.

As Matson follows the trail, he uncovers a disturbing connection to the Stations of the Cross. The murders appear to be unfolding according to a pattern, but recognizing it doesn't tell Matson who is behind the killings, what the killer ultimately intends, or where he will strike next.

With more lives at risk, Matson must prove that he belongs in an investigative world determined to keep him out while hunting a murderer whose carefully planned mission is moving toward its terrifying conclusion.

Years later, Matson has risen to become chief of New York City's homicide squad. Yet Case No. 1 has never truly left him. As he returns once again to the man responsible, he is forced to revisit the investigation that launched his career and the twisted crimes that changed the course of his life.

Before Matson had the badge, he had the case.

Matson's Case No. 1 is a historical crime thriller blending murder, mystery, racial barriers, and a ritualistic serial-killer investigation against the backdrop of 1950s New York City.