A 4MK Thriller
Detective Porter and the team have been pulled from the hunt for Anson Bishop, the Four Monkey Killer, by the feds. When the body of a young girl is found beneath the frozen waters of Jackson Park Lagoon, she is quickly identified as Ella Reynolds, missing three weeks. But how did she get there? The lagoon froze months earlier. More baffling? She’s found wearing the clothes of … clothes of another girl, missing less than two days. While the detectives of Chicago Metro try to make sense of the quickly developing case, Porter secretly continues his pursuit of 4MK, knowing the best way to find Bishop is to track down his mother. When the captain finds out about Porter’s activities, he’s suspended, leaving his partners Clair and Nash to continue the search for the new killer alone.
Obsessed with catching Bishop, Porter follows a single grainy photograph from Chicago to the streets of New Orleans and stumbles into a world darker than he could have possibly imagined, where he quickly realizes that the only place more frightening than the mind of a serial killer is the mind of the mother from which he came.
After reading The Four Monkeys, I wasn’t sure where Barker was going to take me. I definitely did not foresee him outshining the book with it’s follow-up, that is for sure. But he sure did. This book had me hooked. I was turning the pages with so much anticipation and excitement. I couldn’t devour it fast enough.
Barker is very talented in telling a riveting and twisted story like very few can. The bombs he throws on you come from all angles. You won’t even see many of them coming… maybe none of them. I was left reeling, eyes wide open numerous times in this book. I was left in awe of his talent. (A maybe a lot needy for the next book… There most definitely has to be another book.)
I will warn you, you will be left giddy, yet your jaw will be on the ground by the end of this book. Barker holds nothing back giving you more of this twisted story of Porter and Bishop. The puzzle pieces that connect only seem to leave more holes the further into the book you go. And then that ending. I promise you will be left cursing and applauding Barker at the same time.
Hands down… this is my favorite book of the year. Actually, my favorite series of the year. This is one series (and book) that will not leave my mind. It’s so sick, twisted, genius, and thrilling, I can’t seem to shake it. I promise, this series is worth every single penny!
The Fifth to Die (2018) is an excellent follow on to The Fourth Monkey (2017). This is now my favorite Thriller series. Warning: non-stop TENSION from the first page to the last. Couldn’t put it down. Well written and well plotted. Lots of twists and turns to keep you constantly on alert and wanting answers. Surprise ending has me craving the next book in the series.
In an interview, J.D. Barker once said, “As children, we fear shadows, ghosts, that thing that lives under our bed when the lights go off. When we grow up, we realize people can be the true monsters of this world.” The serial killer genre is a crowded one, but Barker has carved out a unique place for himself beside such masters as Thomas Harris, Stephen King and Jo Nesbo.
In “The Fifth to Die,” the widely anticipated follow-up to the brilliant “The Fourth Monkey,” Detective Porter is obsessed with catching 4MK, the psychopath who sends body parts in gift boxes to the victims’ terrified families. In the first book of the trilogy, Detective Porter found but then lost the killer, and as a consequence was pulled off the case. Now, when a missing girl is found frozen solid in a lagoon, Porter follows the trail back to 4MK’s twisted doorstep. Once Porter realizes the killer has adopted a whole new M.O. and left a string of bizarre clues behind, the ensuing hunt becomes a whiplash journey of nail-biting suspense.
The unique and compelling narrative for the 4MK series will sear itself into your mind. Barker’s conflicted characters are so authentically human—ironic and funny, powerful and powerless, driven and unpredictable—and through it all, we are treated to his menacing, beautifully crafted prose.
The pace is breathless, the plot’s addictively twisty, and the ending shocks. What else do you want from a thriller—besides the next one?
i read the first in this series and i was hooked, just finished The Fifth to Die couldn’t put it down, can’t wait for next is this series.
loved this book and can’t wait for the next one
I’m waiting for the next book.
This is a continuation of The Fourth Monkey. Again, very well written, engrossing, and he leaves you wanting to read the final book in this trilogy.
Good read. Hard to put down
This is a cleverly written complex story following the first in this series … THE FOURTH MONKEY.
Detective Sam Porter and his team are called to investigate when the body of a young girl is found beneath frozen water. She’s identified as a woman who went missing 3 weeks ago ,, but she’s wearing the clothes of another girl, missing just days. The water froze months ago..so how did this happen?
At the same time, Porter is secretly still hunting the Four Monkey Killer, contrary to the orders of the FBI. When Porter’s boss finds out what he’s been doing, he is promptly suspended and his partners Clair and Nash are left to hunt for the new killer.
