I Hunt Killers

I don't know what in the world made me pick this one up at age 12 or 13 but it was NOT good for me! I guess it's kind of pointless reviewing this book now after years have passed but let's just say that this book is not okay at all. Unless you love graphic content and extremely morbid things. Then sure, you'll probably like this book...

I guess kudos to the author for making such a huge impression on me that I still remember nasty scenes from here because he described it so 'well'? I don't know if I was stupid or brave (probably stupid), I think I just wanted to read this book to show that I was up for it and could handle a scary book, and this book being scary isn't even my problem with it. My problem is how dirty is was, how utterly, show more inexcusably FILTHY it was. Sure, I bet some people in real life are indeed very messed up like Jasper's father was, but do we REALLY have to know exactly how messed up the most messed up people in the world can be? The only good thing this book taught me was to not to be naive and watch out for bad people, but I think it was at the expense of a lot of other things and not worth it at all in the end. You can figure out war sucks without someone pounding all the blood and guts of it into your head over and over again. And you can certainly figure out there are bad people in the world without disgusting descriptions of mutilated bodies. Yes, I know I was really young when I read this one (what the heck was I thinking then, anyway?!?!) but what I also know is that my opinion of it would definitely not be any better if I read it again now. In fact, it would be much worse. I probably would've rated it a 2 or even a 3 back then but me being older has only made me hate this book more. Like actually HATE it. Yeah, yeah, it was a good mystery and good at creeping readers out, but again, AT WHAT EXPENSE? Barry Lyga is sure good at making people remember his name, but not certainly not in a good way.

If you want a good mystery or a pounding heart or something with a serial killer in it, I'm not stopping you from reading a book with any of that. I'm just saying there are PLENTY of other books out there that can give you those things too without ruining your entire conscience.

Also, Jasper was a brat show less

What if the world's worst serial killer was your father?

That's the question asked by Barry Lyga's new book I Hunt Serial Killers - the question Jasper Dent has to deal with every day of his life. Billy Dent, his father, has been in jail for the past four years, but that doesn't stop the people of Lobo's Nod, the town where they lived (and Jasper still lives) from looking at Jasper "Jazz," strangely.

He might be charming and attractive and he was popular before his father's arrest but now people wonder how long it'll be before he becomes just like his infamous father.

And now bodies are stacking up in Lobo's Nod again. To keep his name clean - and maybe his conscious, too - Jazz is helping the police find the killer. Only, he may be even show more more like his father than anyone suspects.


I Hunt Killers has a main character in 17-year-old Jazz that will set you on edge. Certain events/recollections are definitely of the skin crawling variety, as well. Without either of those things, though, the novel would not have been nearly as good. The squicky - and frankly, rather gross and disturbing - bits needed to be there.

As much as I Hunt Killers is about finding a killer, it's also about Jazz trying to figure out who he is. Yes, he's the son of a serial killer who killed more than one hundred people and who raised him with knowledge of and talk about those kills . . . but what does that mean for him as he grows older? Is he, like everyone (or who he sees as everyone) seems to think, doomed to follow in his father's footsteps? Or can he turn away from the negativity and be a good person?

Jazz's inner struggle, the mystery, and the crime were all done incredibly well. One element wasn't lacking because of another's presence, they were all strong. The characters were also great. Through Jazz's grandmother we get to see a lot of how family dynamics and upbringing affected both Billy and Jazz - with it being shown and not told, something that makes the effect much stronger. The characters who are closest to Jazz are a lot of fun for their parts in the story. They're unique and original and I loved seeing the parts they played not only in his life but also in the unveiling of the story line as it progressed.

I Hunt Killers also seemed to handle the technical aspects of both the investigation of the murders, the handling of the evidence, etc very well (or if it was wrong it was written in a way that seemed very right).

Rating: 9/10 show less

I've had friends jokingly tell me that I rate EVERYTHING a 3. I find, so often, that books that are super popular and everyone is screaming about are just kinda okay for me. It makes me wonder if maybe I'm too picky or if I'm missing something, some connection, that everyone else is getting. But then I pick up a book like I Hunt Killers and it reminds me of why I reserve those 5 star ratings. Books like this remind me of why I love reading so much.

I absolutely lost myself in this story from the very beginning. I was immersed, riveted, completely out of commission for anything outside of finishing this book, which I did in just a day. Jasper Dent was one of the most fascinating characters I've read recently. Raised to be a serial killer show more by his serial killer father, Jasper now analyzes his every thought, his every action, trying to determine if he will follow in his father's footsteps, if he too is a sociopath. To be raised like that would undeniably cause irreparable damage to a child, and Jasper is no exception. Luckily, the detective that caught his father has kind of become a mentor to Jasper. When another serial killer seems to be operating in his small town, Jas is forced to confront those feelings and explore that darker side of himself.

