Equation for Evil

Set in contemporary California, Equation for Evil examines the anatomy of a horrific crime-a lone gunman opens fire on a busload of Asian-American children and then turns the gun on himself.

The narrative then follows forensic psychiatrist Leander Heartwood and special agent Gabriel Chin as they team up to investigate the case, leading off with a "psychological autopsy" to determine the killer's motives. Along the way they seek not only to solve this single disturbing crime, but also to understand the complex forces at work in all similarly horrifying acts of violence.

Caputo, acclaimed for both his fiction and his journalism, rolls elements of psychological thriller, police procedural, and piercing commentary into this page-turner. Equation for Evil puts this master storyteller's gifts on full display.