When two young women are murdered on the streets of Manhattan - exactly one year apart, both after dates arranged through an online dating website - Detective Ellie Hatcher is moved to a special assignment on the elite homicide task force. The killer has left behind a taunting hint connecting the two cases, and Flann McIlroy, an eccentric and publicity-seeking homicide detective, is convinced that Ellie is uniquely situated to help him pursue a terrifying theory: Someone is using the lure of the internet and the promise of love to launch a killing spree against the women of New York City. To catch the killer, Ellie must enter an online world of fraudulent and stolen identities where no one is who he appears to be. Ellie's involvement in the investigation is personal. She fits the profile of the victims and knows what the pursuit of a sociopath can do to a cop. Her own father spent his life trying to identify the notorious serial murder known as BTK. When the killer begins to parallel the conduct of the murderer who consumed her father, Ellie knows it has also become personal for him, too. In a dangerous game where she is both hunter and prey, Ellie's only choice is to find the killer before he claims his next victim- who Ellie knows could very well be herself.

Jason Steadman is a thirty-year-old sales executive living in Boston and working for a electronics giant, a competitor to Sony and Panasonic. He's a witty, charismatic guy who's well liked at the office, but he lacks the 'killer instinct' necessary to move up the corporate ladder. To the chagrin of his ambitious wife, it looks as if his career has hit a ceiling: Jason's been sidelined. But all that will change one evening when Jason meets Kurt Semko, a former Special Forces officer just back from Iraq. Looking for a decent pitcher for the company softball team, Jason gets Kurt, who was once drafted by the majors, a job in Corporate Security. Soon, good things start to happen for Jason - and bad things start to happen to Jason's rivals. His career suddenly takes off. He's an overnight success. Only too late does Jason discover that his friend Kurt has been secretly paving his path to the top by the most 'efficient' - and ruthless - means available. After all, Kurt says, 'Business is war, right?' But when Jason tries to put a stop to it, he finds that his new best friend has become the most dangerous enemy imaginable. And now it's far more than just his career that lies in the balance. A riveting tale of ambition, intrigue, and the price of success, Killer Instinct is Joseph Finder at his best.

Jason Steadman is a thirty-year-old sales executive living in Boston and working for a electronics giant, a competitor to Sony and Panasonic. He's a witty, charismatic guy who's well liked at the office, but he lacks the 'killer instinct' necessary to move up the corporate ladder. To the chagrin of his ambitious wife, it looks as if his career has hit a ceiling: Jason's been sidelined. But all that will change one evening when Jason meets Kurt Semko, a former Special Forces officer just back from Iraq. Looking for a decent pitcher for the company softball team, Jason gets Kurt, who was once drafted by the majors, a job in Corporate Security. Soon, good things start to happen for Jason - and bad things start to happen to Jason's rivals. His career suddenly takes off. He's an overnight success. Only too late does Jason discover that his friend Kurt has been secretly paving his path to the top by the most 'efficient' - and ruthless - means available. After all, Kurt says, 'Business is war, right?' But when Jason tries to put a stop to it, he finds that his new best friend has become the most dangerous enemy imaginable. And now it's far more than just his career that lies in the balance. A riveting tale of ambition, intrigue, and the price of success, Killer Instinct is Joseph Finder at his best.