While the story within I Hunt Killers was intriguing, it was the characters and the relationship between them that grabbed me and held me and makes me want to read more. From Jas' crazy grandmother, to his sick twisted father, to the gruff detective who feels sorry for Jas, each character has dimension and allure that pulls a reader further into this dark and often quite scary story. I can't wait to read the next book in this series. I would absolutely recommend this to everyone who enjoys dramatic thrillers and fans of shows like Criminal Minds. show less

Jasper “Jazz” Dent is obsessed with serials killers, and who could blame him considering his dad *is* one. His dad is finally locked up, leaving Jazz alone with his demented grandma, his friends, and his quest to prove to himself and the world that he‘s nothing like dear old dad. When another killer shows up in his hometown, Jazz finds himself wrapped up in the investigation. This fast moving YA story is a little Y for this A.

I had trouble suspending enough disbelief to buy a premise where teenage Jazz is eagerly welcomed into a serial killer investigation but always manages to be above suspicion. The book atones for some of its investigational unbelievability by doing a really great job of depicting Jazz‘s father‘s lasting show more impact on him with convincing flashbacks and glimpses into Jazz‘s struggle to determine if his father‘s rotten core lives in him, too. show less

this was EVERYTHING I had hoped it would be. Great main character, Jazz. he's torn between who he is and who he might be. He's been raised and trained by a serial killer - the best of the best. And he's afraid - terrified - that he is exactly like him. Even if he missed the "nature" part and just being his father's son doesn't make him a killer - then his father telling him bedtime stories of his murders and teaching him to all he knows just might be what kicks him over.

But Jazz wants desperately to be something good. And although his small town kids don't want him to forget who his father is - the small town is also not reminding him daily.
The small town sheriff isn't bumbling, which is nice for a change, and instead just doesn't want show more to take advice from a kid - because that kid should be out doing kid things and stop thinking about murders and killing.

Ugh, this was so well done, I could read it and read it. I loved Howie, Connie, even crazy gramma. A great YA thriller who-done-it. Did you guess right?? :) show less

Holy YA Batman. This book completely shattered all expectations I had before picking it up. I've always been a bit intrigued by serial killers, morbid as that may seem. It's something about the cold and calculating personas that they have one moment, while having the ability to blend into normal society the next. Jazz's dad was a perfect example of this. Meticulous and horrific, and yet wholly intriguing. Being in the head of a boy raised by a serial killer was intense. And yet, I loved it.

Let's talk about that boy. Jazz. I truly think it is his character that brings this story to life. Raised by a monster, desensitized to the pain of others, Jazz has a point of view that is quite interesting. His life has been filled with a battle show more between what he knows he should feel, and what he actually does feel. Always battling the darkness inside himself. Is he truly a copy of his father like everyone else believes? Or is there something within Jazz that keeps him from turning into that stigma? This question drives Jazz in I Hunt Killers. Motivates him to solve the murders, and keep the part of himself that still sees the light.

Lucky for Jazz, Barry Lyga gives him some allies in his quest for some type of normalcy. The other characters in this book may be minor ones, but they truly do just as much to bring the book to life as Jazz himself does. Howie was by far my favorite. I won't spoil anything for you, in case you haven't had the pleasure of devouring this book, but trust me he's amazing. I loved the way that he and Jazz are so completely different from one another. One strong, but afraid of his inner demons. The other weak on the outside, but with a strength all his own on the inside. It is these characters that keep Jazz sane, and move the story along.

I will warn you to make sure you have a strong stomach if you are going to take a shot at this amazing story. It is definitely a serial killer novel at its core, and there are some shocking pieces that might make you cringe. Heck, I don't think you'd be human if at least a bit of this story didn't affect you. Still, it's so compulsively readable. Anything you ever wanted to know about the mind of a serial murderer, about the motivations they feel, or even about the crime scenes they leave behind, it's here.

