REVIEW: I Don't Want to Kill You by Dan Wells

I Don't Want to Kill You by Dan Wells
Publishing Information: Kindle; 321 pages
Publisher: Tor; 29 March 2011
ISBN 10: 0765328445
ISBN 13: 978-0765328441
ASIN: B004H1TQ94
Series: Book 3 in the John Cleaver Series
Copy: Out of Pocket
Reviewer: Tyson

Synopsis: "Dan Wells introduced us to John Wayne Cleaver in the chilling novels I Am Not a Serial Killer and Mr. Monster. In I Don't Want to Kill You, Cleaver faces his toughest challenge yet.

John Wayne Cleaver has called a demon---literally called it on the phone---and challenged it to a fight. He’s faced two monsters already, barely escaping with his life, and now he’s done running; he’s taking the fight to them. As he wades through the town’s darkest secrets, searching for any sign of who the demon might be, one thing becomes all too clear: in a game of cat and mouse with a supernatural killer, you are always the mouse.

In I Am Not a Serial Killer we watched a budding sociopath break every rule he had to save his town from evil. In Mr. Monster we held our breath as he fought madly with himself, struggling to stay in control. Now John Wayne Cleaver has mastered his twisted talents and embraced his role as a killer of killers. I Don't Want to Kill You brings his story to a thundering climax of suspicion, mayhem, and death.

It’s time to punish the guilty.

And in a town full of secrets, everyone is guilty of something."

The first two novels in the series were very impressive and I had my doubts that the momentum and the pace could keep up with expectations and still feel fresh. I am happy to report that Dan Wells delivers and the final book in the series, I Don't Want to Kill You, is just as amazing as the first two books.

This time John Cleaver has decided to wage war against the creatures that prey on humankind. He has finally come to terms with himself and now plans to use his unique "gifts" to bring the battle to them. The quickest way to find them is to call them and issue a challenge. What he gets is far more than he bargained for and really ups the ante in the series.

This is a horror/mystery series and I do not want to give away too much, but I will say that John and his cohorts continue to grow as characters and the challenge that he faces continue to impress. While some parts of the novel and the series feel very paranormal, Wells does an impressive job of keeping the setting as normal as possible. That is really where the strength of the novel comes into play. The book never goes off course and takes a huge leap of faith beyond the "creature" found within the pages of the series.

I cannot express how much I enjoyed this series and each book was just as good as the last if not better. When I reached the end of I Don't Want to Kill You, I was sad because this was the end of the series and I was begging for more. I wanted Wells to take me to the next level and with luck he will. If you have not taken the time to read this serhes, do yourself a favor and start. The John Cleaver series was an amazing find and I cannot express well enough how good it felt to read something so fresh and different. Highly recommended.

Plot 9/10
Characters 9.5/10
Style 9.5/10

Overall 9.5/10

REVIEW: Mr. Monster by Dan Wells

Mr. Monster by Dan Wells
Publishing information: Kindle; 290 pages
Publisher: Tor; 28 September 2010
ISBN 10: 0765327902
ISBN 13: 978-0765327901
ASIN: B003OUXE88
Series: Book 2 of the John Cleaver series
Copy: Out of Pocket
Reviewer: Tyson

Synopsis: "I killed a demon. I don’t know if it was really, technically a demon, but I do know that he was some kind of monster, with fangs and claws and the whole bit, and he killed a lot of people. So I killed him. I think it was the right thing to do. At least the killing stopped.

Well, it stopped for a while.

In I Am Not a Serial Killer, John Wayne Cleaver saved his town from a murderer even more appalling than the serial killers he obsessively studies. But it turns out even demons have friends, and the disappearance of one has brought another to Clayton County. Soon there are new victims for John to work on at the mortuary and a new mystery to solve. But John has tasted death, and the dark nature he used as a weapon---the terrifying persona he calls "Mr. Monster"---might now be using him.

No one in Clayton is safe unless John can vanquish two nightmarish adversaries: the unknown demon he must hunt and the inner demon he can never escape.

In this sequel to his brilliant debut, Dan Wells ups the ante with a thriller that is just as gripping and even more intense. He apologizes in advance for the nightmares."

The follow up to I Am Not a Serial Killer takes right up where the first book left off. When John Cleaver takes the cell phone from the last serial killer and calls one of his friends, the killing in his small town begins again. Only this time, John has some personal demons that he must also avoid bringing to the surface. Mr. Monster, his violent personality is fighting for control of John.

In the first novel in the series, we learned that we are not alone and that there are other "creatures" living amongst us. Now, John is being hunted by the previous novels killer. John now has two battles, his personal battle and the battle that has come to find him as the creature is looking for its friend that has disappeared.

Without giving too much away, Mr. Monster is an amazing sequel. The mystery that made the first novel so impressive is still there and Wells does a great job of making the characters and situation still feel very fresh. With a lot of sequels the momentum slows down, but that is not the case with Mr. Monster. the thrills and chills are still there and just add to the richness that is the series. Highly Recommended.

Plot 8/10
Characters 9.5/10
Style 9/10

Overall 9.5/10

REVIEW: I Am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells

I Am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells
Publishing information: Kindle; 320 pages
Publisher: Tor 1 April 2010
ISBN 10: 0765322471
ISBN 13: 978-0765362360
ASIN: B003DX0HYU
Series: Book 1 in the John Cleaver series
Copy: Out of Pocket
Reviewer: Tyson

Synopsis: "John Wayne Cleaver is dangerous, and he knows it.

He’s spent his life doing his best not to live up to his potential.

He’s obsessed with serial killers, but really doesn’t want to become one. So for his own sake, and the safety of those around him, he lives by rigid rules he’s written for himself, practicing normal life as if it were a private religion that could save him from damnation.

Dead bodies are normal to John. He likes them, actually. They don’t demand or expect the empathy he’s unable to offer. Perhaps that’s what gives him the objectivity to recognize that there’s something different about the body the police have just found behind the Wash-n-Dry Laundromat---and to appreciate what that difference means.

Now, for the first time, John has to confront a danger outside himself, a threat he can’t control, a menace to everything and everyone he would love, if only he could."

Thanks to Seak over at Only the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy. Dan Well's John Cleaver series came to my attention and I hope that thanks to this review that he will hit more people's radar because the series is very good and with each new book in the series, it still feels fresh while adding new dimensions to the character and the overall story.

I Am Not a Serial Killer is an impressive book and even better series. The character of John Wayne Cleaver is interesting and much different from what we usually encounter in fiction today. He is troubled and he knows it. Thanks to a few guidelines and rules he is keeping his "tendencies" at bay. His unusual hobby of reading and studying serial killers in order to avoid becoming one is fascinating. He does his best to be like everyone else even though he desires to set himself apart and do what naturally would make him feel complete.

When people start dying in his one horse town, he ptts his knowledge of serial killers to work in order to solve just who is doing the terrible deeds all the while keeping his own natural instincts buried deep down, lest the come out and take him somewhere he will never return from. Aside from wrestling with John's own demons, I Am Not a Serial Killer tells a very compelling murder mystery. All of the characters are fleshed out very well and we have a really amazing story here. Why this book, and for that matter, the series is not read by more lovers of speculative fiction I have no idea, but this is one book that was hard to put down. I don't want to tell you the ending, but I will say there is a twist that was very unexpected and takes the series into uncharted territory and it was a welcome turn of events. If you read I Am Not a Serial Killer be prepared to stay up late into the night to finish it and to run back to the bookstore and grab the rest of the series. I Am Not a Serial Killer is the diamond in the rough. Highly recommended

Plot 9/10
Characters 8.5/10
Style 9/10

Overall 9.5/10