I Am Not A Serial Killer

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.

Just as wonderful for a reread!

BLUF: YA is not my thing. (Reader beware: This book includes supernatural elements.)

John Wayne Cleaver is a 15-year-old destined to be a serial killer, but he's trying to stall his fate. Well, sort of. John Wayne has rules for himself, similar to Dexter, but he's willing to break them in order to take care of the serial killer who is treading on his home turf. Will John Wayne be able to manage his temptations in order to allow the police to capture the serial killer, or will he take the case into his own hands?

I chose this book because of its' title and cover. I didn't realize it was a YA novel until about halfway through the book (Yes, I am THAT slow at putting things together).

I found John Wayne to be interesting concept, but the teenager had insight far past his age. He acted in ways that I wouldn't imagine a teen to act in - even a sociopathic one. For example, at one point John Wayne tells off a bully in a way that is so wordy and reflective for a boy his age (or even an adult) that it's difficult to find his character as realistic. On top of this, John Wayne's mother seems pretty immature, which causes John Wayne to seem even more unrealistic.

That said, I can't push too hard against the realism of the story – it has supernatural elements. This is another aspect that caught me by surprise. It's not necessarily a bad turn, but if you are looking for something more realistic, you may want to steer clear.

I felt like the supernatural elements were unnecessary to the story and only there so the protagonist could remain a “good” person. If those elements were removed or more incorporated, I think I would have liked the whole a great deal more. Instead, a distraction. Meh.

Deliciously creepy

Engaging characters.

A thrilling story that I had to put down multiple times because I got too creeped out

Very interesting, and fairly exciting. The supernatural element surprised me. I may continue the series. Read it for work.

Audio read by: Kirby Heyborne

Dan Wells has pulled off quite a feat with his debut novel, I Am Not A Serial Killer–he's written probably the creepiest book I've read this year (and since I've read 3 Val McDermid novels this year, that's saying something), but more importantly he got me to care for and root for the creepy protagonist. (I'll try to stop using forms of the word ‘creepy' now). He got me to read the book with the hook, and the promised thrill, but he won me over with charm and characters.

Rather than try to summarize the plot, I'll just embed the teaser here, okay?
That's really all you need to know about the plot–it refreshingly deviates a bit from standard serial killer plotlines, but that's not Wells' strength. It's in making us care about the individuals surrounding the plot–primarily the “hero.”

I was just thinking the other day about how nice it would be to have a novel about a teenager that wasn't directed at a Young Adult audience (although there's nothing about this book that would keep it from being labeled YA) and lo and behold, here one is. John Wayne Cleaver is an atypical teen written convincingly enough to appeal to older readers. The way he deals with his inner “monster”, the serial killer nature he's known for years is lurking beneath the surface, is reminiscent of Dexter Morgan, but he's not a knock-off. Unlike Dex, John's not looking for an outlet for his desire to kill, he's looking for a way to deny it.

The rest of the cast (both teens and adults) are not as fleshed out, and we could spend more time with all of them, but they feel just as “real”. It will be interesting over the next 2 planned installments to watch them develop and react to John and his struggles (especially as his struggles become more and more overt as I suspect they will).

The exterior conflict in the novel is well done, and has a satisfying conclusion (that had me sitting on the edge of my seat), but the payoff to John's interior conflict is even better–and somewhat surprising to the reader as well as John.

I'll pay Wells one of the highest compliments I can think of–I was about 50 pages away from the end when I started to get anxious about getting my hands on the second entry in the series–which doesn't look like it'll be available here for another year.

