I Hunt Killers (I Hunt Killers, #1)

by Barry Lyga

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?

• ISBN10: 0316283630
• ISBN13: 9780316283632
• Publish Date: 24 June 2014 (first published 1 January 2012)
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Little, Brown & Company
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 464
• Language: English

Reviews

[Melanie]

Review originally posted at BooksOfMyHeart.net.

I read a few reviews of this book and finally decided to give it a try. YA isn’t something I read a lot of these days. However, the idea of reading a book with the son of a serial killer and the main protagonist held a lot of appeal. I’m so glad I got to meet Jazz, Howie, Connie and G William. This is a story full of great characters and an interesting story.

So, Billy Dent is the most notorious serial killer in this century. He has killed across many states and with several aliases. He had the feds and local police chasing their tails, until he kills a little too close to home and the small town sheriff catches him. Billy is now in prison and Jazz is at home with his grandmother (Billy’s mom, who is got severe dementia). His mom has been “missing” for years and is presumed dead.

Now, there are killings in town and Jazz is a prime suspect. I mean, wouldn’t you look to the kid raised a notorious serial killer to be his protege? Jazz quickly starts pushing his way to talk to the small town sheriff, G William, to help try to catch this killer. He feels that he is the perfect person to catch this guy, because he knows how killers think. On top of that, this killer is copying Billy Dent, so Jazz is very familiar with how these kills should work.

Jazz is a great character. He wants so badly to not turn out like his father. However, he does think like his father, but he really wants to use his intelligence for good. He also has his friends to help keep him level. First there is his best friend, Howie. Howie is a bit of a dork and hemophiliac. Howie and Jazz’s friendship is truly a great thing. Then there is Connie. Connie is Jazz’s African American girl friend. He originally started dating her because he felt she was “safe”. His father never once, took an African American woman, so he wants to be as from his father as possible. He quickly comes to like her more for her personality than just that she was “different”. She is a perfect fit for him.

I Hunt Killers is truly great. There are twists and turns in the plot as we track who the killer is with Jazz and G William. I do feel that there is a need for a bit of suspension of disbelief in the fact that any cop would share all the gory details of a serial killer case with any civilian, much less a seventeen year old son of a serial killer. But, that is to be expected, I think. This is a YA story and let’s face it, cops don’t share nearly as much in real life as we see in books, movies and TV. So, I’m just going with it and loving the story in the process.

Narration
I had not listened to Charlie Thurston prior to this book. I will say I thought he did a really good job. I love his voice for Howie and it fits him perfectly. I also liked Connie’s voice. There is also Grandma. That one he really nails. I think he also adjusts his voice to fit the tension in the scene and the pace of the story. I would highly recommend this book on audio.

[Berls]

3.5 stars. How have I ended up reading two books in a matter of a month about a sociopath? Like the other one, I really enjoyed the main character Jaz. But holy hell, it's awkward. I liked him more than my other sociopath read because he's actively trying to be good - he reminds himself frequently that "people matter." how awkward is that though? A character that has to remind himself that people matter?! And his dad, convicted serial killer Billy... Holy shit this guy is creepy. Even if Jaz wasn't born a sociopath I feel like Billy would have turned him into one. I love that Jaz tried so hard to not be a bad guy... To prove to himself and everyone around that he's good, he wants to help the local police catch a new serial killer. The mystery was good and totally caught me by surprise, though if you look back, the hints were there. That's what makes for a great mystery IMO. I need a sociopath break, but I do think I'll continue the series eventually.

[Amanda]

2016 reread: Everything about my original review remains true. Now onto my reread of Game and finally, Blood of My Blood!

4.5

Oh, Jazz! You have wooed me with your sociopathic ways and your desire not to be the person your father groomed you to be. I Hunt Killers is the type of book that grips the line between murderer and non-murderer by its balls and doesn't let go. As someone who loves books and TV shows that explore that line, I was completely enthralled by this book. Jazz has been raised by his father–who just so happens to be a very famous serial killer and sociopath. The sociopath aspect is important (sociopaths and psychopaths can both be murderers, but the two types are very, very different) because how Jazz views the world–and the people in it–have been shaped by his father. At 17, Jazz is technically not able to be labeled as a sociopath–that diagnosis is generally only made at 18–but he displays a lot of behaviors and feelings (or lack thereof) that are consistent with sociopaths. He’s also aware of this. He struggles against what his father has trained him to be. I wanted to hug Jazz. But I probably wouldn’t, lest it cause him to imagine all the different ways it were possible to kill me.

Though I Hunt Killers is about Jazz, there is no way I could write a review without mentioning Jazz’s girlfriend Connie and his friend Howie. Howie! I have mad love for Howie: faithful, hemophiliac sidekick, Howie. Jazz often uses Howie to keep himself on track. You know, to stay on track while the two get into trouble and break the law. Repeatedly. But Howie grounds Jazz; Howie keeps Jazz focused on what matters, and this is something that Jazz struggles with throughout the book. I liked Connie, and I liked what she stood for, but I can’t say that I developed a connection with her as much as I did with Howie. Regardless, Howie and Connie are the type of secondary characters that truly shine and add an extra layer of awesome to the book.

