YA Book Review- I Hunt Killers
I Hunt Killers
by Barry Lyga
Hardcover; 368 pages
Publication Date: April 3, 2012
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 0316125849
Book Source: Publisher
5 stars
Summary From Amazon.com: What if the world’s worst serial killer…was your dad?
Jasper (Jazz) Dent is a likable teenager. A charmer, one might say.
But he’s also the son of the world’s most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, Take Your Son to Work Day was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could–from the criminal’s point of view.
And now bodies are piling up in Lobo’s Nod.
Danielle’s Review: The best serial murdering novel I’ve read since my Patricia Cornwell phase, I Hunt Killers is a phenomenal addition to the forensic crime genre with one little twist: it’s in the young adult genre.
Seventeen-year-old Jasper Dent is the son of a notorious serial killer who’s trying to live a normal life while his father rots in prison. When a copycat murderer comes to town, Jasper must convince the local sheriff that they can work together and stop the bloodshed. Trust doesn’t come easy with Jasper’s background, but he has his best friend, Howie, and girlfriend, Connie, to keep him grounded.
I found Jasper’s development and point of view riveting as he struggled against inner fears of turning out like his father. His dark humor and desperate groping for salvation only makes him human. The plot moves quickly yet delves into Jasper’s backstory and psyche, which I loved. There are plenty of suspects to choose from, so I was happy when the story resolved without the most predictable character as the solution.
It’s been quite a long time since I’ve read a book that I could not put it down but I Hunt Killers takes off from the very beginning and is so absorbing it can’t be put away until the last page is sucked down. In my personal opinion, the graphic nature and language in this thriller is over the top for the young adult genre, but I do recommend it to any CSI lovers over eighteen.
Content: Graphic violence, sexual references
Danielle Thorne
About the Author: Barry Lyga is a recovering comic book geek. When he was a kid, everyone told him that comic books were garbage and would rot his brain, but he had the last laugh. Raised on a steady diet of comics, he worked in the comic book industry for ten years, but now writes full-time because, well, wouldn’t you? The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy & Goth Girl was his first novel.
Learn more at http://www.barrylyga.com/