Synopses & Reviews
An electrifying novel of intrigue,
Broken Wings moves beyond the authors'
New York Times bestselling nonfiction -- and takes readers along on a furious psychological duel between the nation's top profiler and a ruthless criminal mastermind.
The director of the FBI is dead. Officially it's being called suicide; unofficially, it's a murder. On the first morning of his retirement as head of the FBI's Behavioral Science Profiling Unit, Jake Donovan is summoned back to Quantico -- and into the most dangerous, volatile, and politically charged case of his career.
After suffering a brutal attack from assailants who may have been linked to the director's death, Jake enlists an elite team of "broken wings" -- damaged-goods agents like himself who have been frozen out of the FBI. Equipped with a state-of-the-art airplane that serves as a mobile lab and headquarters, this secretly funded rogue squad of expert mindhunters is going to do what the Bureau can't or won't: follow the trail of evidence, no matter where it leads, no matter whom it implicates.
Review
Houston ChronicleThis thriller owes its interest to Douglas' insights into how law enforcement works. Olshaker's writing skills keep the action whipping along."
Review
Kirkus ReviewsDouglas and Olshaker keep the pages burning.
Review
USA TodayReaders of Tom Clancy may enjoy the technological touches...[and] the wide array of weapons.
Review
Publishers WeeklyA solid, promising debut....Enough red herrings are introduced to keep the plot lively.
Review
Bookbrowser.com
An entertaining winner....Anyone who wants to understand profiling in terms of how an expert can get inside the mind of a psychopath needs to read Broken Wings.
Synopsis
Jake Donovan receives a chilling call on the first morning of his long-awaited retirement: the Director of the FBI has committed suicide...or has he? Suspecting foul play, top law enforcement officers call upon Jake to carry out one final mission and get to the bottom of the director's death. With an elite team of "broken wings" -- damaged-goods officers like himself who have been frozen out of the FBI -- and a state-of-the-art airplane that serves as headquarters, Jake's secret rogue squad must follow a deadly path...no matter where it leads or whom it implicates.
About the Author
John Douglas has become the leading expert on criminal-personality profiling and the pioneer of modern criminal investigative analysis during his remarkable twenty-five-year career with the FBI. A veteran of the Air Force, he is the author of numerous articles and presentations on criminology and the coauthor of the landmark books
Sexual Homicide: Patterns and Motives and Crime Classification Manual. He has been called upon to analyze violent crimes from those of the Unabomber to the Nicole Brown Simpson-Ron Goldman and JonBenet Ramsey murders. John Douglas and Mark Olshaker coauthored
Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit; Unabomber: On the Trail of America's Most-Wanted Serial Killer; Journey into Darkness; Obsession; The Anatomy of Motive; and the novel
Broken Wings. Douglas lives in the Washington, D.C., area.