"Being partially to blame for your own therapists death is a tough thing to deal with, especially because you dont have a therapist anymore to help you through it. Sometimes irony just kicks you in the teeth like that." John Wayne Cleaver
Yes, John Wayne Cleaver is back, dark humor intact even if his grasp on Mr. Monster is not. In his first outing, I Am Not A Serial Killer, we learned that fifteen-year-old John had been diagnosed by his therapist as a sociopath, and self-diagnosed as a (potential) serial killer.
The dark side of Johns psyche, which he calls Mr. Monster, is always just below the surface, struggling to escape while John tries desperately to keep it under wraps. That struggle became decidedly more difficult after John confronted and killed a serial killer who was stalking his town in I Am Not A Serial Killer Mr. Monsters now had a taste of what he wants.
As if trying to keep your homicidal impulses under control isnt enough for a teenager to deal with, Mr. Monster finds John juggling a host of additional challenges: a mother who knows what John is but refuses to discuss it; an absent father; an older sister in an abusive relationship (boy does Mr. Monster want a piece of that guy); and an attempted first romance (made extremely awkward by the violent thoughts Mr. Monster has about the object of Johns attention). Oh, there are also the horribly tortured dead bodies that start turning up around town, and the FBI agent who seems a little too interested in Johns thoughts on the murders.
Mr. Monster is told from Johns point of view, as was I Am Not A Serial Killer, that first-person narrative being absolutely crucial for the reader to be privy to the war raging in John between his desire to be normal and Mr. Monsters desire to be set free. And what a war it is. While I Am Not A Serial Killer certainly had its moments, the violence is exponentially increased in Mr. Monster. The descriptions of the damage inflicted upon the victims of the towns new serial killer spare no detail, and the showdown depicted in the last quarter of the book between John and the killer and between John and Mr. Monster borders on the uncomfortable.
Rather than being gratuitous, however, author Dan Wells has developed John Wayne Cleaver with such nuance that the reader understands pulling any punches when describing the brutality John both faces and wants to commit would not be honest to the character. Wells is certainly not afraid to go places the reader may not necessarily want to, and has obviously done a tremendous amount of research into the psychology of serial killers. That John has done the same makes his level of self-awareness and struggle with Mr. Monster incredibly sympathetic despite the fact his seriously twisted fantasies will creep you the hell out. Its a nifty balancing act for Wells to have pulled off.
You dont have to have read I Am Not A Serial Killer to enjoy Mr. Monster, but youre going to want to read it so go ahead and pick them both up if you havent already. Just dont start either book unless youre prepared to finish it in one sitting and dont read them late at night.
Yes, John Wayne Cleaver is back, dark humor intact even if his grasp on Mr. Monster is not. In his first outing, I Am Not A Serial Killer, we learned that fifteen-year-old John had been diagnosed by his therapist as a sociopath, and self-diagnosed as a (potential) serial killer.
The dark side of Johns psyche, which he calls Mr. Monster, is always just below the surface, struggling to escape while John tries desperately to keep it under wraps. That struggle became decidedly more difficult after John confronted and killed a serial killer who was stalking his town in I Am Not A Serial Killer Mr. Monsters now had a taste of what he wants.
As if trying to keep your homicidal impulses under control isnt enough for a teenager to deal with, Mr. Monster finds John juggling a host of additional challenges: a mother who knows what John is but refuses to discuss it; an absent father; an older sister in an abusive relationship (boy does Mr. Monster want a piece of that guy); and an attempted first romance (made extremely awkward by the violent thoughts Mr. Monster has about the object of Johns attention). Oh, there are also the horribly tortured dead bodies that start turning up around town, and the FBI agent who seems a little too interested in Johns thoughts on the murders.
