I Hunt Killers

My headline here is a direct quote from Jazz, and I think it describes his character well. I wanted to like him and find his internal struggle interesting, but I couldn't. He was just annoying and dramatic. Also, and maybe I'm just an idiot, but some of the word choice was way over the top. Jazz was the narrator, and what teenager (even a half sociopathic one) knows words like "susurration"?? It's not like Jazz talks about studying or being book smart at all in the book. Some of the word choice just really took me out of the story.

This was one of the most psychologically chilling young adult books I have ever read. I’m usually a weenie when it comes to this type of book, but I couldn’t put this book down (except for the occasional night)! Barry Lyga really created an intense experience when he wrote I Hunt Killers.Jazz is the son of one of America’s most notorious serial killers, Billy Dent. Billy has been sentenced to 25 life sentences for the murders he’s committed, and Jazz was up close and personal for many of them. Let’s just say, this hasn’t given Jazz the healthiest of childhoods.The layers that Lyga created within this novel make it so complex and rich. Emotionally, physically, and psychologically, Jazz fights against the legacy of his father and the cold possibility that he is just like “Dear Old Dad”. Throughout the events of the book, Billy’s voice echoes in Jazz’s mind, urging him to act the way Billy wants: heartless and violent. This reality brings up two different arguments: Are we a product of our parents or are we our own person? There is also a layer of nature versus nurture and survival of the fittest. The mix of psychological danger on top of the physical danger makes everything hyper-intense.Speaking of physical danger, while Lyga doesn’t go into graphic detail, there are descriptions of murder scenes that don’t shy away from the grizzly parts. The way the descriptions are crafted really gets you into the mindset of the murderer, and highlights how screwed up Jazz’s life was growing up. This is definitely not a story with a villain who has redeeming qualities; Billy Dent is a sick man, and becomes the boogieman of the novel.But don’t think Jazz is without hope because he has some amazing friends in his life to keep him anchored. Howie is his best friend, and has been ever since Jazz saved him from some bullies when Jazz first moved to town. Howie stands by Jazz no matter what happens, and some bad stuff happens. Connie, Jazz’s girlfriend, believes he is more than Billy Dent’s son, and that he can make a new life for himself. Without these two, Jazz would probably have done something that he couldn’t walk away from.I Hunt Killers is like Dexter wrapped in The Hardy Boys, and is a novel that thrill seekers and mystery buffs will enjoy. Out in bookstores and libraries, this is one book that you shouldn’t miss. Believe me, if this weenie can handle it, so can you!

At seventeen, Jasper Dent has seen and heard more horrifying things than any person ever should. As a result, he's an engaging narrator with a small but trustworthy group of friends (okay, two- his best friend and his girlfriend) who takes care of his grandmother because it's the right thing to do. G. William Tanner is also an excellent character. He looks out for Jazz, trying to make sure someone listens to and understands Jazz. He's a father-figure without being a father-figure. He offers guidance and lectures aplenty, sure, but he also gives Jazz the benefit of the doubt, treating him as an equal due to his horrific past. Jazz knows things a teenager never should, and G. William Tanner respects what he knows. This galley copy also includes an interview with Barry Lyga, conducted by Libba Bray, that I hope makes it into the finished version of the novel. In one of the questions Lyga is presented with a question of the gore and violence in I Hunt Killers, and he is a little surprised about it. I agree with his assessment that it's actually Jazz's memories of the things his father said and taught him how to do that are far more chilling than any of the murder scenes depicted. Even though you know they're fake, they can haunt you after you've finished reading.

