Brady Hartsfield

Brady Hartsfield is a psychopath who drives a stolen car into a group of job seekers killing eight and injuring many more. He enjoys tormenting Olivia, the woman from whom he had stolen the car, about her part in the crime and is proud of himself when he pushes the woman into taking her own life. After he is finished with Olivia, Brady starts in on Hodges, the retired cop who was the lead detective on the City Center Massacre case. Brady wants to see if he can push Hodges to suicide as well.

For a good portion of the novel, Brady is referred to as the Mercedes Killer. The novel is switches back and forth between a focus on Brady and a focus on Hodges. In the sections that focus on Hodges, Brady is referred to as the Mercedes Killer because Hodges does not yet know...