I Hunt Killers (Jasper Dent, #1) by Barry Lyga

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Goodreads 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?

My Review:

For the most part, I enjoyed this story. Being that my education is in Criminology & Psychology, all my senses were tickled. I felt like Barry Lyga did a great job keeping the mystery aspect continuous, and despite my many guesses throughout, I never seemed to guess correctly. I feel this makes a mystery great instead of just standard. I was also thoroughly intrigued with Jasper's internal battle, and I really liked that he was able to chose his own path. He could have chosen the easy way and used his father as an excuse, but he didn't.

Jasper was a decent character. He did get a little obsessive and stubborn sometimes, which was frustrating as a reader because it was a complete turn off. Jasper's girlfriend was a shadow character. I don't think she had any depth worth considering, and despite finishing this book moments ago, I cannot recall her name. Jasper's grandma was just downright scary and sad at the same time. Now Howie, I loved Howie. He had personality and was the perfect partner to Jasper. Great friendship pairing.

This is a first in the series, and although good, I doubt I'll move forward unless something or someone else compels me.

I'd recommend this book if you are interested in mystery/thriller, if you have a curiosity about what may or may not cause a mastermind criminal to tick, or if you just want something quick paced but not sappy and boring. This recommendation is based off this story as "stand alone". I cannot speak for the series as a whole.

Favorite Quotes:

“You won't even know you've crossed the line until it's way back in your rearview mirror.”

“What if a puppet could cut its own strings, and in that act of defiance and strength of will become truly alive? Become is own puppetmaster?”

“We humans have the capacity to wreak horrors on each other. But we also have the capacity to survive those horrors.”

Read from November 05 to 10, 2014

Top 5 Genres*: Young Adult, Mystery, Horror, Thriller, Contemporary
*According to Goodreads
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My ratings system
5 stars - I absolutely loved it
4 stars - Good book and would recommend
3 stars - Decent book, but wasn't spectacular
2 stars - Not good, but was able to finish it
1 stars - Did not finish (DNF) and I don't usually rate a book I haven't finished (just to be fair to the author)

View all my reviews