From the ashes of World War II, a new monster rises in Munich… Munich, 1945. Mason Collins survived betrayal in the Chicago PD and the horrors of life in a Nazi POW camp. Now as the Chief Warrant Officer of the American Sector, he’s determined to restore order to a city in ruins. But when he’s called to investigate a ritually mutilated corpse in a bombed-out factory, he must test his wits against a sadistic killer. With the only clue a disturbing note scrawled above the desecrated body, Collins tracks the murderer through the post-war chaos. When the evidence points to a former concentration camp doctor, the relentless detective is haunted by the ghosts of his trauma. As more grisly cadavers pile up and the suspect stays a step ahead, Collins can’t shake the feeling that he’s the one being hunted. Can he stop a psychopath picking off easy prey before he becomes the next victim? Madness in the Ruins is the first book in the gripping Mason Collins historical crime thriller series, set in the aftermath of WWII. If you like gritty heroes, stark settings, and taut psychological tension, then you’ll love John A. Connell’s twisted tale. Buy Madness in the Ruins to dig up a murderous secret today! "...this is going to be a must-read series for me." -- Lee Child, New York Times bestselling author of the Jack Reacher novels "[A] compelling debut...the period details are absorbing."--Publishers Weekly "The complicated Mason...makes for a superb, flawed hero, whose compassion for others is augmented by his own demons. A sequel is mandatory."--Oline H. Cogdill Sun Sentinel "A thrilling hunt...gripping and gruesome."--James Becker, bestselling author of The Lost Testament "A well-crafted, classic police tale set in postwar 1945 Munich, a city that could double as the living room of hell...Mason's pursuit of the madman takes him through a ruined landscape filled with inhabitants as shattered as the city they live in."--Larry Bond, author of Red Phoenix and Shattered Trident "...the best historical crime novel I've read all year. As vivd a sense of time and place as anything by All Furst, a iller as horrifying as any in Thomas Harris, and a central character I'm sure we'll be reading about for years to come."--Scott Phillips, author of The Ice Harvest "Connell generates considerable tension...It's the vividly evoked postwar mood--devastated lives and landscapes combing to create an almost impenetrable fog of gloom..."--Booklist "Connell ticks all the proper hard-boiled boxes...Connell's definitely writing an old-school detective story, but there's a healthy dose of The Silence of the Lambs-style serial-killer horror running through this book."--Military.com John A. Connell writes spellbinding crime thrillers with a historical twist. His Mason Collins series follows Mason to some of the most dangerous and turbulent places in the post-World War Two world. The first, Madness in the Ruins, was a 2016 Barry Award nominee, and the series has garnered praises from bestselling authors like Lee Child and Steve Berry. In a previous life, John worked as a cameraman on films such as  Jurassic  Park and  Thelma and Louise  and on TV shows including  NYPD Blue  and  The Practice . Atlanta-born, John spends his time between the U.S. and France.