16 Jan 2012
0 CommentsI Don’t Want to Kill You
I Don’t Want to Kill You – Book Three of The John Cleaver Series
This is a continuation of my look at Dan Wells’ John Cleaver trilogy. It started with I Am Not a Serial Killer, continues in the second novel Mr. Monster and finishes here, in I Don’t Want to Kill You.
“John Wayne Cleaver has called a demon—literally called it on the phone—and challenged it to a fight.”
I Don’t Want to Kill You is the third and final book of Dan Wells’ John Cleaver trilogy. It is a supernatural horror novel with a YA label. It looks like Mr. Wells saved the best for last. I find book three is a better-written story with better characterization. In fact, it seems as if characters that just sort of existed in the first two books, finally got personalities, including the main character. If you read my last two reviews, you would know that I have had a problem with the main character’s woodenness for the last two books.
What “I Don’t Want to Kill You” is About
I Don’t Want to Kill You (John Cleaver, 3)
Amazon.com: I Don’t Want to Kill You (John Cleaver, 3): 9780765328441: Wells, Dan: Books
There is much personal growth to the main character in this one. He is still the angsty, misunderstood youth from the first two books, but this time around, he is actually learning as he goes, and finding out new things about himself. After all, he just recently bested two supernatural killers so his confidence level is through the roof. He also seems to have much less of a struggle in this book with his “Mr. Monster.” This is a welcome change for me. He doesn’t spend the book focusing on how different he is.
At the end of the previous novel, he sent out an invitation to another supernatural beastie and so there is no surprise when one comes to his town. However, once the killings begin, John realizes that not only does he have no idea who the killer could be, but there may also be more than one of them.
One small peeve I had with this book was the character of the pastor. The author builds him up and then just…lets him go later on in the book. It is only a small peeve, amongst a few others, but they are not worth mentioning here. They do not make the story any less good.
Just as book two was slightly longer than book one, book three is slightly longer than book two. The extra length does not make this book any less of a quick read than the previous ones. Dan Wells managed to pack in a lot of action, a few twists, much character building and it all still flows quickly and evenly.
When the book is over, you may find yourself upset there isn’t another to read right afterwards. Wells manages to resolve the major plot threads but still leave a lot open to future expansion.
Read my review of Book 1, I Am Not a Serial Killer
Read my review of Book 2, Mr. Monster
Read my review of the John Cleaver Series as a whole
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16 Jan 2012
3 CommentsThe John Cleaver Series by Dan Wells
The John Cleaver series is a trilogy of books by author Dan Wells. They are supernatural horror/thriller novels labeled as Young Adult fiction. Even though they feature the exploits of a fifteen-year-old kid, don’t let the YA designation fool you. These books are full of terrible things happening to people of all ages…for your entertainment.
I heard of these books while listening to the Writing Excuses podcast, of which Dan Wells is one of the cast. He often speaks about the writing process by referring to his first novel, I Am Not a Serial Killer. In fact, it’s probably the title of the book that made me want to read it more than anything else did.
These books are about John Cleaver, a fifteen-year-old kid in a small town with an obsession for serial killers. He lives over the mortuary where his mother and aunt works and even takes part in the embalming process with them. Diagnosed as a sociopath by both himself and his therapist, he tries to cope with being different.
Everything takes a turn when an actual serial killer shows up in town and starts murdering people. This excites John and sends him on the trail of the killer. At the same time, his own inner monster comes to life. He does not know if he wants to catch the killer, or participate.
I have already written some reviews of all three books in the series so I am not going to get into a lot of little details:
One thing you need to know is that this is a “supernatural” horror/thriller. I only stress this because, apparently, people seem to become upset when the story goes from being pure thriller material to supernatural horror.
There is one thing about the series that I find a little unsettling. There seems to be an overall lack of emotion. This is understandable from them main character’s point of view. After all, he’s a sociopath. But over the course of three books, there are several serial killers killing and a multitude of suicides…all in less than a year. You would think that in a small town, these things would make people a little…edgy. The situation comes up a bit in the third book, but overall, it seems as if nobody really cares about all these atrocious murders happening. That’s only a small concern of mines. These books are fun, enjoyable, entertaining and very easy to read.
If possible, you should get all three books and read them back to back. Each novel takes place almost immediately after the last. And since they are all fast reads, you won’t have to wait to get right into the next installment.
The Story Continues
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