I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga  (  Bookshop.org  |  Amazon.com )

Little, Brown, Books for Young Readers, 2013

ISBN-13: 9780316125833

Available:  Hardvover, paperback, mass market paperback, Kindle edition, audio CD

Jasper is the 17 year old son of notorious serial killer Billy Dent. The trauma of being raised by Billy teaching him the skills, knowledge, and thought processes necessary to become a successful serial killer has left him with significant holes in his memory, causing him anxiety over what he might have done in the past and may do in the future. His longterm best friend Howie and girfriend Connie are his greatest supporters, but Jasper constantly second-guesses himself over whether their relationships with him are really solid or are just the results of manipulation.

In addition to the anxiety Jasper feels about himself, he also is drawn to use his knowledge when a murder occurs in his town that appears to be a copycat of his dad’s first discovered kill.  Despite being discouraged by the police from interfering with the investigation, Jasper involves himself. While they initially object, when it becomes clear that the killer is a copycat, he becomes a resource for the investigation. Unfortunately this makes some of the people around him targets, including friends and teachers.  Jasper struggles to deal with his impulses and relationships and the effect trauma has had on him and the people around him. How unreliable is he, really? Is he, deep down, a serial killer? Will he become a killer by the end of the book?

For the most part, I was able to get past the completely unrealistic setup of the book (as compromised as social services may be, I have difficulty believing Jasper would be left with his grandmother, who obviously has dementia, or that Howie’s overprotective parents would allow him anywhere near Jasper, for instance) because this was a magnetic, compulsive read that left my hands shaking and heart racing, and a real tribute to friendship and the trust and protectiveness friends can feel for each other (something not often seen in depictions of boys’ friendships).  This is not an easy read; there is no way to climb inside the mind of a serial killer (or even a fictional character describing what climbing into the mind of a fictional serial killer is like) or a severely traumatized teen without being at least a little shaken up. But it’s a compelling, disturbing, and original tale that will appeal particularly to boys. I Hunt Killers is the first in a trilogy, so teens who get hooked don’t have to wait for another hit.  Highly recommended.

Contains: Mutilation, torture, body horror, murder, gore, animal cruelty, discussions of rape.