This one is action-packed, fast-paced with lots of activity going in all directions. I highly recommend reading THE FOURTH MONKEY before tackling this one …. the two stories are intertwined.
The characters are credible, the crimes are credible and it’s a fascinating look at crime fiction. It’s a riveting, engaging story and I found it hard to put down for any amount of time.
Many thanks to the author / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt / #TheFifthToDie #NetGalley / Edelweiss for the advanced digital copy of this crime thriller. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
Today is a special treat my friends. I was recently sent an advanced copy of the highly anticipated sequel to one of my favorite thrillers in the last few years, The Fourth Monkey by J.D. Barker. This time around the author has published The Fifth To Die, a thrilling ride that explores the continuing hunt for the deadly 4MK. Here’s the synopsis:
In the thrilling sequel to The Fourth Monkey, a new serial killer stalks the streets of Chicago, while Detective Porter delves deeper into the dark past of the Four Monkey Killer.
Detective Porter and the team have been pulled from the hunt for Anson Bishop, the Four Monkey Killer, by the feds. When the body of a young girl is found beneath the frozen waters of Jackson Park Lagoon, she is quickly identified as Ella Reynolds, missing three weeks. But how did she get there? The lagoon froze months earlier. More baffling? She’s found wearing the clothes of another girl, missing less than two days.
While the detectives of Chicago Metro try to make sense of the quickly developing case, Porter secretly continues his pursuit of 4MK, knowing the best way to find Bishop is to track down his mother. When the captain finds out about Porter’s activities, he’s suspended, leaving his partners Clair and Nash to continue the search for the new killer alone.
Obsessed with catching Bishop, Porter follows a single grainy photograph from Chicago to the streets of New Orleans and stumbles into a world darker than he could have possibly imagined, where he quickly realizes that the only place more frightening than the mind of a serial killer is the mind of the mother from which he came.
This book was incredible. Of course as with all my reviews this will be a spoiler-free review. However I can honestly say that author J.D. Barker has mastered how to write the perfect sequel, upping his game greatly to create an even more intense, thrilling and engaging story than The Fourth Monkey. Delving deeper into the killer’s past, Detective Porter finds himself drawn into the twisted world of 4MK in ways no one can ever imagine, unless of course you’re J.D. Barker.
The way the story takes readers into the minds of everyone involved in the case, from new investigators and the team you came to know and love in the first novel to the killer himself and the newest victims who have to face the very heart of darkness and evil alone. It’s a powerful and explosive story from the first page, showing the way everyone was affected by 4MK’s surprising actions in the first novel and how just when you thought you knew the limits of this killer, he takes things so much further. By the end of the story your heart will be racing and you’ll be on the edge of your seat, gasping for breath because you got so enraptured with the twist ending that you forgot to breath.
Overall I loved this story. It was so fun and thrilling to take part in, and the entire time I was reading it I kept asking myself when someone is going to make a movie or show about this story. The tale of 4MK and those hunting him is the modern day serial killer story we’ve been waiting for, and makes for the perfect summer thriller read. In J.D. Barker we’ve found a spiritual successor to the incredible Stephen King, taking the characters of the everyday man and transforming their lives into one of a kind adventures and thrill rides that only these one of a kind authors could come up with. If you haven’t preordered your copy yet, be sure to do so now. The Fifth To Die by J.D. Barker comes out July 10th, 2018, so grab your copies today!J.D. Barker The Fifth to Die
Sam Porter can’t catch a break. The events from four months ago haunt his dreams; only this time he’s the victim. The only thing grounding him to reality is a new homicide case. A missing girl is found dead- frozen solid in a lagoon. But details are not matching up. The ice is too crystal clear, and the deceased loos as though she were posed. Everyone is thinking it, yet no one admits it; Is The Four Monkey Killer (4MK) back- and if he is, why has he changed his method?
Porter is unable to let the original case go. He’s convinced that something is missing. So much so that he has left out 4MK’s diary from the evidence log and has started his own little conspiracy theory timeline in his apartment.
Convinced that his dreams are trying to tell him something, Porter steals the file of 4MK’s fifth victim. When the FBI notices the file is missing they insist searching Porter’s apartment- completely unprepared for the madness inside. As punishment, Porter’s captain demotes him from the case and puts him on a seven day leave of absence.
Flying below radar, Porter feels as though he can pursue his hunch further; fueled by a handwritten note and a grainy photo by 4MK tucked into his mail. This inevitable motivates Porter on a wild goose chase tracking down 4MK’s mother and the childhood home mentioned in the diary.
