The Fourth Monkey – JD Barker

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.

The Fourth Monkey is enormous fun, if you can call a tale of a serial killer ‘fun’. Even if I did spot the twist some twenty pages in and worked out how it would pan out way before the end (one of the perils of reading so many books, I suspect!), and I *still* really enjoyed it! I loved the detectives’ banter as they raced to solve the clues left by 4MK – they made a fantastic team and I’d love to see them in more investigations. I also really liked the way the main story is interspersed with the diary extracts of 4MK as a young boy – they really gave the story added depth and intrigue – you’re torn between wanting to find out more about the diary, but also more about the investigation in the present day.

It’s creepy and twisty and has definite shades of Jeffrey Deaver. Definitely falls into the ‘page-turner’ category, The Fourth Monkey is highly recommended.

You can find JD Barker on twitter @jdbarker. The Fourth Monkey is published by HQ and is out now in hardback and ebook.

Thanks to Liz @Cvr_2_Cvr from Cover to Cover for hosting the competition which resulted in me getting a copy of the book!