Pattern Hidden In Plain Sight

n a city driven by data, speed, and efficiency, death has learned how to disappear.

Detective Arjun Rao is transferred from a quiet suburban precinct to the overwhelmed Central District as part of the Commissioner's new Efficiency Directive-a mandate designed to clear backlogs and close cases faster. "Unattended deaths" are stamped as natural causes and quietly archived. The numbers look good. The system runs smoothly.

Until one case doesn't.

A healthy marathon runner dies on a public park bench, officially ruled a heart attack. The report is clean, the conclusion final-but something feels wrong. As Arjun revisits the scene, he begins to notice small inconsistencies. Then another similar case. And another. Young, healthy adults. No drugs. No struggle. Deaths that happen instantly, silently, and are forgotten just as fast.

What Arjun uncovers isn't coincidence-it's a pattern hidden inside statistics.

As his investigation puts him at odds with superiors who value efficiency over doubt, Arjun risks his career to prove these deaths are connected. Pulled into a covert task unit and paired with a tech analyst who can see what the data conceals, he follows the trail beyond city limits-into statewide and national mortality records.

The numbers are staggering.

At the center of it all is a single anomaly: an untraceable, outdated phone that appears near hundreds of so-called "natural deaths" across years and cities. A ghost in the system. And behind it, a killer who doesn't choose victims-only moments where he can remain invisible.

As the hunt intensifies, Arjun comes face to face with a man who believes death is the only true silence left in the world-and that delivering it quietly is a form of mercy.

Pattern Hidden in Plain Sight is a gripping, cerebral crime thriller about how modern systems can be weaponized, how efficiency can erase accountability, and how the most dangerous killers are the ones who never disrupt the system at all.

Perfect for readers who love intelligent procedurals, psychological thrillers, and stories that linger long after the final page.