Death has gripped the throat of middle America

Random people are being heinously murdered, with the bodies displayed in the most horrific way.
Detective John Chandless is a thick-skinned officer from New York who had apprehended the most depraved men in the barrios. Perhaps he had underestimated the the evil in the heart of the country. Kansas shouldn’t be so harsh compared to the City, but murder has no favorite state. How could this veteran detective be stumped?