Gray Matter Author:Shirley Kennett In the kitchen of his suburban St. Louis home, he is cooking dinner for one. But it is no ordinary dinner, and this is no ordinary night. Tonight, he will be transformed. Because tonight he will be dining on something very special: a human brain... — A celebrated pianist has been found dead, decapitated by a sharp instrument, possibly a meat clea... more »ver. His head is still missing. The skin on his back has been carved into the bas-relief of a mongrel dog. It is a savage, seemingly senseless slaying. But it is only the first.
Penelope Jessica Gray, known as PJ, is a newly divorced psychologist making a fresh start with her twelve-year-old son in St. Louis. A pioneer in the competitive field of computer simulation studies, she has been hired to set up a new division of the St. Louis Police Department. Through cutting-edge techniques of virtual reality, the Computerized Homicide Investigations Project, or CHIP, recreates real-life crimes by placing the user in the mind of the perpetrator. But before she can begin, PJ is teamed up with Leo Schultz, a veteran cop fast approaching burnout, to investigate a case that has St. Louis in a death-grip: the city is being terrorized by what could be the most unstoppable serial killer in history.
He is a face in the crowd. A figure in the shadows. The guy standing behind you, waiting for the light to change. Or a short-order cook -- the perfect warm-up to the culinary masterpieces he concocts in the privacy of his home. With each fresh killing, Pauley Mac adds another victim to his 'guest' list. They are the voices in his head. The coveted talents he hopes to one day possess. The furies he can no longer control. But his next victim possesses an extra-special gift: She knows who he is.
For PJ Gray, at the mercy of a cunning monster with none to give, it will take all her instincts as a psychologist and a woman to beat Mac at his own game. To survive, she must enter the mind of a killer.« less