Another big title coming out in June! This one is in the form of a twisted serial killer thriller that hits you and just doesn’t quit! This one lived up to the hype surrounding it and I could not put it down.
THE FOURTH MONKEY by J.D. Barker (releasing June 27th, 2017)
My Thoughts: 5/5 stars!
The eye catching cover paired with the description, “Se7en meets The Silence of the Lambs” – there’s no way I wasn’t going to read this book. My first novel by JD Barker, THE FOURTH MONKEY was quite the way to start with his work. Dark, twisty, and gruesome – this is the perfect thriller for any horror and suspense fans out there.
Detective Sam Porter is woken up by a phone call – there’s been an accident and he needs to come to the scene. Considering he works in homicide, Porter is confused but amuses his partner and goes. A man was hit by a bus, but this wasn’t just any man, they believe that he is the Four Monkey Killer. The 4MK is a serial killer that had terrorized the Chicago area for half a decade and was never caught. He followed a very specific formula, and with the body, Porter finds a white box wrapped with a black string. He has another victim, another victim that could still be alive.
Not only do they find the package on his person, but they also recover a personal diary from the killer. Since his face was mangled in the bus crash, they still have no idea who he is. Porter takes the diary with him as they fight to find the next victim. You dive into the mind of a psychopathic killer. Through his diary he continues to taunt the detectives while giving very minimal clues as to who he has taken.
I loved this book. So twisted, gory, and fast paced. We go through alternating narrators in this story. The diary entries are my favorite – I found myself reading faster so I could get to those chapters! I really liked how the killer got his name. Not going to lie, when I saw the title I was thinking, “how the hell does someone get that as their nickname?” The whole, Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil monkeys come into play. He would first send an ear, then the eyes, the tongue, and then the body would be found with a note that read, Do No Evil (the Fourth Monkey).
This was my first time reading anything by JD Barker, and it definitely will not be my last! I love his style of writing. The short chapters made this read even faster. It was the perfect amount of twisted and demented for a serial killer thriller. Porter and his partner Nash were incredibly likable. Porter’s backstory was effortlessly weaved into the story, which made his character seem even more human. If you like the thrillers where you dive into the mind of the killer and that isn’t too heavy on the typical police procedural, then I’d highly recommend this one!
Thank you to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
If you’re a fan of thrillers, go and get this right away!
–Jess
Jessicamap Reviews 