I did it! I was so tired yesterday after finishing reading this that I just went straight to sleep. I didn't even mark it as finished or something. Just threw it and turned the lights off. But enough about me, let's go with the book.
At first, when I first started reading this book, I was really excited about what I had learnt so far. This 15 year old boy named John Wayne Cleaver, who lived in one of those towns lost by God, had all the characteristic of a serial killer, such as showing no empathy for animals, or peeing at night, with the small exception that he did not want to be a serial killer. He had though about, but knew it was wrong. He felt as if there was a monster inside of him, that he had to control.In order to accomplish this task he established a series of very strict rules to avoid having macabre and grim thoughts about what he could do if he let the monster free. He also read about other serial killers (all of them, most likely) to learn about them and their patterns and avoid becoming like them. His family was composed of his mother and his aunt and later on the story, his sister, Lauren (not a spoiler, I promise). His father had long been gone and only received a card and a gift from him on Christmas and occasionally on his birthday. And his family worked in the morgue. Meaning, him, his mother and his aunt received all the corpses of the small town and prepared them to the funeral. Stuff like that.
Up until this point, everything seemed great. The story was really intriguing and I was loving and couldn't stop reading.
Then one day, in the small little town that nothing ever happened in, there was a murder. And a grotesque one. John, finding about it, got really excited, of course, because this was the first time he was so close to murdering. As in, what the monster wanted to do.
I already loved the book by this far. It was amazing. More murders kept happening and they were all so intriguing and strange and there was the small taint of mysterious in it. Until in a small little page, BAAM! The story took a turn I was completely unprepared for and definitely ruined the impression I had about it. It was all so good and perfect and then that small little fact changed everything. What happened was that the killer is a demon. As in a supernatural, clawed and evil demon. I was expecting a real serial killer, not a supernatural one. I had a whole theory about it, and finding out that it was a demon and not real, REAL thing just really overthrew me.
What was my reaction? I stopped reading. Yep. Stopped.
I had already read there was this point where it could define whether you love it or hate it. But I was EXCITED about it, was looking forward to it. Once I read the small thing, my interest for this book dropped and I just couldn't go on.
Days passed and I just left it there, until (yesterday) I made myself finish it. I tried to concentrate on the excitement I had before the small thing, and it kind of worked. I did finish it.
It is actually a really good book. I contains some phrases and metaphors that I just couldn't help but love. I felt like my emotions where described by what he was saying. He nailed it (not that I have murderous thoughts, but if you look at it in another way, it's amazing).
At the end, the book was really good, but the disappointment I felt once I read the small thing was so big that I can't help but give this book a 3.25 rating. But I think once you get over the initial shock, the book is ok.
The character development was incredible, couldn´t have asked for more. The setting was ok, and the sub plot was really deep and amazing. The main plot is the thing that didn't do it for me.
I'm not sure if I can recommend it to somebody, but if you're the type of people who can get over small facts like that one, then...go ahead, read it!

My Amazon review -

http://www.amazon.com/review/R35STLJG3G0NY3/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Amazing character work, but mid story

This book tells the story of a sociopathic teen (John) obsessed with serial killers. We get to know the inner workings of his mind when a serial killer strikes the small town where he lives. John is conflicted between admiration and years of systems ensuring that he acts normally. It also has a supernatural twist around the midpoint of the novel.

I find the story itself is pretty mid, with a midway twist and climactic ending, but there isn't a lot more to the story. This may be due to who is the narrator (a sociopathic teen who lacks empathy and any emotion). I personally would have taken the supernatural part out to let the story more grounded and probably scarier. John felt already scary, but if it had happened in a more realistic context I would have shat my pants XD.

But the story is not the selling point of this book. The main point of reading this book is getting to know the main character John. The character work done by Dan Wells is amazing, on several points in the book I actually feared John and his thoughts. I don't have any experience interacting with people diagnosed with sociopathic tendencies, but somehow this book felt real.
I found really interesting to crawl into John's mind since his mind is so different than mine, a truly amazing experience.

All in all, this is a great book, just for John's character, and it is not very long and can be read in a few sittings. That's why I would recommend it.

Edit:
In retrospect the supernatural twist halfway through wasn't so bad, It actually makes the final climax scarier. Just wasn't expecting that direction and it pulled me away, but it wasen't as bad as I thought.

Good start, looking forward to the rest of the series