#Bookreview The Fourth Monkey #4MK by @jdbarker @HQstories

‘SE7EN meets THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS in the most shocking thriller of 2017’ (HQ Stories)

The Fourth Monkey is the latest novel from international best-selling author JD Barker.

Just published by HQ Stories (Harper Collins Imprint), The Fourth Monkey is described as ‘Brilliant. Complicated. Psychopath. That’s the Four Monkey Killer or 4MK. A murderer with a twisted vision and absolutely no mercy.”

I was absolutely thrilled to receive a copy from the publisher and am delighted to bring you all my voluntary and unbiased review today..

Book Info:

For over five years, the Four Monkey Killer has terrorized the residents of Chicago. When his body is found, the police quickly realize he was on his way to deliver one final message, one which proves he has taken another victim who may still be alive.

As the lead investigator on the 4MK task force, Detective Sam Porter knows even in death, the killer is far from finished. When he discovers a personal diary in the jacket pocket of the body, Porter finds himself caught up in the mind of a psychopath, unraveling a twisted history in hopes of finding one last girl, all while struggling with personal demons of his own.

With only a handful of clues, the elusive killer’s identity remains a mystery. Time is running out and the Four Monkey Killer taunts from beyond the grave in this masterfully written fast-paced thriller. 

‘I am a thief, a murderer, a kidnapper. I’ve killed for fun, I’ve killed out of necessity. I have killed for hate. I have killed simply to satisfy the need that tends to grow in me with the passage of time……..You most likely know me as The Four Monkey Killer….We are going to have such fun, you and I…’

These are the words in the opening pages found in the diary of a deadman. Now I have to be honest, even typing these words here has put the chill in my spine again!!

JD Barker, you have one twisted mind…..

I have never read SE7EN or The Silence of the Lambs, but I have seen both movies. There were scenes in both that literally turned my stomach and The Fourth Monkey is the same.

Detective Sam Porter has been following the work of a serial killer known as The Four Monkey Killer (abbreviated in the media as #4MK) for the last number of years. His trademark is three small boxes, each wrapped in white paper and tied up with black string, posted over a few days to a member of a victim’s family. What’s contained in these boxes, is firstly an ear ‘Hear No Evil, followed by an eye ‘See No Evil’ and finally a tongue ‘Speak No Evil’. Over five years, there have been seven victims which equates to twenty-one boxes. The killer has constantly eluded Sam Porter and his team…until now.

A man seemingly jumps in front of a city bus. On his body is found a diary and a small white box, wrapped in black string, with a postage address on it. Inside the box is an ear. For Sam and his team, this means that there is still a possibility that the victim is alive….but where?

As Sam reads through the pages of the diary he discovers the story of a psychopath. As to how much is truth and how much is pure fabrication is hard for Sam to decipher. What it does give him though is some clues into the mindset of this very sick and twisted individual whose identity has remained a secret for all these years.

Sam has his own very personal demons to deal with in parallel with this case and we get to see inside his mind and the hurt he himself is carrying. But Sam refuses to let his personal situation get in the way as he strives to discover more about who this madman is.

With the clock ticking and very obscure leads, Sam and his team quickly assemble and start the hunt for a victim who they believe is still alive. As the pages turn and the story unravels the reader is brought along at a fast pace with no visual spared in the graphic descriptions portrayed by JD Barker.

There is a pervasive feeling of being watched when reading this book. The writing is chilling, eerie and very macabre. There are scenes in this novel that literally will turn your stomach BUT it is exquisitely fascinating at the same time!! You know that bit when you’re peeking out through your fingers with absolute horror yet you cannot stop looking??

I will be recommending #4MK to anyone who will listen to me. It is certainly not a book for the faint-hearted, but if you like your books to be a complete experience where all your emotions will be impacted in some way..do pick up a copy.

The Fourth Monkey is a seductive and sensational novel that is fantastically twisted and gruesome. It is gripping. It is fast-paced. It is bloody brilliant!!

I can’t wait for the next one!!!

Purchase Link ~ The Fourth Monkey

J.D. Barker (Jonathan Dylan Barker) is an international bestselling American author who’s work has been broadly described as suspense thrillers, often incorporating elements of horror, crime, mystery, science fiction, and the supernatural.

The international best-selling author of Forsaken, Barker’s indie success drew the attention of traditional agents and publishers.

The Fourth Monkey, is published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in the US and HarperCollins in the UK. The book has also sold for both film and television.

Barker splits his time between Englewood, FL, and Pittsburgh, PA, with his wife, Dayna.

Website ~ http://jdbarker.com/

Twitter ~ @jdbarker