Monday, August 21, 2017

The Fourth Monkey by J.D. Barker


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5 Stars

The Fourth Monkey popped up on my radar months ago after a friend 5-Starred it. However, due to the fact that I’m well aware that my friends are much kinder and way less judgey than me, I didn’t bother requesting an ARC. Then more 5s started appearing, including one from a certain someone who is judgey like me . . . but who also has a well-known love for evil monkeys so I still wasn’t 100% sold. It was also too late to request a reader copy so I had to put myself on hold at the library. It seemed another friend was doling out alllllllll the Stars daily by the time my turn came up Saturday night . . . . 



Ouch. But sticks and stones because it turns out I wasn’t the one to poop the party! Who will the honor go to???? (Spoiler Alert: Probably Ron 2.0.)

Our story escalates pretty quickly when the local serial killer has an unfortunate run-in on his way to mail a package . . . . 



Detectives Porter and Nash have been working the “Four Monkey Killer” case for the past five years ever since the first white package was delivered. Those packages have arrived fairly regularly ever since . . . . 



Well, seven really, but the whole story here is finding the eighth before she croaks since the perp can’t really tell anyone where she’s being held.

This thing was just flat out awesome. I’m a hard sell when it comes to thrillers, because they ALWAYS crap the bed somehow. And while this one wasn’t exactly perfect when it came to the big reveal (if you want to talk in spoilers in the comments below, I’m more than happy to because maybe I just missed something), in the end it didn’t really matter.

The bad guy was amazingly bad . . . . 



The brutality of the murders was deliciously squicky. And while there was an obvious comparison to “What’s In The Box?!?!?!?!”, the fact that it was acknowledged made it all A-Okay . . . . 

“Open it up, Nash.”

“Maybe we should flip for it. I had to open the last one.”

“No, I insist. I saw Seven – if Gwyneth’s head is in there, the image will be stuck in my mind for months. This is all you. Be a man.”
 


^^^Great, right? Which brings me to the humorous undertone that was present throughout . . . . 

“Are you escaping?”

“What?”

“You’re wearing scrubs and you look a little rough to be on staff.”

“No, nothing like that. [SPOILER OMMITTED] stabbed me in the leg with a kitchen knife, then left me for dead in my kitchen. I couldn’t find my clothes, so I took these.”

“Smart-ass.” 


Porter and Nash were excellent leads, but the real magic came from the surrounding cast of characters. Especially Kloz, the computer programmer turned detective who wasn’t afraid to engage in some questionable activity in order to find what he was looking for.

Not to mention the clues that were presented were so minor, and yet all made such sense in the end . . . . 

“Some change, a dry cleaner receipt, a fedora, the pocket watch . . . . what does it all mean?”

“Puzzle it out.”
 


Oh, and it’s not what you might be thinking . . . . 



There was even an awesome soundtrack provided that had a kickass explanation . . . .



I’m not a girl who likes a kitchen sink thrown in to the mix at the end of a whodunit, but even an exception for that has to be made here because dat lil’ summin’ summin’ more?????



Okay, really my reaction was probably more like . . . . 



Recommend to ANYONE who likes a bit of the stabby stabby.

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