Cassie Hobbes and the rest of the Naturals are back in this exhilarating crime thriller, where Criminal Minds meets Heist Society-and this time a chilling copycat killer has the team in his crosshairs. Seventeen-year-old Cassie Hobbes has a gift for profiling people. Her talent has landed her a spot in an elite FBI program for teens with innate crime-solving abilities, and into some harrowing … abilities, and into some harrowing situations. After barely escaping a confrontation with an unbalanced killer obsessed with her mother’s murder, Cassie hopes she and the rest of the team can stick to solving cold cases from a distance.
But when victims of a brutal new serial killer start turning up, the Naturals are pulled into an active case that strikes too close to home: the killer is a perfect copycat of Dean’s incarcerated father-a man he’d do anything to forget. Forced deeper into a murderer’s psyche than ever before, will the Naturals be able to outsmart the enigmatic killer’s brutal mind games before this copycat twists them into his web for good?
With her trademark wit, brilliant plotting, and twists that no one will see coming, Jennifer Lynn Barnes will keep readers on the edge of their seats (and looking over their shoulders) as they race through the pages of this thrilling novel.
Praise for Killer Instinct
–Kirkus Reviews
“Barnes knows how to keep the reader hooked, and fans will be eagerly reaching for this title and clamoring for the next in the series.”
–Booklist
“This is a definite purchase for libraries….”
–School Library Journal
“Intricately plotted, this novel will keep teens guessing and leave readers eagerly waiting the next installment in The Naturals series.”
–VOYA
- YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, 2014
- YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers, 2014
* “[A] tightly paced suspense novel that will keep readers up until the wee hours to finish.”
“This savvy thriller grabs readers right away.”
“It’s a stay-up-late-to-finish kind of book, and it doesn’t disappoint.”
“In this high-adrenaline series opener…even a psychic won’t anticipate all the twists and turns.”
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I absolutely, hands down love this book. It was such a great read. The book continuously had me on the edge of my seat. I loved how the author put a twist on everything. She did a great job of describing the mind of the killer. If you liked the first book, you’ll love this one. It’s also a nice change from the usual teen dystopian/ teen vampire, werewolf, etc. genre.
Jennifer Lynn Barnes is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. Killer Instinct is the sequel to The Naturals where a group of teenagers with almost savant-like abilities are united as a team used to study and investigate cold cases for the FBI. In Killer Instinct, the team’s mission brings Dean’s serial killer father to the forefront as it becomes clear that another serial killer is using the same MO as Dean’s father. Also, the daughter of the FBI’s director comes to live in the team’s house with unknown motives that make the team, especially Cassie, uneasy. Twists and turns are Barnes’s bread and butter and this book is no different. I’m anxious to read the next book in the series, All In.
What I didn’t mention in my review of the first book was the You point of view in this book, it is amazing and creepy and it is so interesting and it’s honestly one of my favourite parts of the book. The plot for this book it was perfect it didn’t have 2nd book syndrome like most do, I was urged to turn the page all the time and in fact, I want the next book NOW. I want them all now. They are just so amazing and I love them, I don’t want to give too much detail about what happens in this book because you should read it.
I feel like in this book we had some very good character development from all of them in this especially Dean and Cassie I feel like they made the most progress in terms of their character. In this book we get more detail about Dean and the upbringing he had and the things he had to deal with in that childhood, and that it has affected his life now and how he acts. We see Dean interact with his father which sees him become more closed off than ever – that’s all I’ll say about that.
Cassie, we see her still struggling with her feelings for Dean and Michael and not wanting to hurt them both, but we also see her struggle with the events in the first book and the fact her aunt wanted her to become like her. Cassie does a lot of growing in this book and we can see the difference between 1st book Cassie and this book Cassie. Cassie and Dean’s relationship grows throughout this book and we see a different side of them through this and honestly, I totally ship them together!
Veronica Sterling was a new character in this book and unlike with Agent Lacey or whatever her name was in book 1, I didn’t get a bad vibe from her. In fact, I was pretty sure that Veronica wasn’t trying to hurt or upset them she just wanted what was best for them and even from the beginning this is obvious. Cassie did not trust her but I did, in the end, Cassie does, of course, begin to trust her. Veronica’s relationship with Dean is crucial in this story I’m not going to tell you what that is you should read that for yourself. But she was a very good character to add into this mix.
Lia, I was still ugh about her character I admired what she kept doing for Dean and what lengths she would go to and help him but what I didn’t like is that she blames Cassie for some things. She was so irrational against Cassie and it just bugged me, she is very unlikeable to me.
Sloane, I love her I could see why she felt left out through this, but when it comes to the crime scenes and looking at them she is very much needed and a big part of that process. I really like her character though I hope in future books she is a lot more present in them because it would be interesting.
Michael, I don’t like him with Cassie and that was what he just seemed to be pushing the issue on Cassie and that annoyed me. He does a pretty dick move in this book and it made me mad like it made me hate him slightly. I like the friendship between Cassie and Michael and I hope it will just stay like that because together they aren’t good. He is good at what he does do in the FBI but yeah just friends.
Daniel, he is also a new character. He is also a dickhead like I despise him I’m not going to say anything else about him just read it and find out.
Briggs, we find more out about him and his personal life, it looks closely at his failed marriage as well as how he really brought Dean into the programme. I liked him he’s good character and seems to always think about the case and which also works well with the kids.
I’m not going to say anything else about this because it’s just an amazing book and series so you should all check it out! Also if you know any books like these let me know because I would really like to read more stories like this.
I have read this whole series 4 times.