Actual review 4.5I stumbled across this book through a series of searches of diversity in books and a person I follow religiously online mentioned that the main protagonist, while white, had a black girlfriend and it seemed to have no real issue in the plot.(e.g it wasn't an interracial love story) I decided to take a chance on it based on that one reason and to be honest I had no idea what I was getting myself into. This book is not for the squirm-ish or has a weak stomach. I also don't recommend it to younger readers (below 13) because a book like this can make you see the world in a whole way.....In the mind of a lunatic. Now judging on that last comment, you're prolly thinking I hated the book, but it's the complete opposite. I was so deep into this author's madness that I devoured it in less than a weekend, finding myself both disturbed and excited to turn every page wanting to discover more and more about these unique set of characters.The story follows Jasper"Jazz" Dent, the son of a notorious serial killer(he's killed a whomping 124 women) who taught Jazz everything he knows about the art of murder. When his father was finally caught after a slip up, Jazz has been fighting his own demons and his father's murderous influence hoping he isn't just a ticking time bomb waiting for the right time to enter the "family business". When a round of murders nearly identical to his father's "works" begin to surface in their small little town, Jazz makes it his mission to find the killer based on what he knows about killers. It's a story that both sickens and excites you, plaguing you to more and more conflicted as you settle on each new page.When it came to Jasper I was sometimes disturbed by his thoughts and other times and other times charmed. He was battling demons that his father instilled in him, he wasn't sure if he was good or evil. A part of him thought maybe he was just like his dad, getting off on the idea of killing and "playing god" with human life; while the other part fought to be "normal". He was such a complex character that fought himself everyday that "people matter, "life matters". His father often taught him that people around him were just living in his world, almost unworthy. So he fought his father's unhealthy influence everyday and it was such a struggle. I didn't think I could handle being in the mind of a guy who thought "like a murderer", but boy was I wrong. His story had me on the edge of my seat every chapter. I was always wondering whether or not he would snap or whether he would find the good in himself. He often didn't think he had any good in him, because whatever was "good about him(e.g. being charming and extremely good looking as well as clever)he used to manipulate people and it was things like that that really scared him.The side characters I loved but the ones that really stood out were his girlfriend Connie, his best friend Howie and his insane father, the infamous Billy Dent.Connie was a really good girlfriend.She was a real hold you down type of female. She didn't let Jazz bully her into being scared of him and he really needed a girlfriend like that. I have to confess, I saw a little of myself in Connie. When I read her description, i jumped for the skies! It's hardly ever that a person in YA novels has a black girlfriend unless it's some race related book. There always has to be a "reason" why they can't be together or something. But not in this book. Okay so she was black and he was white; it was mentioned a few times but had nothing to do with the plot. An A++++++ in my book. Oh and I liked the reference "Thou shall not touch thy black girlfriend's hair". That's truth if i've ever seen it and can get you killed on the spot!His best friend Howie was also ride or die. Howie somehow made him feel normal and made Jazz seem human. You have to be brave to have a friend like Jazz, especially dealing with what Howie was dealing with!His father was the kind of villain that knows how to get inside your head. He had the same effect on me that Hannibal Lector had on me when I first watched Silence of the Lambs. He was so calm and collected and that is sometimes more scary than a person who visibly shows their rage. You can't know what crazy people like that think. I'll tell you one thing, I'm sure glad I'm his type cause this book has me looking out windows, checking closets and bolting shut doors. I'm even looking at the older white guy down the hall from me always knocking on our door asking for sugar in a different way. That's how this book has me feeling!Almost everything about this book was perfect! The cover art, the title, the editing, the writing......All superb! Sometimes I got lost in the POV. It wasn't 1st person but 3rd and sometimes I didn't know if the thoughts were Jazz's past memories or current thoughts, but It was overall easy to follow!I think the only reason I didn't give it a 5 was because I didn't have a clear image of what Jasper looked like other than that fact that girls were really attracted to him. I wish I would have had a clearer image to work with. Was he tall? Was he blonde? Were his lips full? I wasn't sure so I kind of pictured my own little Jazz. Other than that, I think this author scored a new fan!I'm buying the sequel as we speak!!!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 6 Just Like Cuttin’ Chicken stars!This is quite possibly one of my favourite YA series, although that does depend what day it is LOLJasper ‘Jazz’ Dent is quite famous, well i say quite, but when your dad is the most infamous serial killer ever, everyone knows who you are.Billy Dent is the serial killer everyone knows about, he has 123 murders under his belt, and he is currently serving 30 life sentences in jail for his crimes.Jazz knows all about his fathers killings, One because obviously he is his son, but also, because of the fact that Billy liked to take his son with him to witness the killings!Jazz basically is every cops wet dream, he has been able to witness crime scenes from the point of view of the killer himself.As you can imagine with his life the way it is, Jazz isn’t exactly popular, he has a best friend called Howie who was a brilliant character, he was funny and also was someone who Jazz felt that he had to look after because he is a Haemophiliac.He also has a girlfriend called Connie, she is a lovely girl and is also black, which doesn’t go down too well with his very outspoken and racist Grandma, who is also hilarious (not because she is racist!)Bodies start to pile up in the town of Lobo’s Nod where Jazz lives, and it seems that Billy Dent is up to his old tricks again, but he can’t be while he is locked up in jail, so it seems that a Copy-cat killer is on the loose.Jazz thinks that he will be the perfect person to help the police with the investigations, but the more involved he gets, the more he starts to think that he is more like his father than he thought!!🎧🎧 Narration for this was OUTSTANDING, expertly done by Charlie Thurston, his voice for Billy sent chills down my spine!