I Hunt Killers provides a mystery that is at once easy and difficult to solve. There are some connections that are relatively easy to make, and there are other connections that don’t ever click into place until the very end. It made for a book that had me questioning every conclusion I jumped to (It’s this person, right? Or, no, that’s too easy. Or is it?). Jazz has an all too familiar look into the killer’s mind, and he’s determined to prove once and for all that he’s not his father’s son. Also, love the ending. Love who did it. Love the implications for the future and what that means for Jazz. And now I want MOAR.

[alisoninbookland]

Oh man. I didn’t realize how deeply unsettling this story was going to be. The author doesn’t hold back with the twistedness of the story particularly with how creepy Dear Old Dad is.

It was really interesting to see the other side of the story. I watch police dramas sometimes. With those, you get to see cops trying to catch the bad guys. Even though Jazz isn’t a serial killer, he thinks like one. We get to see how warped he is from the damage Dear Old Dad did. So we got to see how a serial killer would think about killing someone or how best to do it and leave no evidence.

Good mystery. I was kept on the edge of my seat. I never knew how twisted or dark things would get.

Jazz had some good struggles and character growth. You could see him fighting himself. He believes he’s good (and so do I) but there definitely are evil thoughts lurking in him that are trying to break free.

The bottom line? Unsettling but awesome.

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[elvinagb]

This is a great read. I almost bought the sequel last night before even finishing this.
The main character is very well written. Fifteen year old boys have a tough enough time and when your dad is the world's most notorious serial killer it's even tougher. Especially if he trained you to join him in his work.

[kimbacaffeinate]

I Hunt Killers was first recommended to me by Giselle @ Xpressoreads and I downloaded it to my Nook. I figured this would be the perfect fall read and it was! Lyga takes us inside the mind of Jasper Dent the son of a famous serial killer. The tale was unique, creepy and captivated me. Call me sick, but I loved all the details about how a serial killer thinks and what drives them. Dexter fans should find this one appealing.

The tale begins when we meet protagonist Jasper (Jazz) Dent. He is scoping out a police scene in the park. It’s the murder of a young woman and Jazz is convinced the town has another serial killer. He should know, after all his Dad is a famous serial killer. His Dad is in jail but Jazz remembers all the lessons he taught him. When Jazz looks at the crime scene he sees it from the killer's perspective. His entire childhood was spent learning his Dads trade, right down to how a killer gets caught. Jazz decides to investigate fearing the police will miss vital clues. The tale that unfolds kept me captivated and was filled with suspense, mystery, gore, friendship and self discovery.

Jazz is a complex character and at the young age of seventeen he has spent a large amount of his life living a nightmare. His Dad groomed him to be a serial killer and he struggles to separate himself from those lessons. Plagued with nightmares, he has an uncanny ability to get into the mind of a killer. I really connected with him, but also wondered in the back of my mind if his fears were justified. He is extremely intelligent, charismatic and at times manipulative, but you cannot help but adore him. His best friend Howie is loyal and reluctantly follows along with all of Jazz's adventures. He constantly reassures Jazz that his fears are unfounded. Jazz’s grandma suffers from dementia and was both hilarious and downright scary. It is very obvious that even before her illness the woman was not right in the head. Some of the things she did and said blew my mind! Members of the media, the police, and family members of victims added to the suspense and had me turning the pages. The killer who refers to himself as the “Impressionist” gave me the willies.

While I Hunt Killers is classified young-adult, it certainly offers plenty of gory images, murder and mayhem. I found myself completely enthralled by the tale Lyga spins. I am a huge fan of CSI and loved seeing the other side from a killer’s perspective. The “Impressionist” is given a voice and his obsession with Jazz is frightening. The details of his killings offer enough of a picture to raise the hair on your arms and make you squirm in your seat. I loved watching Jazz’s mind work as he took in details of crime scenes, examined bodies and pieced together the criminal’s mind. The shattered images from Jazz’s childhood and the accounts his Dad gave him regarding his hunts gave me chills. Despite the small town setting, I appreciated the respectful approach the author took with law enforcement. The police while one step behind Jazz, were intelligent. They were not the flounder idiots typically depicted in novels. While I pieced together the mystery, Lyga added some twists that I did not see coming. That uncomfortable nagging and self-doubt about Jazz that the author skillfully baited me with had me wondering if he was a killer and the suspense was delicious.

I highly recommend I Hunt Killers to fans of mystery and thrillers. The tale can at times be violent and gory so be warned. The suspense kept me turning the pages late into the night and I am on pins and needles waiting for Game book two in the Jasper Dent series, due out in April of 2013.
Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

[Rinn]

Also posted on my blog, Rinn Reads.

This book generated some really interesting ideas - if you are brought up in a violent environment, does it lead you to become violent yourself? Despite his inner battles, realising how easily he could kill people, and his sociopathic tendencies, Jasper was a really likeable character. He was cocky, but not too much so, determined, and although he didn't realise it, a genuinely kind person.
I felt all the characters were pretty three-dimensional. Howie was the obvious comic relief, but this really worked, and it was nice that Connie was such a strong character - so many of these types of books have weak females in. I guessed the killer quite early on but this somehow didn't ruin the ending. The ending did, however, seem rather open, perhaps leaving room for a sequel. It did feel like things weren't quite rounded up.
Personally I really enjoy crime novels, and this was fast-paced and easy to read, with intelligent characters.