Ratings70
Average rating3.7
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. Dan Wells's debut novel, I Am Not a Serial Killer, is the first volume of a trilogy that will keep you awake and then haunt your dreams.
Featured Series
6 primary booksJohn Cleaver is a 6-book series with 6 primary works first released in 2009 with contributions by Dan Wells.
Reviews with the most likes.
The idea of ‘Dexter in a X-file episode' really appealed to me. Sadly, it fell short of its potential.
This could have been a great book if only it had been written with a more mature audience in mind. Young teenagers will probably love it, though...
It started promising and interesting but, about 85 to 90 pages in, it took a turn and became something I didn't expect but didn't want. The boy became a lot more juvenile and it became a supernatural detective story when I was more interested in an actual serial killer.
Until page 103 this book was a strong contender for 5 stars. On page 103 it felt like the author lost his way and brought in the good old “God of the Machine” and flew him across the page to make the book continue to work. So on Page 103 I dropped down to 2 stars and seriously considered stopping reading.
After that I couldn't forgive him even though the writing is good, the character has a very distinct voice and the concept was strong. It was because of the strong start and the strong finish that i give this book a high 3 stars.
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3,174 booksWhen you think back on every book you've ever read, what are some of your favorites? These can be from any time of your life – books that resonated with you as a kid, ones that shaped your personal...