Se7en meets The Silence of the Lambs in this dark and twisting novel from the author Jeffery Deaver called “a talented writer with a delightfully devious mind.” Two days to save her . . . For over five years, the Four Monkey Killer has terrorized the residents of Chicago. When his body is found, the police quickly realize he was on his way to deliver one final message, one which proves he … one final message, one which proves he has taken another victim who may still be alive.
One day . . .
As the lead investigator on the 4MK task force, Detective Sam Porter knows that even in death, the killer is far from finished. When he discovers a personal diary in the jacket pocket of the body, Porter finds himself caught up in the mind of a psychopath, unraveling a twisted history in hopes of finding one last girl, all while struggling with personal demons of his own.
Zero.
With only a handful of clues, the elusive killer’s identity remains a mystery. Time is running out as the Four Monkey Killer taunts from beyond the grave in this masterfully written fast-paced thriller.
“Creepy, scary . . . and impossible to put down! The Fourth Monkey is everything a thriller should be–a must-read!”–Heather Graham, New York Times best-selling author of Law and Disorder
“A twisted, movie-worthy serial killer thriller.”–Crime by the Book
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There is a serial killer in Chicago and he has been at it for five years. The serial killer is known at The Fourth Monkey or 4MK, as in the See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil monkeys. He steps in front of a bus and is killed, the police find out that he only had weeks to live, he was dying of cancer. Good the serial killer is dead, right? Wrong, he has left behind hints about a teenage girl that he kidnapped and she may still be alive, but where does he have her hidden?
Sam Porter is the detective that has been chasing the serial killer for years. Sam is also dealing with the recent murder of his wife. She was shot during the robbery of a convenience store where she went to purchase milk.
Among the items found on the deceased killer is a diary, Sam reads it hoping for clues. The Fourth Monkey has written about his childhood. With the parents he had it is no wonder that he grew up to be a serial killer.
I could go on, but I don’t want to go into too many details and ruin it for you. I highly recommend this book! This is intense psychological thriller. It is suspenseful, dark and a bit gruesome in parts and I could not put this book down.
GREAT BOOK
Wow! That was intense.
This book may be a bit graphic in places but well worth the read.
There is a book within a book here. It jumps between an investigation & rescue effort and the diary of the serial killer responsible for that investigation. And both stories are gripping.
I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for this honest review.
I wish I lived next to this man so I could peak into his head!!! This is the best trilogy I have ever read.
Not a genre that I enjoy. Too creepy.
Nothing special
I started out loving this book but by the time I reached about page 200 it started getting extremely violet, very graphic, twisted and sick. Through it out. What kind of mind thinks up such horrible tortures.
“There is a fourth monkey, but nobody really knows about him,” I explained. Father nodded. “The first three monkeys define the rules we should all live by, but it’s the fourth that carries the most importance.” “Shizaru,” I said. “His name is Shizaru.” “He stands for do no evil,” Father said. “And that, of course, is the rub. Should someone see or hear evil, there is little one can do. When someone speaks evil, there is fault to be had, but when they do evil . . . well, when they do evil there is no room for forgiveness.”
Whoa… if you are guilty of a wrongdoing, lock up your loved ones because 4MK will be coming for one of them. He’s a very busy boy punishing the impure, and he does so with purpose and a clear endgame in mind. He’s intelligent, uncompromising, zealous, and he has a sh#t-load of baggage that helped shaped his behavior. Oh…you’ll get to learn all about his past which was the most disturbing yet most engaging part (for me anyway). The Fourth Monkey could have been much darker than it was but I would still say it’s not for the faint of heart. There’s plenty of the grittiness and forced imagination that comes with serial killer novels so if you enjoy that type of read you likely won’t be disappointed.
I don’t usually enjoy detective fiction, but a few credible and brutally honest goodreads friends five-starred this title and those stars are very rare. I figured if I were to read any detective fiction, this one would be the safest and I have to admit, I really enjoyed it. The author J.D. Barker introduced some interesting and complex characters that allowed me to become effortlessly invested despite my hesitation. I will absolutely be continuing this series. After that cliffhanger, how can I not?
*Thank you to Netgalley, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and JD Barker for an advance reader copy of The Fourth Monkey.
Wow! What a great read. With comparisons drawn between The Fourth Monkey and Seven (arguably one of the smartest serial killer flicks in years) I worried I had expectations no book could live up to, but I was wrong.
