BECKER'S RING by Steven Martin Cohen - FIRST EDITION BOOK

Lieutenant Brent Kramer knows that law enforcement in New York City is a catastrophic farce. The game of cat and mouse, however, always makes it worthwhile. So when a number of grotesquely mutilated bodies begin turning up all over the city, Kramer sets out to do what he does best: find a mentally disturbed needle in a mentally disturbed haystack. He enlists the help of a very eccentric team, which includes not only a wild forensic chemist who alternates between the pursuit of the mutilator and the pursuit of his gorgeous computer technician, but also the reclusive botanist whose unique tree-grafting techniques seem to have inspired the deranged surgeon. As the mutilations become more grotesque, so does the media circus that surrounds the victims, all of whom are men convicted of murder and released on parole, only to be surgically altered to prevent them from ever killing again. With the unwanted help of an opportunistic agent, the victims are dubbed "hoopers" and become the darlings of tabloid talk shows and late night joke line-ups. When even the politicians and hypesters begin their own campaigns for justice, Brent must risk everything to find the mad genius who has taken criminal justice literally into his own hands.