Meanwhile, what’s left of the homicide team, works closely with the FBI piecing together this new serial killer, and attempting to rule out if 4MK has completely changed tactics. This time there is no pretty packages tied up with string. Officers are finding in tact bodies of young girls frozen and posed. Medical examiners confirms these girls drowned in salt water and were resuscitated multiple times before they were no longer needed.
Shortly after the girls are found, a parent is also discovered in a grisly death. What starts out as looking completely random, slowly turns to methodical thinking as the body count rises. The real question is why is this happening, and how is this connected to 4MK. . . and where is Porter?
Barker once again dangles a carrot right in front of the reader’s face. You are so concentrated on what’s right in front of you that you miss what’s changing in the surrounding information. Just when you think he’s shown all his cards, Barker has a pocket ace up his sleeve.
5 plus stars
Detective Sam Porter is called to the scene of a body under the ice. It may well be the missing girl for whom they have been looking. If it is, someone has dressed her in different clothing than when she disappeared. Her parents say that she doesn’t own any clothing like that. Porter had to leave the hunt for Anson Bishop, the 4MK killer, to look into this new case.
Sam Porter, Brian Nash, Claire Norton, Edwin “Kloz” Klozowski and Sophie Rodriguez make up Porter’s team for the case. The FBI has taken over the 4MK case. They are in a room across the hall from Sam’s team.
Porter gets a call at 1:30 a.m.; it is the report of another missing girl. Her name is Lili Davies. That same morning, the pathologist confirms the identity of the girl in the ice. It was Ella Reynolds, the girl who disappeared three weeks earlier.
The story is interspersed with vignettes of what is happening to Lili during her captivity. A truly sick individual is torturing her in the most depraved manner. Then, Lili’s body is discovered in a locked storeroom of the art gallery where she worked part-time.
Meanwhile, Bishop, the 4MK killer is taunting Porter with photographs and tantalizing messages. Poole, an FBI agent assigned to the 4MK case is reaching out to Porter and asking for help. This goes directly against his superior’s wishes.
Larissa Biel is the next girl taken and the reader gets to learn how the kidnapper/killer does his taking. Larissa gets even, but in a very destructive manner. Two teens are taken next.
The story takes a very interesting twist and Porter goes off on his own after being suspended by his captain. He speaks with Bishop’s mother, who is incarcerated in a prison near New Orleans. Teaming up with a woman attorney named Sarah Werner and together they travel to South Carolina where they make some very interesting finds. The case seems to be coming together now.
The novel is interspersed with passages from Bishop’s diary. Some facts seem to check out, but others are pure fiction. It is very interestingly written.
Meanwhile Poole, Nash, Clair and Kloz see the bigger picture. At the same time, Bishop contacts Porter and tries to make a deal with him. Bishop comes up with an audacious plan. Porter and Sarah feel that they have no choice but to go along with the plan.
In another huge twist, all is revealed and all is not what it seems.
This is a remarkably well written and plotted novel. It has it all: action, drama, suspense and psychological insights into the twisted minds of killers. The suspense begins immediately with the discovery of the girl in the ice and continues at a high level throughout the story. It is an absolutely great follow-up to the first book in this series. The book is clever and twisty with many surprises along the way.
Nash is a wisecracking cop who is quick to defend Sam and a little combative to those in authority. I liked him a great deal. Clair is smart and brave and willing to tackle anything. Kloz is brilliant and knows computers forwards and backwards. Porter is tortured and listening to his demons sometimes gets him in trouble. An absolutely delicious novel!! Keep on writing Mr. Barker! I MUST find out what happens to Sam and Bishop.
I want to thank NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for forwarding to me a copy of this most engrossing and entertaining book for me to read and enjoy.
2de deel van de Porter serie. Natuurlijk redelijk onwaarschijnlijk wat er allemaal gebeurt, maar langzamerhand zie je wat lijntjes komen. Spannend verhaal en op naar het laatste deel. Benieuwd wat er nu weer allemaal voor onmogelijke zaken staan te gebeuren.
I’ve read quite a few reviews of J. D. Barkers thriller A Fifth to Die. Many of the reviews advised that I read the first in the series before starting The Fifth To Die. I didn’t and I had no difficulty following the back story. TFTD was had just enough flashbacks to make TFTD a stand-alone book for me. The story development was superb, just enough of a trickle of clues to keep me guessing. I was impressed that all the clues needed to explain the whole story were presented in the body of the book once I thought back. No last minute ‘Perry Mason’ moments. There was a fairly wide multitude of characters in TFTD, but as the story developed, I had no trouble keeping them straight. For me, The Fifth To Die was a five star read, but avoid reading t at bedtime. Jeff Bailey, author of Not On MY Watch.
This man is a genius
I can set you free, but I’m afraid I can never let you go.”
