Head Games [Hardcover]

Eileen Dreyer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 4, 2004

Molly Burke is a death investigator and trauma nurse for the city of St. Louis who has seen every type of atrocity and more than her share of heartbreak. And she knows that no good deed goes unpunished. For years she tried to save the abused children who came through her ER. She's learned that she can save some kids, but others will be lost to their horrific families. Now, a child she once tried to save is all grown up. His life has been unspeakable. His deeds are now unfathomable. And he wants Molly's attention. A killer has been created and he will stop at nothing to make sure Molly Burke won't ignore him now. To make matters even more complicated, Molly's brother asks her to watch his sixteen-year-old son, who seems to have left a string of "incidents" in his wake, forcing her to face the fact that no family is without its secrets. Breathtaking, tightly plotted, and compelling, Head Games is a tour-de-force thriller that looks into the depths of the human heart and mind.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Things have never been easy for Molly Burke: the trauma nurse and part-time death investigator who previously appeared in Dreyer's Bad Medicine suffered through a loveless childhood and post-traumatic stress from a tour as a nurse in Vietnam. She married twice, but despite four pregnancies she has no living children. At Grace Hospital, "the primary gun and knife club in St. Louis," she often must treat children who have sustained suspicious injuries; though she always spots the child abuse hidden in these cases, she's frequently helpless to save the child. Her dog is her best friend, while her human associates include the handsome and smarmy lawyer who filed a lawsuit that cost Molly a job; a sweet but slightly needy elderly neighbor; and a coterie of colleagues who often voice their affection for Molly through insults. Then there's Molly's 16-year-old rich-kid nephew, whom she hasn't seen for years. He moves in with her after dropping by to steal some priceless works of art from the Burke family estate, where the disinherited Molly is "allowed to live... on sufferance." Against this dreary backdrop, Molly begins receiving threatening notes and special deliveries of human body parts, such as a thigh bone inscribed in gold. The reader learns that these creepy gifts are likely totems of a serial killer's affection, and now Molly must figure out who he is. Dreyer makes her heroine put up with far too much, but Molly perseveres in a chilling chase to find the killer before he strikes again.
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Review

"Nearly flawless. The dialogue is witty...the insights into hospitals, medical examiners' offices, police departments and the military are stunning."
-- St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Will pull you through an intense, heart-pounding adventure from the first page to the last."
-- Tulsa World

"An effective psychological thriller whose highly sympathetic character, Molly Burke, must confront deep personal challenges whilt simultaneously fending off a killer."
-- The Dallas Morning News

"A chilling chase to find the killer before he strikes again."
-- Publishers Weekly

"A suspenseful, compelling, and breathtaking novel that works itself into the human heart and mind."
-- Missouri Life

"A superb writer who manages to keep surprising the reader with one unexpected revelation after another."
-- The Midwest Book Review

"Packs a punch in each dense chapter of the book...The characters inhabiting Dreyer's world are complex, riveting, funny and compelling....Mesmerizing."
-- Rocky Mountain News

"Tensely plotted...When the dust settles, the book's title has far too many meanings, one of which will stay with readers for a long time."
-- The Denver Post

"A roller-coaster ride into the darkest realms of the human mind."
-- American Way

"Gripping, disturbing, and ultimately tragic...Incredibly powerful."
-- Romantic Times Top Pick

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; First Edition edition (March 4, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312265786
• ISBN-13: 978-0312265786
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,415,469 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Ending made it worthwhile, April 27, 2004

By 

Ellen Bales "starwriter" (Indianapolis, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Head Games (Hardcover)

I won't elaborate on the book's plot--others have already done that. I almost put the book aside several times because of Molly Burke. I found her to be insufferable! The oh-so-witty repartee she and other characters engaged in was over the top. I kept wanting her to get on with it. And the constant bickering and downright nastiness between Molly and her so-called boyfriend Frank was sickening. I'd hate to see how she would treat a guy she REALLY doesn't like!
The only reason I kept reading was to find out who was sending her the "gifts" and notes, and I will say the ending was a real surprise which I had not figured out.
I will try another Eileen Dreyer book but probably not one featuring Molly Burke.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning!, October 2, 2004

By 

Gypsi Phillips Bates "bilbiophile" (Tennessee) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Head Games (Hardcover)

Kenny, as we discover immediately, is a serial killer. He kills more for pleasure than for attention, and to fill a void left from a bad childhood.

Molly is an emergency room nurse, and has been for years. She's seen abused kids come in and out of the ER, helpless to help them. Sure, she tried when she was young and idealistic, but these days, she knows that most are beyond helping.

Kenny was one of the ones that she tried to help in her younger days. He remembers and he wants to thank her. Thank her for noticing him, for being the only one who did. He begins sending her gifts, special gifts, human gifts.

If there is one thing Molly has learned through her life, it's that nothing is certain, nothing is how it seems. Following that logic, she can't be sure that she's not his next intended victim.

Thus begins her frantic search to find him, while still maintaining two jobs, being in the middle of an odd courtship and becoming the unwilling guardian to a troublesome, and quite charming, nephew. Molly has too much on her plate, and more keeps getting added.

At times, it seemed that Molly was getting more than even a fictional character could handle, and I felt overwhelmed with it myself. But, it was the type of "overwhelmed" that required further reading. And fast.

This is a book that starts off fast and ends breathless, with the reader whirling in a happy state of fear, shock and pure book-loving pleasure. Dreyer, herself a former St. Louis ER nurse, writes convincingly of nursing, the city and murder.

The clues are all there. There is not one discovery that left me feeling cheated. Everything was spelled out for me. But it was so cleverly done that every revelation was still a surprise. I'd slap my hand to my forehead and say "HOW did I miss that?", and then bury my nose right back into the book.

I only came up for air a few times while reading Head Games. It was so good, I read it straight through one night. And, after I finished at 2 pm, I woke my husband up and made him stand in the door of the bathroom while I showered. I was seeing killers in every shadow. It was that good of a book!

The book-induced fear wore off with morning, but not the book itself. It was a stunning book, with some shocks that I never anticipated and an ending that while satisfying, was still unsettling--and caused me to question some unconcious prejudices. I give Head Games the highest recommendation.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic crime thriller, March 1, 2004

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Head Games (Hardcover)

Very few people have lived through the trauma Molly Burke has and remained sane but somehow she has managed it. Her parents were emotionally distant (some might call them abusive). She did a tour of duty in the hell that was South Vietnam and came home to discover she couldn't have any children thanks to the effects of Agent Orange and to this day still suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Yet with all that she is one of the best trauma nurses in St. Louis because she cares about her charges.

Working two jobs just to stay above the poverty line Molly is doing her best to deal with the threatening letters she is receiving. Her troubled nephew Patrick comes to stay with her while she is trying to cope with her stalker who is now sending her human skulls and femurs. The killer informs Molly that she knows him so she is in the middle of a very dangerous homicide investigation, trying to identify the perpetrator before he strikes against. Molly also deals with her rambunctious nephew and a media onslaught that turns her home into a glass house.

Although the heroine thinks she is a head case, she is one of the sanest characters to walk the pages of a crime novel. After what life has thrown at Molly, she somehow not only manages to cope but also has become a stronger person. Eileen Dreyer is a superb writer who manages to keep surprising the reader with one unexpected revelation after another. Fans of Patricia Cornwell and Robin Cook will love HEAD GAMES.

Harriet Klausner