I HUNT KILLERS BY BARRY LYGA
Genre: YA, Mystery
“This is why I forgive, but I don’t forget. When you forget someone, the forgiveness doesn’t mean anything anymore.”
– Barry Lyga, I Hunt Killers
Series: Jasper Dent
Synopsis:
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.
In an effort to clear his name, Jazz joins the police in a hunt for a new serial killer. But Jazz has a secret—could he be more like his father than anyone knows?
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Being a huge fan of crime/mystery shows such as CSI, Law and Order:SVU and Criminal Minds, the synopsis grabbed my attention. Right away you are told that Jasper “Jazz” Dent is the son of the world’s worst serial killer. Jazz has had to deal with this his whole life. From a young age he was taught everything by his dad while he was actively killing people. Even now after he was captured and taken to jail, Jazz is dealing with the fact that he is the son of the notorious Billy Dent. The situation is made worse when murders start taking place in the town of Lobo’s Nod again that are drawing attention to Jazz as a suspect.
This was a very unique book and I thought it was well planned out and put together. Being a mystery novel about a serial killer and his son delivers what is to be expected of detailed and sometimes gruesome material. Jazz has been left affected by his father and his actions. He fears that he will turn out to be like his father and the fact that he knows all the details of his fathers crimes and other knowledge of how to think like a serial killer, makes him a truly complex character. He has a vulnerability and really fights to do all he can to help and prove he is not and will not be like his father, but sometimes he has some dark humor and dark thoughts. In trying to help the police solve the crimes he gets roped into more than he hoped for as the hunt for the new serial killer commences.
The writing created a story that had me on the edge of my seat and was so gripping. It had me guessing and trying to figure out the whole time who was behind it and what was going on. There were even a few chapters from the killers point of view that I thought really added to the story overall. It was a fascinating story that really focused more on the main character to really flush out him, his personality and thoughts to have you unsure of what is actually happening. I did feel like beside feeling bad for the life Jasper was left with, it is a little hard to connect to him and the other characters do not get much attention.
Overall I thought it was packed with the suspense and mystery. It had some surprising twists and had me quite intrigued! I recommend this to all those who are intrigued or fascinated by serial killers and enjoy a gripping mystery novel! I am interested to see what is to come in the second book.