Well, that was... brutal. Plenty of murder and violence in this one, although it's mostly seen after the fact in the form of corpses, some more brutalised than others, rather than the actual encounters. I don't know if that makes any difference to whether or not people want to read it, but it's a positive for me -- I'm way more squeamish about violence happening than about the results. I think it's a pain thing.My main thought while reading this was that Jazz would get on well with my character Isabel -- they could sympathise over crappy parenting, brainwashing, and murder, though I think he came out of it with a slightly better developed sense of right and wrong, probably because he lives in the real world and not a city full of assassins. It's interesting how believable he is, with all his psychological issues and trauma; you can really feel that he's struggling to break out of what he sees as his father's "programming".Although the book could easily slip into melodrama, it mostly avoids doing so. There are a couple of scenes that might stray into that territory, but on the whole, there's a good balance, with some lighter scenes to provide comic relief. Jazz's haemophiliac Howie is an entertaining badass, providing both the sassy remarks I expect from a best friend, and actual backup too. I like that this physically weak character gets to be a hero. Connie is also great, and I liked that she loved Jazz but wasn't about to let him get away with self-destructive melodrama. She stood up for herself while also standing by him, and that appeals to me in a character.I didn't get a particularly strong sense of place from the town where the story takes place, but I don't think that was a particularly important factor. I like when a setting is particularly vibrant, but this didn't lose much from having it more as the background for a story than an active character.As for the writing, it was pretty good. Most of it fairly standard, but with some good lines, particularly the more humourous ones. Anyway, on the whole a pretty creepy, violent read. It didn't quite stop me sleeping, but it came close.A version of this review also appears on Goodreads. :)

This review will be spoiler free.I made the mistake of starting this book at 10.30 p.m. I was still reading it at 1.40 a.m. and I put it down very, very reluctantly. I’d finished it by lunchtime the next day. It’s that good.Right from the first page you feel you’re sitting on Jasper “Jazz” Dent’s shoulder. Sometimes that’s downright unsettling, but mostly it’s nail-biting “can we get to the next victim before they die?” stuff. I had to resist the urge to flick forward to find out what would happen because at times it was just too tense.As a main character, Jazz is great. His girlfriend, Connie, and best friend, Howie, are wonderful secondary characters. I particularly like Howie: a haemophiliac with a wicked sense of humour. I also developed a soft spot for the town sheriff, poor guy.The mystery is well done. Enough plausible suspects to keep you guessing right to the end. And even though I now know who did it, I’m still not convinced the other guys are innocent!This is categorized as YA, and Jasper’s age (he’s 17) does explain the one slight quibble I have with the book: his internal stressing about whether he’s destined to become like his Dad goes on a bit too much, particularly in the second half of the book. We get it, he’s traumatised. It’s completely understandable and I feel for him. But when we’ve already had a few chapters which are mostly just him dwelling, I think we could reduce the dwelling down to the occasional paragraph.But YA does not equal sanitised. This is a book about serial killers and it doesn’t shy away from telling you about the very nasty ways they killed/kill their victims. It’s mostly reported second-hand, and there’s no gratuitous violence, but if this whole topic is something you don’t want to go near then this isn’t the book for you.Overall: This is a story about serial killers and so, obviously, is rather nasty in places. If that doesn’t put you off then I would urge you to read this book. Just don’t start it late at night if you have to get up early in the morning.

Really interesting idea this, what would it be like if America's most notorious serial killer was your Dad? For Jasper it means an awful lot of soul searching, insights he wishes he didn't have and more than the average amount of teenage angst. Because the three main characters are teenagers the book reads like a YA novel but the content is most definitely adult, I'm not sure what audience it was originally written for but it's a great read and I look forward to the next.

Two days ago I read a few pages of "I Hunt Killers" is about the main protagonist Jasper "Jazz" Dent son of infamous serial killer Billy Dent known as Dear Old Dad which his father is now behind bars.Dislike the media attention which leads people of his citizens believe that he will follow his father's murderous and dark patch.What's matter worse is that there's another serial killer copycat his father's skills and get accusation of this.For proof he wasn't involved this, he volunteers to join his local police station and worked with a police officer named G. William who put his father behind the jail.Recommend this book if you're interested in character development, can handle gory detail, humours ( some dark humours contain and pop culture reference) and good vs evil.