What can I say? I Hunt Killers is just stunning. Gorgeously morbid, and so unique. There is absolutely nothing that I did not love about this book! Barry Lyga is a genius and I simply cannot wait for more! The ending tore me in half with wanting. This is going to be a series that I will follow with a fan girl intensity. You can be sure of that. show less

If you're worried that Jazz becomes a YA version of Dexter, rest assured that, in this book at least (I'm assuming this is the start of a series), that's not the case. Dexter killed with no twinge of conscience, because he didn't have one, and his focus on criminals was more a reflection of his adoptive father's morals than his own. Jazz, on the other hand, worried all the time about what he might become. He was more than a little obsessed with serial killers, and he had thoughts about how easy it would be for him to kill someone, but he didn't actually kill anyone. Really, Jazz turned out remarkably well considering his life with his father and grandmother. I did worry, at first, that Jazz might become a killer, especially considering show more the thoughts he had about the first victim, but eventually I started to see all his worrying as a clear sign he wouldn't become like his father. I doubt his father ever worried or felt guilty about hurting other people.

When he wasn't worrying about his potential to become a killer, Jazz spent a lot of time trying to prove another serial killer had come to Lobo's Nod. Although I figured Jazz was probably right, had this been real life, rather than fiction, I would have been firmly on G. William's side – there really wasn't a whole lot of evidence, in the beginning, that the first victim had been killed by a serial killer, and Jazz's obsession made it believable that he'd see serial killers where there were none.

I rolled my eyes a little at Jazz's initial investigative efforts, which came across to me as a slightly more morbid version of the stereotypical “boy detective.” I was glad that Jazz at least didn't turn out to be better than the police at even the basic levels of investigation. At one point fairly early on, for instance, Jazz found what he thought was an amazing bit of evidence and presented it to G. William as though he was giving him something the police probably would never have been able to find without his help...only to learn that the police already knew everything, and then some, that Jazz's find could have told them. I thought that moment helped the book feel more realistic, although G. William's later decision to invite Jazz to one of the crime scenes detracted from that feeling a bit.

Jazz does a few less than endearing things, like regularly drugging his grandmother (who is not the nicest of women, but still) and knowingly manipulating others, even, at times, his friend and girlfriend. However, even though I didn't entirely like Jazz, I didn't dislike him either. I felt sympathy for him, for how he was raised and what he'd been made to see, and for shouldering some of the blame for his father's victims' deaths because he never made a move to stop his father. G. William told him to live like a normal teenage boy, but that would have involved somehow erasing all the horrible things that happened during the first 13 years of his life. He couldn't unlearn what Billy taught him, and he had little control over how others viewed him. Attempts by reporters to get his side of the story and occasional visits by family members of his father's victims made it impossible for him to move on.

Jazz did have some really nice moments. My favorites usually involved his friend Howie. Howie's hemophilia meant he had to be careful, because the slightest bump could give him a horrible bruises. A little cut could cause him to bleed out. Howie's mother was overprotective, which was probably why Jazz, who treated Howie like anyone else (albeit with some limitations), probably appealed to Howie so much. One of the sweetest moments in the book, in my opinion, was the bit where it was revealed that Jazz agreed to get tattoos Howie would have gotten for himself, if it hadn't been for his hemophilia. It was a permanent and painful demonstration of affection, and I loved it. I enjoyed Jazz's relationship with Howie much more than I did his relationship with Connie. I thought it was fuller and better developed, which I guess makes sense when you consider that Jazz had only been dating Connie for a few years but had known Howie since he was little.

I was thinking about the book's level of gruesomeness, and I'm pretty sure that, while Lyga included many disturbing and/or gory details, the really awful stuff was never written about and described as it was happening. What I mean is, I don't think there were any detailed descriptions of killings as they were being done. Even so, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone would can't stand disturbing details and the occasional bit of goriness.

The book covered a whole range of horrible stuff. A couple of the new killer's victims were killed by an injection of drain cleaner, at least one of the victims was raped (not on-page - there was only a discussion of evidence rape had occurred), and all of the victims had fingers cut off (in one case, while she was still alive). Several characters readers got to see while alive were later killed, so the victims weren't all just random unfamiliar people. Billy Dent was a very creative killer who murdered a lot of people in varied enough ways that his kills were originally attributed to more than one serial killer. The different ways he killed and what he did with the bodies came up several times in the book. Also, those who have problems reading about animal cruelty will probably find one short passage, in which the specifics of what Billy did to Jazz's beloved pet dog are described, difficult to read.

I was a bit iffy about the first half of this book and felt it got stronger in the second half, particularly after Jazz's investigative efforts failed, spectacularly, to avert another death. After Connie told Jazz off for trying to turn her away from him with talk about what he might do to her (in her words, “Billying” her), I pretty much flew through the book. The ending reads like Lyga is planning to write another book starring Jazz. I hope he does. I'd love to see if/how Jazz manages to deal with his father and his father's effect on him.

(Original review, with read-alikes, posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less