Brilliantly written from multiple points of view, The Fourth Monkey chronicles the journey of a victim, a detective, and a killer (told in hindsight from the point of view of his formative years).
First, I have to explain who the fourth monkey is. You know “see no evil,” “hear no evil,” “speak no evil?” The fourth is “do no evil,” and 4MK (killer’s moniker in short) deals in making villains pay for their sins through the flesh of a loved one. Typically a child. He mails an ear, then eyes, then a tongue to the parent (all taken while the victim is alive), and up until this final victim whose life hangs in the balance, their dead body surfaces shortly thereafter. Since we understand 4MK’s MO, it stands to reason that young Emory (his latest victim) is in serious trouble.
Enter Porter, a detective whose wife has been recently murdered and who, from the outset is a well-rounded, likable hero. His backstory evokes immediate sympathy and by the end we see how dedicated this man is to justice. He is a great character well worth rooting for. The perfect anti-4MK.
Which brings us to the killer, assumedly dead on the road after stepping in front of a bus—or is he? The clues found on the body will lead to the missing girl, if the detectives can “puzzle it out” in time. 4MK leaves behind a diary for detectives to find, detailing years of not “abuse” per se because he wasn’t an abused child, but what do I call this? An unusual upbringing? Serial killer training? Torture boot camp? God, his parents were real pieces of work. Think American Psycho. Well-rounded, upper middle class (Dad drives a Porsche, mom’s the stay-at-home type) with a penchant for killing, etiquette, and grammar. This might seem done before, but one of the ways JD Barker is effective in his storytelling from multiple viewpoints is that each character has a distinct voice, in 4MK’s case and oddly proper one (atypical for a young man).
It’s difficult to write one compelling story, but that JD Barker manages to write three at an almost unrelenting pace is to be commended. I didn’t mind the back and forth because the stories drew me along between past and present, and other than Clair’s POV (which I might say is one too many), I couldn’t stop turning the page.
Be aware, this is a serial killer tale and as such is graphic in its depiction of violence. JD Barker doesn’t shy away from the grim details, and writes with authority where police procedure is concerned. He commits to the minutia and honestly, I have a hard time finding fault with anything in this well thought out book. Everything is so purposeful. And the ending! Talk about leaving readers clamoring for more. I’m a stickler for tying up of loose ends. I hadn’t realized when I picked up this book that it’s the beginning of a series, which normally might turn me off. Some authors will leave a cliffhanger and too much unresolved in favor of the next book but not JD Barker. Even if I wasn’t dying for the next book (which I am), The Fourth Monkey stands alone nicely.
I can’t praise this book enough. Congratulations, JD Barker. I’m a new fan!
Your basic “who can it be ?? ” mystery still a good read.
I’d always heard of the three monkeys of ancient Asian myth – see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil. Who knew there was a fourth, Do No Evil?
In this decently fast-paced and tense crime fiction thriller, we meet the admittedly demented Fourth Monkey Killer (aka 4MK), a man who abducts female loved ones of men who he believes have committed (and thus have become) evil, through his hand-written diary. The diary is revealed in segments as the current plot unfolds, which reveals the “how” of 4MK’s fall into psychopathy.
While I found the molding of 4MK himself intriguing, I didn’t quite feel like I got to know the detectives, Porter and Nash, all that well, yet they were primary characters, those who were investigating 4MK’s cases. With the exception of 4MK, most of the characters were not developed well enough. For example, when one of the “big reveals” about a character hits, I found myself thinking “huh, I didn’t really know enough about this character to suppose that, but whatever”. It wasn’t the intended shock, just a shrug.
There were graphic torture scenes depicted, which were fascinating and what I’d guess were realistic, and the unapologetic murder scenes were effectively harsh. There was no question left about how or why 4MK ended up so f*cked up. That map was clearly drawn.
Overall, The Fourth Monkey was a decent novel, but not at all the blockbuster it was hyped to be. I’d love to read another of J.D Barker’s works, to see if it speaks to me, but sadly this one did not.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. Thank you to the author, J.D. Barker, and the publisher, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, for the opportunity to read and review.
Excellent read. Pacing starts slowly and builds to the denouement. Finished it in two days. Characters are wonderfully developed with great back stories.
Some of it was predictable but still a good read, would recommend
Great story idea – enjoyed the way it was written.
Keeps you guessing
Cop banter ruined it
Great book. Enjoyed the suspense and to way the story unfolded.
well done. it was captivating to the end.
Too gory for me!
Well written