Mr. Monster is told from Johns point of view, as was I Am Not A Serial Killer, that first-person narrative being absolutely crucial for the reader to be privy to the war raging in John between his desire to be normal and Mr. Monsters desire to be set free. And what a war it is. While I Am Not A Serial Killer certainly had its moments, the violence is exponentially increased in Mr. Monster. The descriptions of the damage inflicted upon the victims of the towns new serial killer spare no detail, and the showdown depicted in the last quarter of the book between John and the killer and between John and Mr. Monster borders on the uncomfortable.
Rather than being gratuitous, however, author Dan Wells has developed John Wayne Cleaver with such nuance that the reader understands pulling any punches when describing the brutality John both faces and wants to commit would not be honest to the character. Wells is certainly not afraid to go places the reader may not necessarily want to, and has obviously done a tremendous amount of research into the psychology of serial killers. That John has done the same makes his level of self-awareness and struggle with Mr. Monster incredibly sympathetic despite the fact his seriously twisted fantasies will creep you the hell out. Its a nifty balancing act for Wells to have pulled off.
You dont have to have read I Am Not A Serial Killer to enjoy Mr. Monster, but youre going to want to read it so go ahead and pick them both up if you havent already. Just dont start either book unless youre prepared to finish it in one sitting and dont read them late at night.
I read book 1 in 2010 and don't really remember much about it although I did give it a fairly good review
If Wells can keep the characters likeable and the stories short and interesting then I can stick with this series
Not to give away anything I didn't quite understand the 'demon' part of it and now I really need to read book 1 and see what it develops along that line, and will be interesting to see where Wells goes with this line of the stories
You have to remember that John lives in a mortuary and that is his family business so at times the descriptions concerning that part were gory and I didn't think all that necessary but it is part of the story
If Wells can keep the characters likeable and the stories short and interesting then I can stick with this series
Not to give away anything I didn't quite understand the 'demon' part of it and now I really need to read book 1 and see what it develops along that line, and will be interesting to see where Wells goes with this line of the stories
You have to remember that John lives in a mortuary and that is his family business so at times the descriptions concerning that part were gory and I didn't think all that necessary but it is part of the story
SUSAN S. (susieqmillsacoustics) -
I love this series! John Cleaver is likeable and scary, as well. I admit I have to skim the parts when a body is in the mortuary (too much detail) but the story is compelling enough that I can overlook that. I felt this one brought out more of the personal side of John and his struggles. There were surprising twist and I couldn't put it down. I can't wait to see what develops in the next book!
Picking up where the previous book left off, John Wayne Cleaver, teenage sociopath and assistant at the family morgue, is trying to pick up the pieces in the aftermath of killing a serial killing demon. His inner sociopath, Mr. Monster, has a taste for blood now, and he wants more. Soon new dead bodies start showing up. Although John is almost certain it's a new demon, he isn't certain how much longer he can keep Mr. Monster under control.
This entry in the series accomplishes a lot of tasks. It must address the question of whether John will continue to deal with his sociopathic tendencies in the new, non-traditional way he discovered in the previous book or go back to traditional therapy. It also must set up the trajectory for the rest of the series. Wells accomplishes both of these tasks, plus he manages to make the new demon unique and intriguing, as well as include side-plots concerning John's family and romantic interest. Unfortunately, with so much to do, the book does struggle a bit with uneven pacing. Instead of steadily building to the climax as most good thrillers do, it starts and stops a bit. It's not a disappointing second book in a series, but it isn't amazing.
Check out my full review.
This entry in the series accomplishes a lot of tasks. It must address the question of whether John will continue to deal with his sociopathic tendencies in the new, non-traditional way he discovered in the previous book or go back to traditional therapy. It also must set up the trajectory for the rest of the series. Wells accomplishes both of these tasks, plus he manages to make the new demon unique and intriguing, as well as include side-plots concerning John's family and romantic interest. Unfortunately, with so much to do, the book does struggle a bit with uneven pacing. Instead of steadily building to the climax as most good thrillers do, it starts and stops a bit. It's not a disappointing second book in a series, but it isn't amazing.
Check out my full review.
