Hardcover: 320 pages
Reading Level: Young Adult
Series:
Book 1 I Am Not a Serial Killer (Mar. 2010)
Book 2 Mr. Monster (Sept. 2010)
Book 3 I Don't Want to Kill You (Mar. 2011)
At the end of book 2, John Cleaver issued a deadly challenge. Now, he is waiting for a killer to come for him. He must find out who it is, discover the killer's weakness, and figure out how to use that weakness to stop the killer. Only one of them can survive. Once again, it is John, with the help of his new girlfriend, who puts the clues together.
Want to read my reviews of the first two books in the series?
Review
Dan Wells' third book in the John Cleaver series is amazingly suspenseful. From the beginning of the book, the reader knows the killer is coming for John. The author has you thinking it is the reporter, the priest, a friend, the girlfriend, the girlfriend's father and mother, John's mother...every character is suspect in your mind. You've heard the expression "the suspense is killing me!" Well, there are twists and turns that will keep you in a state of anxiety for John's survival! At one point, I had to put the book down to take a breather.
John's struggle with his dark side, the Mr. Monster within, is still with him in this story but he comes to a better understanding of himself by the end of the book. I do want to warn the faint of heart that John's thoughts of killing, his imaginings, as well as his activities in the family-run mortuary may be distasteful to you. And there is one story element that seems a little contrived, but it is such a minor piece, it may as well be ignored. And it certainly will not impact my rating.
This third book is even better than the first two, and if you've read my previous reviews of the John Cleaver books, you know I thought they were "page-turners." Just as I was electrified by the last line in the previous book, this book's ending leaves me with the excited feeling that John’s work is not done. And now, he has someone who wants to share it with him! I hope that means someday soon Dan Wells will be writing another book for this series.
Cover: 5/5 (A bold cover...with a clue ;)
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Ending: 5/5
Overall Rating: 5/5
LINDA