What in the what??? Holy crap… can we just talk about how AMAZING J. D. Barker and this series is? I can honestly say that there has never been a series that has gotten me so excited to the point where I want to tell any and EVERYONE about what I’ve just read. I work at a credit union and I’m telling members… complete strangers after reading on my lunch break to go and pick up this series!
So once again, this is one of those reviews where you can’t focus too much on the storyline. So instead let’s talk about the character development. There’s some major developments here with some characters from the previous novel, The Fourth Monkey, specifically with Detective Porter and Bishop’s mother. Detective Porter is continuing to “puzzle it out” though no longer on the case. The 4MK case was officially turned over to the FBI… which is a good time for me to segue over to Special Agent Poole, while this character in many ways reminds me of Detective Porter, there are some characteristics that set him apart. A clever man… though not quite as intuitive as our beloved Detective Porter.
We’re also introduced to some new characters, ones that are just as mysterious as the infamous Anson Bishop, and others, well, we think we’ve got them all figured out, but in the end, they may turn out to be someone else entirely.
Bishop himself while a key player isn’t what I would call a stand out in this novel. In this novel, we begin to learn about what happens to Anson Bishop after his mother runs off and leaves him behind; what shaped this little boy to become the man he is today. The sad thing here is that it’s just a tease… I think it’s fair to say that I’m not the only one that by the end of this novel that was screaming for more. “IT CAN’T BE OVER!!!”
The 3rd in the series will without a doubt be the story of Bishop and Porter, what we thought we knew about these characters, well, I believe we’re about to get our minds blown (what’s left of it anyway).
Chapter 62… LOVED the set up. This series is one that is definitely written for the big screen, and I’ve got to say, that’s so clever on Barker’s part. That’s what an author ultimately envisions, no? To see their work come to life on the big screen? His visions are so clear that they jump right off the page at you. I just love when I can place myself at the scene when reading a novel. I’m right there, completely engrossed and that’s what brings it all full circle. The character development, the narration, the dialogue, the descriptive writing. It’s the ultimate package here and that’s what a reader wants, that’s what makes J.D. Barker a stand-out of an author.
I want to thank NetGalley, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and J.D. Barker for allowing me the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for my review. I will no doubt cry a little inside each day as I await the next in the series.
I hate this cliffhanger ending !!!!!!!
Is the 4MK Killer Back?
The heroine, Detective Sam Porter, is still obsessed with the 4MK killer, Anson Bishop, who escaped at the end of the first novel. Because he was suspected of letting the 4MK killer escape and still be in contact with the killer, the FBI has taken over that investigation and their sharing of information back to the Chicago police became non-existent.
Now, the body of a teenage girl is found in very complex circumstances. While the modus operandi (MO) is different but the question is, “Has the 4MK killer returned?” Another teenage girl goes missing. Porter’s team takes up the investigation, but Porter is burning the candle at both ends. While he and his team investigate the murder and missing girl during the day, at night he has turned his bedroom into a war room on tracking down the 4MK killer. This fact is discovered by the FBI, and Porter is placed on suspension. The main storyline splits into two. Porter’s second in command, Clair Norton, takes over the lead on the new murder, and Porter goes off the grid to capture the 4MK killer so as to redeem himself. The main storylines take off from here in a real rollercoaster of storylines. I was addicted immediately.
The B-storyline and the Porter side of the main storyline essentially merge. Detective has a deep obsession that portrayed in much detail as well as the history of the 4MK killer. How the author unfolds this story is quite interesting with many twists and turns. I especially enjoyed reading this part. There are many new characters introduced in this part of main storyline, but everything fits together quite well and in a very intriguing way, and spills into the other main storyline. Once it was all revealed, I had to smile and chuckle.
There is some vulgar language, but in my opinion, not excessive and all consistent with the characters and circumstances. There is not any graphic sex.
I enjoyed this novel immensely, and rate it with five stars. While you can read this novel without reading the first, but you might enjoy this one more if you do read The Fourth Monkey first. I know that this title is non-descript, but the novel isn’t. I strongly recommend reading both novels.
I have received a free kindle version of this novel through NetGalley from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt with a request for an honest, unbiased review. I wish to thank Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for the opportunity to read this novel early.
J.D. Barker’s, The Fifth to Die is book 2 of the Detective Sam Porter series and just like Book 1 The Fourth Monkey, does not disappoint. Edoardo Ballerini’s narration is flawless. The original blurb described this series as “Se7en meets the Silence of the Lambs” YES, it is dark, it is twisted, and MORE PLEASE! I highly recommend 5 Stars
sequel to The Fourth Monkey