I Hunt Killers (I Hunt Killers, #1)

by Barry Lyga

[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.