With the FOURTH MONKEY (and The Forsaken), J.D. Barker has officially made it to my must read, no matter what they write list of authors. I’m placing him up there with Karen Slaughter, Tess Gerritsen, and Lisa Gardner. Barker knows how to write a story that captures your attention and fill it with great characters.

There was so much I enjoyed about this book. The first thing that really stood out is Baker’s originality and putting his own twist on serial killers and the law enforcement officers who pursue them. 4MK starts out with the death of a serial killer and trying to find his last victim before it becomes too late to save her. The second thing I loved was reading the entries into the serial killer’s diary. It was decadently dark, gory, and like driving by a horrendous car week the you can’t help but stare at. Barker is the king when it comes to writing diaries; check out his FORSAKEN novel and you’ll understand.