I Hunt Killers

Publishers Weekly

Lyga continues to shift genres, delivering a superb mystery/thriller that explores what it’s like to have a monster for a father. Seventeen-year-old Jazz’s father, Billy Dent, was a prolific and brilliant serial killer who did his best to educate his son in the ways of murder. With Billy in prison for life, Jazz longs to overcome the stigma of his family history, but when a new serial killer strikes his small town, he is drawn into the investigation. Along with his hemophiliac best friend, Howie, and his girlfriend, Connie, Jazz applies the gruesome knowledge his father passed along in an attempt to discover the killer and overcome his fear that he might become a murderer himself. Lyga (Boy Toy) delivers a taut, gory tale that can easily stand on its own as an adult thriller, with a large group of suspects and plenty of red herrings. But it’s Jazz’s internal conflict about his exposure to his father’s evil that adds extra dimension and makes the book shine. Additional books are planned, and TV rights have sold to Warner Bros. Ages 15–up. Agent: Kathleen Anderson, Anderson Literary Management. (Apr.)

VOYA - Blake Norby

In order to catch a killer, one must think like a killer, and nobody knows how to do that better than Jazz Dent. His father is one of the most notorious serial killers in the world and taught Jazz everything he knew about the art of killing. Now his dad is in jail, and all Jazz wants to do is suppress the urges his dad passed on to him and be a normal teenager, but when a new serial killer shows up in Lobo's Nod, Jazz is obsessed with catching him. In order to face the killer, Jazz must first confront his own demons and decide which side he is really on. Lyga brilliantly combines the feel of a true crime story with mystery, adventure, and psychoanalysis in this intense story of a different kind of family bond. It is a classic "whodunit" with the added intrigue of describing murders in great detail, while not becoming overly gruesome, as well as the police work involved in solving a crime, so it feels like a true crime novel instead of fiction. The characters are especially believable, and the reader will be drawn in by their motivations and actions. Jazz's inner struggle to understand his compulsions to both save and hurt people will captivate readers into wanting to know which path he will ultimately choose. This story will appeal to a wide variety of older teen readers, especially guys, and will make an excellent addition to any library serving mature teens. Reviewer: Blake Norby

Children's Literature

Jasper (Jazz) Dent is a typical high school student. His goofy best friend Howie is a fragile, Type A Hemophiliac, and his girlfriend, Connie, has talked him into being in the school's production of The Crucible. Oh yeah, and Jazz's dad is Billy "The Butcher" Dent, a notorious serial killer. Jazz's father is behind bars but just recently in Jazz's home town of Lobo's Nod, a new serial killer who calls himself "The Impressionist" has begun to mimic Billy's nightmarish acts. Jazz had been raised to follow in his father's illustrious footsteps but refuses to believe that he could be that kind of cold hearted monster. Jazz is not sure where his mother is but is afraid that he may have done something unforgivable, so it was just Jazz and Billy for too many years. Jazz decides that his unique perspective will help G. William, the local Sheriff, profile and find this new killer. He is joined by Howie and Connie as they follow clues and dead bodies throughout a plot riddled with imaginative twists and turns. Charlie Thurston narrates using an easy, boy-next-door style for Jazz, and a chilling deep resonating redneck accent for Billy, who's voice is in and out of Jazz's head throughout the story. The film noir style of writing only dips in and out of the actual grotesque, allowing the listener to add their own frightening images, but this is definitely for an older teen age group. The story moves along quickly and is a frightening portrayal of what it must be like to have grown up in the horror house of Jazz's youth and opens the age old question of "Will we become just like our parents?" Reviewer: Toni Jourdan

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up—Jasper's father, now in prison, is the world's most notorious serial killer, and he raised his son to follow in his footsteps. Now Jazz (who never turned his father in) can't be sure that he isn't a sociopath, too. He tries to find redemption by convincing the local sheriff that a recent murder is the work of a new serial killer—one who seems to be an admirer of his father and patterns his methods after him. Jazz proves himself right and is able to use his knowledge of his father's way of thinking to track down the murderer. The teen has disturbing thoughts about women, thinking that they are "simultaneously special and useless" and has to consistently remind himself that "People matter. People are real." He can be a difficult protagonist to relate to, but many teens, particularly boys, will be drawn to this title for the suspense, the violence, the brutality, and the gore. Fans of Dexter or Dan Wells's I Am Not a Serial Killer (Tor, 2010) will likely find themselves hooked on this new series.—Hayden Bass, Seattle Public Library, WA

Kirkus Reviews

When your father is the most notorious serial killer of the 21st century, having a normal life is a struggle. So is not following in his footsteps. After witnessing many of the crime scenes of his father's 123 official kills in ways the police wish they could, 17-year-old Jasper "Jazz" Dent is glad his father's in prison. Life with crazy Gramma, who raised "Dear Old Dad," is hard enough, and now it's in jeopardy thanks to Jazz's social worker. When police discover a body in a field near town, Jazz becomes certain it's a new serial killer. In spite of the objections of Lobo's Nod Sheriff G. William Tanner, Jazz and his best friend, hemophiliac Howie, run their own investigation and uncover a pattern as bodies quickly pile up. Can Jazz help the cops find this new monster without becoming a suspect himself? YA rebel-author Lyga switches from goths and superheroes to serial killers and sociopaths with this grisly teen thriller. Jazz's heightened self-consciousness is both believable and entirely in tune with regular teens. Readers of Dan Wells' John Wayne Cleaver novels (I Am Not a Serial Killer, 2010, etc.) will find echoes of them here, though the writing is not as tight and the creep factor is lower. Also, the certain-sequel open ending is a bit of a letdown. Still there is much to satisfy the blood-and-gore lust of older teen CSI and serial-killer fans. (Thriller. 15 & up)