So much conflict and tension within the department and across departments (that assistant ME is a piece of work - who talks to strangers like that?!, probably setting up a "love interest", bleah) that it's hard to stomach. Feels over the top. I understand giving Ryder a foe or creating a villain, but this is too much. It isn't pleasant to listen to and if it doesn't resolve and calm down, this will be the only book in this series I read and will probably return to audible. I read enough crime fiction to know that you don't have to lay it on this thick. Well, I can't take it anymore. Returned to audible - DNF.

The Hundredth Man by Jack Kerley takes readers to Mobile, Alabama in this police procedural. It is the first read of a multi book series that contains more than a dozen novels. This is a good read that is graphic, at times, and not for those who prefer a traditional cozy style read.

Detective Harry Nautilus and Detective Carson Ryder have a bit of a reputation thanks to the media coverage regarding a recent case. This means that there are many in the department who do not like either one of them. That includes Captain Terrence Squill who is angling to be the next police chief as rumors abound that Chief Hyrum is about to take early retirement.

They and a couple of specialists are part of Chief Hyrum's new project, the “Psychopathological and Sociopathological Investigative Team” referenced by the unfortunate moniker, PSIT. While Homicide Detectives Nautilus and Ryder are assigned to the first district in the city of Mobile, any case that is under the purview of PS11 becomes their case no matter where it occurs. A body missing the head could fit their mandate and would be their first case under the program.

A headless body on the southwest side of the city is their callout this night. Besides missing the head, the dressed male body has been posed a certain way so that he could be found quickly. It is only later when the body is nude at the morgue that it is discovered that there is writing on the body. Two horizontal lines of words that are a message from the killer.

It will not be the last message sent.

While the case is the major storyline, there are a lot of other storylines in the complex read. A book that uses politics, personal relationships, as well as several classic crime fiction tropes (veteran detective partnered with a rookie detective, a grandstanding and massively incompetent boss, hatred of the FBI by locals, etc.) to create the start of a multi book series. Written by a former advertising executive, it seems occasionally as the author did a survey of what worked for other authors and threw those pieces in here.

Of course, how he mixed those pieces together defines his book. The Hundredth Man by Jack Kerley is a solidly good read. Just don't be surprised if now and then you read something and it reminds you of another crime fiction or police procedural. Billed as a psychological thriller, the read is more of a police procedural than anything, though it does contain elements of other genres.

The next book in the series, The Death Collectors, is on hold for me at the library.

The Hundredth Man
Jack Kerley
http://www.jackkerley.com/
Dutton (Penguin Group)
https://www.penguin.com/publishers/dutton/
June 2004
ISBN# 0-525-94821-X
Hardback (also available in audio, eBook, and paperback formats)
314 Pages

My read came from the Downtown Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2021 ( )

The Hundredth Man introduces the reader to Carson Ryder, a Mobile, Alabama homicide detective and one of two detectives assigned to the Psychopathological and Sociopathological Investigative Team, or PSIT. PSIT is a unit created to investigate freakish homicides. The other half of the team is Harry Nautilus, a more experienced detective. When a killer begins to leave headless corpses around the Mobile area, it seems to be exactly the situation for which PSIT was brought into existence. However, the team is kept on the sidelines by an egotistical police captain who never makes a move without checking to see what the political consequences will be. As Ryder and Nautilus surreptitiously investigate the killings, they soon discover that the trail of bodies seems to lead to an unexpected place.

Ryder is an attractive character who lives in a house on stilts over the marshy salt waters outside the city. He also has a softer side. He has a psychopathic brother with multiple personalities. Jeremy, who resides in a secure unit within a mental institution, has special intuitive qualities and some unique insight into the PSIT cases. His ability to understand the workings of the depraved mind can be of tremendous benefit to Ryder. There is, however, a terrible price that Ryder must pay. I would read more in this series for this character alone.

This was a very interesting book and I understand the later ones are even better so I've already picked up the second book in the series.
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I really enjoyed Kerley's writing style and characters. I love a good crime/detective novel, and Kerley sucked me into the world of Mobile, AL instantly. I genuinely like the characters of Carson and Harry, and was left guessing whodunnit until the end. This book addresses my obsession with things like Criminal Minds and I will be reading more Jack Kerley! ( )

A reasonable start to the series which is quite enjoyable but is just missing something, it does build pace as the book goes on and builds great tension towards the end of the book. I like the central characters in the book. Hopefully just a faltering start with his first book, having read a later book in the series I know these get better, so I will be continuing with the series. 3.5 stars. ( )