The Fourth Monkey 🌟🌟🌟🌟 1/2 stars
by J. D. Barker
Published June 2017 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Reading this, I was surprised at myself and how much I enjoyed it as a thriller, which actually bordered on horror at times, in my opinion. I usually can't take extremely graphic descriptions of pain, torture, and lopped off body parts; so, although I flinched and cringed a few times, I still eagerly read on. Why was that, what made this more readable?
First, there is my curiosity about serial killers and what in their childhoods turns them into monsters. Check that off the list -- the killer himself has written his own autobiography of sorts in the form of a "Diary", and those thus - named chapters alternate with the cops' stories while trying to find the killer's latest victim. This portrayed a deranged set of parents knowingly raising their kid to become a very damaged individual, and it was disturbing. Also outrageous at times.
Second would be the cops involved, their close relationships, their humorous banter, and their commitment to find the abducted girl before it's too late. The lead police officer Sam Porter is a great character and one I look forward to revisiting in the next book of this series. He was only beginning to be drawn here so I'd love to see more of him.
And then there's the setting - Chicago! I always love any story set in good ole Chicago, even if this author does seem to think my collar county Northwest of the city is considered "Downstate." Thinking J.D. surely doesn't know Chicago very well, I looked up his biography; and he actually used to live in my town as a child. Small world. But still I disagree (as do many in Illinois) over what constitutes Downstate.
Optioned for both TV and film rights, I think this would make a fabulous movie from an author with tremendous talent. Watch out, Stephen King.
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