Whack a mole / Chris Grabenstein.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

John Ceepak and Danny Boyle returns with the hunt for a long-dormant serial killer who might be ready to strike again. An innocent discovery on the beach in Sea Haven pits Ceepak against a killer with a code just as rigid as his own. When the killer targets his next victim, the consequences becomes dire for Ceepak and Boyle -- this is a game they must win.

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Library Journal Review

In Grabenstein's third entertaining mystery set in the delightfully campy Jersey shore town of Sea Haven, John Ceepak, an Iraq war veteran with a strict moral code, now has a full-time partner in former volunteer officer Danny Boyle. Still settling into their groove as partners, the two men try to have personal lives and deal with the cast of characters within the police department while investigating a serial killer from the 1980s who has begun leaving body parts around the beach town. Whack a Mole is as engaging and enjoyable as the debut Tilt-a-Whirl (the second in the series, Mad Mouse, was quite heavy in tone and not as riveting). Certainly more fun when read as part of a series, this title nevertheless stands on its own as a well-written mystery, complete with humor, humanity, a fast-moving plot, and memorable characters. Highly recommended.-Nicole A. Cooke, Montclair State Univ., NJ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

A recovered school ring leads mismatched policemen John Ceepak, a 36-year-old veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and his rookie partner, Danny Boyle, on a search for a serial killer in Grabenstein's flaccid third mystery set in a New Jersey beach resort called Sea Haven. The previous two books in the series, Tilt-a-Whirl and Mad Mouse, did a good job developing the relationship between the highly trained, honorable ex-marine and his young partner, who joined the cops mostly to impress girls. About all the two had in a common was a love for Bruce Springsteen, but Boyle was a quick study under Ceepak's tutelage. Now, Ceepak literally digs up a cold case on the beach with his metal detector, which finds a ring and then a charm bracelet, trinkets that belonged to women who were beheaded by a preachy killer Ceepak nicknames Ezekiel. Signs indicate the killer may strike again soon, but the limp dialogue dilutes the suspense. Fans of the first two books will likely be disappointed. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Booklist Review

Midway through a quiet summer in Sea Haven, New Jersey, the big news is the upcoming sand-sculpture competition. But when human ears in glass jars appear in a tiny, little-visited museum, and human skulls are unearthed on the beach, Sea Haven cops John Ceepak and Danny Boyle know there's trouble in paradise. Ceepak, a too-good-to-be-true Eagle Scout of a cop, and Boyle, the callow rookie, soon identify a number of possible perps: a windy preacher who runs a boardwalk ministry for wayward teens, a philandering MD, and even a retired Sea Haven cop. They also discover that the body parts date back to the 1980s and that a serial killer is about to start again. Author Grabenstein has done his homework. His portrait of summer on the Jersey shore, replete with tacky boardwalk arcades, kitschy souvenir and T-shirt shops, manic city folk who bring their attytood on vacation, and hordes of young people awash in hormones, is virtually note-perfect. Another winner in the Jersey Shore series, following Tilt-a-Whirl (2005) and Mad Mouse (2006). --Thomas Gaughan Copyright 2007 Booklist

Kirkus Book Review

A misogynistic murderer takes the fun out of sunny Sea Haven. It's the height of the season down at the Jersey Shore, and folks have flocked to Sea Haven beaches psyched, many of them, by the prospect of a sandcastle construction event that could have national implications. At the same time, figurative storm clouds gather, boding ill for nubile, promiscuous young ladies. John Ceepak (Mad Mouse, 2006, etc.) and his partner Danny Boyle, both of the Sea Haven PD, are first alerted to the menace by an unexpected find. Fishing boater Cap'n Pete, town character and member of the Sea Haven Treasure Hunters Society, has recovered a charm bracelet lost for decades. His innocuous catch turns unnerving when it's linked to a grisly series of homicides. Once again Chief Baines calls upon Ceepak and Boyle to "get out there and keep Sea Haven a safe haven." Skilled and indefatigable, Ceepak is able to connect his clues to a veritable parade of mysterious disappearances--young women who vanished in the 1980s. There's been no action since, until suddenly there's reason to believe the beast may be stirring once more. By-the-book but judicious Ceepak and Boyle, his ardent young Boswell, remain an amiable pair, though poised perhaps on the slippery slope of the formulaic. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.