What her fellow agents don't know, and what she is only just beginning to come to terms with, is that Sophie has psychic powers, abilities that take the form of troubling, barely remembered nightmares. It's this aspect that had the potential to set Body Count apart from the many other thrillers out there.

The story opens on the scene of an undercover operation in which the glamorous Sophie Anderson plays an integral part. It's while this operation goes through it's dramatic final moments that we are introduced to the characters who will play a major part in the scenes to come and, in particular, in the budding relationship between Sophie and fellow agent Josh Marco.

The case that is to become the central focus of the story is one that has been handed to Sophie's best friend, Agent Sam Wright, another fellow gorgeous woman. And at this point I must point out that the outright beauty of all of the so-called "good guys" was getting a bit sickening. I was starting to cry out for an ordinary average looking FBI agent, if only to inject a touch of realism into the story. Anyway, back to the case which is already 2 victims old and looks to be the work of a serial killer operating in the DC area. The discovery of a third victim confirms it, but the crime scene holds a nasty little surprise for the FBI agents. A message has been left for Sam, one that reads like a challenge - a catch me if you can - and suggests that the killer already knows a lot about her. Suddenly, the case has become very personal.

As the story goes on, it's Sophie who becomes deeply involved, and not only through her skills as a profiler. What starts out as merely troubling dreams that she puts down to her exposure to so many graphic murders becomes much more as she realises that the scenes she experiences as nightmares are later being played out before her. She starts to experience some sort of psychic awareness that sometimes puts her in the place of the victim, which is frightening enough, and sometimes she finds herself in the role of the killer, which is simply terrifying.

This is a hunter becomes the hunted type of case with the killer prepared to lure the FBI closer and closer, daring them to catch him. Frustratingly for Sam Wright and Sophie, each crime scene is almost entirely devoid of forensic evidence, giving them little to work on and forcing them to put themselves into even greater danger.

This book marks a solid debut by P.D. Martin, strongly delving into the psychological pain experienced by both the agents and, to a certain extant, the killer. With fast-building tension and equally fast-developing relationships, the story grows to a resounding climax and, although the outcome is fairly predictable, there are some deeply emotional moments along the way.

Rather than simply solving the crime, a great deal of emphasis is placed on the toll that is taken on the investigative team, both emotionally and physically. Particularly through Sophie Anderson's thought processes, you find yourself second and even third guessing who the killer might be as you tie yourself in knots. As far as psychological thrillers go, this fact means that the story has achieved its purpose.

I felt there were a few disappointing aspects to the story that should be mentioned. The first deals with what could have potentially set the story apart from the multitude of serial killer / FBI novels out there: Sophie Anderson's psychic abilities. I felt this side of her was dramatically under utilised, particularly considering the lengths that were taken in going back to her childhood to explain how her "powers" were first discovered. Perhaps this aspect will be explored more fully in future Sophie Anderson books. The fact that it wasn't here was more than a little bewildering.

The second disappointment had to do with the cliches that had me cringing in my chair. I'm in no real position to know if cops or FBI agents really do call criminals "perps", but the use of the word in everyday dialogue between agents just struck me as completely false. The book was only a few chapters old and I was already all perped out and begging for mercy. The cliches were simply killing my enjoyment of the story.

Apart from these small annoyances, Body Count maintains a consistently high level of tension and delves into the complex science of criminal profiling with great detail ensuring that the interest level is high. Although the serial killer type of book has had a good run in recent times, Martin has added an extra element that, if developed more fully, will make this a series to follow.