Book Review: John Cleaver series, books 1-3
I can't believe I haven't gone over these books yet.
If you haven't read them yet, go get and read the John Cleaver books. Right now. I'll wait.
Okay. Now that we've got that out of the way, I want to go over the first three: I am Not a Serial Killer; Mr. Monster; and I Don't Want to Kill You.
The books follow the ... troubled teen John Wayne Cleaver, a kid with sociopathic tendencies. When a killer turns up in his little town, people are understandably upset, and start calling the person the "Clayton Killer." Well, John has a little thing for serial killers. He's fascinated by them. He's like a walking encyclopedia for the subject.
Well, when a person gets the chance to live with a subject they've always been fascinated by, what do they do? They latch onto the opportunity. And when your favorite subject is a serial killer? Well, you've got an interesting issue, don't you?
And did I mention he lives over a funeral parlor? Yeah. From the outside, this kid is creepy. To the max.
I don't want to spoil the series, but I will say that the book takes a paranormal twist. See, the Clayton Killer isn't exactly a person new in town or someone who's been there for a while. Well, it is a person who's been there a while, but not a ... person. The killer is a demon, and when John finds this out, his obsession with the murders intensifies, and people start wondering if his fixation might be more than what they might think.
The author, Dan Wells, is easily one of my favorite writers, and not just for the fact that he writes in a genre I really enjoy. His worlds are well-fleshed out, rabbit-holes get explored to satisfaction, and the prose is tight and right.
I'm grouping the entire first trilogy into one review, but I think they're all of the same quality.
Pros
Interesting concept
Great characters
Great writing
Amazing creep factor
Terrific dramatic scenes
Great internal and external conflict
Cons
...
...
...
Nope.
Overall, I can't imagine not giving these a perfect score. The first trilogy in the John Cleaver series gets 5/5.
Thanks for wreading! Now get to your assigned work.
Jeff
P.S. Sorry I was late coming out with this one. Family stuff.
If you haven't read them yet, go get and read the John Cleaver books. Right now. I'll wait.
Okay. Now that we've got that out of the way, I want to go over the first three: I am Not a Serial Killer; Mr. Monster; and I Don't Want to Kill You.
The books follow the ... troubled teen John Wayne Cleaver, a kid with sociopathic tendencies. When a killer turns up in his little town, people are understandably upset, and start calling the person the "Clayton Killer." Well, John has a little thing for serial killers. He's fascinated by them. He's like a walking encyclopedia for the subject.
Well, when a person gets the chance to live with a subject they've always been fascinated by, what do they do? They latch onto the opportunity. And when your favorite subject is a serial killer? Well, you've got an interesting issue, don't you?
And did I mention he lives over a funeral parlor? Yeah. From the outside, this kid is creepy. To the max.
I don't want to spoil the series, but I will say that the book takes a paranormal twist. See, the Clayton Killer isn't exactly a person new in town or someone who's been there for a while. Well, it is a person who's been there a while, but not a ... person. The killer is a demon, and when John finds this out, his obsession with the murders intensifies, and people start wondering if his fixation might be more than what they might think.
The author, Dan Wells, is easily one of my favorite writers, and not just for the fact that he writes in a genre I really enjoy. His worlds are well-fleshed out, rabbit-holes get explored to satisfaction, and the prose is tight and right.
I'm grouping the entire first trilogy into one review, but I think they're all of the same quality.
Pros
Interesting concept
Great characters
Great writing
Amazing creep factor
Terrific dramatic scenes
Great internal and external conflict
Cons
...
...
...
Nope.
Overall, I can't imagine not giving these a perfect score. The first trilogy in the John Cleaver series gets 5/5.
Thanks for wreading! Now get to your assigned work.
Jeff
P.S. Sorry I was late coming out with this one. Family stuff.
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