The title pretty much says it all with this book: I Hunt Killers. And Barry Lyga makes sure to remind us that his protagonist, Jasper Dent–self-absorbed high school student/son of famous serial killer William Dent–really, really wants to do that. Over. And over. And Over again. Yet despite this, Mr. Lyga hooks the reader immediately in the complex psychological debates that Jazz finds himself fighting through daily, the compromises that he makes to continue his daily existence and the routines he’s created to make the days less painful.
The story is pretty intriguing on the surface: Jazz is basically raising himself following the arrest and imprisonment of his father, killer of 123(4?) people over his killing lifetime. Big daddy Dent is smart, calculating, cold as ice and just as heartless. But he does have a soft spot for his son, whom he raised to learn the family trade: killing. So, after his father’s arrest by the local sheriff, Jazz is (understandably) a social pariah, hounded by the media, lost and alone (his mother “disappeared” years before) and is left with little by way of a support system, other than his best friend, Howie, and his girlfriend, Connie.
In his spare time, he apparently sneaks into the sheriff’s office and the morgue and pretty much anywhere else he fancies, using the skills his father taught him for breaking and entering. With a new killer presumably on the loose in the town, Jazz is convinced the murderer’s a serial killer and reaches a near-panicked feverish pitch in his need to assist in catching the murderer.
Now, I can think of quite a few teenage boys who would love nothing more than to take some of their spare time and investigate crimes/murders, but Jazz’s desire to do so reaches an almost feverish pitch. As noted, he’s got more than a few issues that he’s working out, not the least of which being just how much of his genetic/mental/psychological/emotional make up comes thanks to dad.
As a character, Jazz is an interesting one. He’s more intense than Thomas in James Dashner’s The Maze Runner, but in many ways just as smart and willing to put himself out on a limb, eyes on the prize, without thinking twice. However, he’s on constant psychological ice, trying to decide how best to present himself and then questioning what it means that he’s stopping to ask himself that. In some ways, he kind of reminded me of Harry Potter in the later books, when he becomes darker, more inwardly turned and moodier, yet still avidly concerned about his friends. He’s definitely dynamic, which keeps the story moving!
Here’s What I Liked About the Book:
1. Jasper’s a pretty smart dude, and doesn’t need to rely on fart jokes or bodily part references to make himself heard. He’s attentive and loyal to those who are loyal to him, which is a trait that comes across repeatedly as missing in representations of teens boys in YA Lit. Notably, he’s also highly manipulative–and knows it. While I can’t say I particularly enjoy this as a trait in, say, a new friend or co-worker, I can say that I think it’s an interesting plot twist in and of itself.
2. We get *a lot* on Jazz’s inner workings and turmoil over the course of the narrative. I actually think this is a good thing and, again, something that we tend not to see too much of in YA Lit males.
3. Mr. Lyga did his research for this one, clearly. There’s quite a bit of very good and very detailed information out there about serial killers, sociopaths, psychopaths, etc. to dig through, but you have to be willing to do just that: dig through it. He did, and it pays off in spades here.
4. When we talk about the reinvention of the YA Thriller, this, my friends, is what we need to see more of. It’s not the oh-no-we’re-trapped-in-an-abandoned-carnival (a la Laurie Stolarz’s Welcome to the Dark House). Nor is it the oh-woops-I-can’t-remember-what-happened-when-I-was-attached-and-now-don’t-get-my-boyfriend (a la Jennifer Armentrout’s Don’t Look Back). It’s taking the inner workings of an adult thriller and turning them upside down and letting the YA Lit reader enjoy the mystery and emotion that makes classics like Silence of the Lambs classics.
5. Even aside from Jazz, the characters all seemed dynamic and interesting. None of them were truly one-note, and all of them added to the tension and movement of the plot line to both build the drama as well as minimize the craziness of Jazz’s lifestyle.
What I Didn’t Love About It:
1. Ok. NO WAY will the police involve a teen–especially a teen with a history of a sociopathic, serial killer dad that he’s still recovering from–assist in an investigation. Period. Liability being the very least of the relevant related issues with that.
2. NO WAY would Jazz be allowed so many “chances” to stay out of the way, either. Breaking and entering into the morgue? Stealing confidential files? Contaminating crime scenes and evidence? NO WAY.
3. Equally unbelievable is the idea that Jazz would have just stayed where he was after dad’s arrest. Especially with the media zoo he references and the looks/whispers/rumors/etc that he repeatedly notes are floating around about him. What kind of life is that?
4. Nor do I fully buy the idea that he’s been living with senile/mildly dangerous grandma, being visited apparently with some regularity by a social worker, and she doesn’t pick up on just how senile grandma is. Granted, Jazz is a manipulator and we see how he strong arms the social worker into hearing out his case and sympathizing with him, but still. Not buying it.
5. While Jazz does make for an interesting and sympathetic protagonist, holy crap can he be self absorbed! At multiple points in the story I found myself rolling my eyes over some of the crap he was belaboring–and actually found myself cheering Connie for giving him the verbal smack down (though I have my doubts about her willingness to date him, as well).
6. There are a number of strings left untied, build-ups left open, questions left unanswered. Presumably this is because the author builds the tension in the last third of the book with an eye towards book two in the series, but it feels a little sloppy nonetheless.
Overall:
The story sucks you in at the beginning and largely delivers on what it promises. This is the first book of a series, and it definitely read like it was. There are a number of strange plot holes/missing answers to questions. What you do get by the end, though, is an interestingly twisted tale.
Anyone else out there a fan of thrillers? Interested in this series?
The Alpha and the Omega: The Endless Ramblings of a YA Lit Lover 