At first glance, Jasper Dent could be an ordinary 17-year-old boy – albeit a particularly good-looking and charming one – if it wasn’t for one little detail: his father is the world’s most notorious serial killer, and he’s trained Jazz to follow in his footsteps. But Jazz isn’t like his father – at least, that’s what he tells himself.
I HUNT KILLERS is the first book chronicling the actions of Jasper Dent, only son of notorious serial killer Billy Dent. He’s a unique sort of teenager, trained to be the perfect murderer, but Jazz struggles with the turmoil of what he wants to be and what his father has tried to make him become.
When I started I HUNT KILLERS, I wasn’t new to the author’s writing – I had read two of his other books, THE ASTONISHING ADVENTURES OF FANBOY AND GOTH GIRL and HERO TYPE, a few years ago. But I didn’t even know about the Jasper Dent series until Lorraine mentioned it in her first article at GIC, and I was intrigued: a YA novel about the son of a serial killer?
And this novel certainly doesn’t disappoint. Gruesome and gritty but following a fascinating character, I HUNT KILLERS has the right balance of horrific murder, mystery-solving, and internal conflict to keep a reader interested and engaged throughout the story.
In last Saturday’s meetup at Main Point Books, the attendees had generally positive things to say about the book. Monica said it read like a YA version of Dexter, while Amber said she felt it started out a little slow, but she liked it more after the pace started picking up.
February 2014 Title: FLYGIRL by Sherri L. Smith
Our title for next month, The Black Geek Issue, tells the story of Ida, a girl from New Orleans who hides her identity in order to follow her dreams. What are the consequences of hiding who you are?
What did you think of I HUNT KILLERS?
