Release Date: April 3rd, 2012
Genre: Thriller, Mystery
Publisher: Little, Brown
Pages: 359
Rating:
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Summary:

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

Blurb: Horrifying, disturbing, and absolutely un-put-downable! After reading this I think I may be a serial killer!

Review: Holy. Cow. It's been a while since I read a thriller that I loved this much. But BOY did I love this book!

Well, I guess that I should admit that it was a love-hate kind of thing. The story and characters were fabulous, but it is a very horrifying book. You get to "watch" more than one person die. And they die in terrible, terrible ways. So... it's hard for me to say that I "loved" it without adding some kind of disclaimer. It is horrific. But also wonderful.

I think my favorite part of the whole book is listening to the way Jazz thinks, and what he thinks about how he thinks (confused?). Sometimes the questions he would ask himself, and the things he would wonder would have me thinking that I might have serial-killer tendencies! Every time this kid doesn't like somebody, or looks at a knife, he has to wonder "is this a normal thought, or am I a sociopath?" Gah! It was crazy!

And I also loved his relationships with those around him. In general, people in his town just kind of treat him like a pariah. He's widely ignored except by his best friend, girlfriend, and police chief (who, THANK YOU, is a NICE GUY!). But there was one line that I absolutely loved near the beginning. It's not too spoilery, so I hope you don't mind me sharing it:

Jazz was afraid of two things in the world, and two things only. One of them was that people thought that his upbringing meant that he was cursed by nature, nurture, and predestination to be a serial killer like his father.

The second thing... was that they were right.

That line kind of sums up the whole book. It messes with your brain, people!

In terms of content: there's quite a bit of violence (hello, it's about serial killers), some language (moderate), and some sexual thoughts (Jazz is "afraid" of sex and a virgin, but he's still a teenage boy and has some... thoughts).

I'm going to be thinking about this book for a looooong time. Especially in my nightmares. Squeal!

Oh, and warning: it's a series! So the ending leaves some things resolved, but a whole lot more UNresolved. ARGH!

Other Reviews:

• Wicked Awesome Books (Loved it!)
• The Hungry Readers (It was okay)
• Gunneos (Didn't like it)

*I am an amazon affiliate. If you purchase this book using my link, I will get a tiny fraction of the purchase, which goes toward contests.