The I Hunt Killers is a wonderful, thrilling, grizzly, and disturbing series. The series is very far from my comfort zone, but I can't seem to get enough and neither can my students. Lyga has created a thriller/horror series that is hard to put down. Many thanks to Little, Brown and Netgalley for the advanced readers copies of these books.
Description: In an effort to prove murder didn't run in the family, Jazz teamed with the police in the small town of Lobo’s Nod to solve a deadly case. And now, when a determined New York City detective comes knocking on Jazz’s door asking for help, he can’t say no. The Hat-Dog Killer has the Big Apple–and its police force–running scared. So Jazz and his girlfriend, Connie, hop on a plane to the big city and get swept up in a killer’s murderous game.
Review: Game is an engrossing sequel to I Hunt Killers. Jazz is sought out by the police in order to investigate and help out with tracking The Hat-Dog serial killer due to Jazz's uncanny skill in following the mindset of killers thanks to being a son of a serial killer. The Hat-Dog Killer is more gruesome and disturbing as the Impressionist, a copy-cat killer mimicking the infamous sociopath, Billy Dent-Jazz's own father. The Hat-Dog Killer disembowels victims who are also cut with images of either a dog or a hat. To heighten the book's suspense, Billy has broken out of prison and may or may not be at the heart of this new investigation, testing his son's ability to piece together a new "game."
The narrative is split between Jazz and his friends trying to figure things out with chilling random chapters from the killer's point of view allow readers to know things that Jazz has yet to figure out. Although I liked knowing things that the main characters do not, I felt this narrative style slowed down the book's pace and it read very much like a middle book. There are multiple subplots going on in the book, which some where interesting and others seemed extraneous. The ending has multiple cliffhangers which leaves each main character in a dire situation.
Rating: 4 stars
Words of Caution: There is strong language as well as violence at times bloody and gory. Recommended for Grades 9 and up.
Description (edited to avoid spoilers): From New York City to the small town of Lobo's Nod, the chase is on, and this time, Jazz is the hunted, not the hunter--while Billy Dent lurks in the shadows. And beyond Billy? Something much, much worse. Prepare to meet...the Crow King.
Review: After waiting for a cruel year to finally get answers to the multiple cliffhangers that were left at the Game, Lyga retches up the violence, the darkness, and the complexity of his hit murder/thriller serial killer series. Blood of My Blood doesn't waste precious pages in catching us up on what happened in the first two books of this series. It picks up immediately from the multiple cliffhanger ending in Game. Jazz Dent is the son of escaped serial killer Billy Dent and he relentlessly continues to aid the police in his father's recapture. Unaware that his girlfriend Connie and his hemophiliac friend, Howie, have been brutally attacked, Jazz faces his demons alone-including repressed memories with sexual undertones, and the creepy voice of Billy educating his son on the acumen required to be a good serial killer (appearing in italics).
Jazz continues to be haunted by the idea that his father's violent and sociopathic tendencies are genetic. It is this thought that propels Jazz in the right direction to foil some copycat killers and elude authorities long enough to solve his own life's mysteries. There are many moments that you have to suspend your disbelief while going on the adrenaline ride with Jazz as he outsmarts adults and the police in his wake until he goes back home to Lobo's Nod for the chilling climax and surprise ending, which made me shudder and my jaw drop. While I had a hunch about the ending, I really hoped it didn't turn out the way it did. Disturbing, chilling, and incredibly smart, the Jazz Dent series is definitely worth checking out if you are a thriller fan but just be aware it is not for readers with a light stomach.
Rating: 4.5 stars
Words of Caution: There is strong language as well as violence at times bloody and gory. There is also allusions to sexual abuse in the book. Recommended for Grades 9 and up.
If you like these books try: Made for You by Melissa Marr, The Body Finder series by Kimberly Derting, Ripper by Stefan Petrucha, The Naturals series by Jennifer Barnes, Dexter series by Jeffry Lindsay, I Am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells
Review: Game is an engrossing sequel to I Hunt Killers. Jazz is sought out by the police in order to investigate and help out with tracking The Hat-Dog serial killer due to Jazz's uncanny skill in following the mindset of killers thanks to being a son of a serial killer. The Hat-Dog Killer is more gruesome and disturbing as the Impressionist, a copy-cat killer mimicking the infamous sociopath, Billy Dent-Jazz's own father. The Hat-Dog Killer disembowels victims who are also cut with images of either a dog or a hat. To heighten the book's suspense, Billy has broken out of prison and may or may not be at the heart of this new investigation, testing his son's ability to piece together a new "game."
The narrative is split between Jazz and his friends trying to figure things out with chilling random chapters from the killer's point of view allow readers to know things that Jazz has yet to figure out. Although I liked knowing things that the main characters do not, I felt this narrative style slowed down the book's pace and it read very much like a middle book. There are multiple subplots going on in the book, which some where interesting and others seemed extraneous. The ending has multiple cliffhangers which leaves each main character in a dire situation.
Rating: 4 stars
Words of Caution: There is strong language as well as violence at times bloody and gory. Recommended for Grades 9 and up.
Review: After waiting for a cruel year to finally get answers to the multiple cliffhangers that were left at the Game, Lyga retches up the violence, the darkness, and the complexity of his hit murder/thriller serial killer series. Blood of My Blood doesn't waste precious pages in catching us up on what happened in the first two books of this series. It picks up immediately from the multiple cliffhanger ending in Game. Jazz Dent is the son of escaped serial killer Billy Dent and he relentlessly continues to aid the police in his father's recapture. Unaware that his girlfriend Connie and his hemophiliac friend, Howie, have been brutally attacked, Jazz faces his demons alone-including repressed memories with sexual undertones, and the creepy voice of Billy educating his son on the acumen required to be a good serial killer (appearing in italics).
Jazz continues to be haunted by the idea that his father's violent and sociopathic tendencies are genetic. It is this thought that propels Jazz in the right direction to foil some copycat killers and elude authorities long enough to solve his own life's mysteries. There are many moments that you have to suspend your disbelief while going on the adrenaline ride with Jazz as he outsmarts adults and the police in his wake until he goes back home to Lobo's Nod for the chilling climax and surprise ending, which made me shudder and my jaw drop. While I had a hunch about the ending, I really hoped it didn't turn out the way it did. Disturbing, chilling, and incredibly smart, the Jazz Dent series is definitely worth checking out if you are a thriller fan but just be aware it is not for readers with a light stomach.
Rating: 4.5 stars
Words of Caution: There is strong language as well as violence at times bloody and gory. There is also allusions to sexual abuse in the book. Recommended for Grades 9 and up.
If you like these books try: Made for You by Melissa Marr, The Body Finder series by Kimberly Derting, Ripper by Stefan Petrucha, The Naturals series by Jennifer Barnes, Dexter series by Jeffry Lindsay, I Am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells
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Darn! It looks like I really need to get started on that first book. I have it on my wishlist but now I need to add these two as well.
Lol, I've been in a mini reading slump and was just thinking about getting my hands on a copy of book 2 since I loved I Hunt Killers so it's good to see that you loved both the next two books in the series. I'm now extremely curious about the ending of Blood of My Blood, Rummanah!