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Tuesday, December 12, 2017

The Fourth Monkey By J.D. Barker

Author: J.D. Barker
Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Date of publication:  June 2017

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.

The Fourth Monkey was another recent random pick from my library's audio bookshelf. Sometimes those turn out to be the most enjoyable. I had never heard of it but was intrigued.  The story involves a serial killer who has been terrorizing Chicago for five years.  He is known as the Four Monkey Killer because he send ears, eyes and the tongue to the family members before he kills his victim.  He follows the "See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil" rhyme.  Sam Porter has been hunting him down. So when a man is killed by a car and it looks like he is the serial killer, Porter finds himself in a race to find his latest kidnapped victim before it is too late.

I really enjoyed the mystery.  The author did a fantastic job of doling out clues at the right moment.  I did not call the twists and enjoyed solving the puzzle right along with the detectives. The story alternates between the investigation and the supposed diary of the killer.  The diary installations are truly disturbing...but are they true?  The ending leaves an opening for a sequel.  Sam Porter was a great character.  In fact, the entire team of detectives in the story were great.  They are characters I look forward to reading more about. I definitely will be picking up the next one to read more about Porter and his team.



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