Title: Blood of My Blood Series: I Hunt Killers #3
Author: Barry Lyga
Published: September 9, 2014
Genre(s): Mystery/Thriller
Page Count: 468
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads:Jazz has been shot and left to die in New York. His girlfriend, Connie, is in the clutches of Jazz's monstrous father, Billy--the world's most notorious serial killer. And his best friend, Howie, is bleeding to death on the floor of Jazz's new home.
Somehow, these three must rise above the horrors and find a way to come together in pursuit of Billy.
But then Jazz crosses a line he's never crossed before, and soon the entire country is wondering: "Like father, like son? Who is the true monster?"
From New York City to the small town of Lobo's Nod, the chase is on, and this time, Jazz is the hunted, not the hunter--while Billy Dent lurks in the shadows.
And beyond Billy? Something much, much worse. Prepare to meet...the Crow King.
Satisfying series conclusions are few and far between, in my experience. Even the strongest series can be ruined by a bad finale. And Barry Lyga’s Jasper Dent trilogy is one of the strongest YA series I’ve ever read. Thankfully, I’m quite happy to report that Blood of My Blood is just as good as books 1 and 2 in the series; this book really hit the spot.
Jasper Dent’s character is one of the most complex and intriguing I’ve read before, and the author even kicked it up a notch in this book. Jazz has always dealt with fears that he’ll turn into a serial killer like his dad, but for a certain portion of Blood of My Blood, it really seems like he’s gone off the deep end at last. Though these books have never lacked darkness, Lyga went the extra step here, and he did it well.
Along with that, the storyline here is even more disturbing than ever. I Hunt Killers was a fairly easy-going murder mystery led by a kid who just happened to have a serial killer father. And then Lyga began to amp up the intensity, so that in this book, we have a spellbindingly vicious story of a kid desperate to kill his father, even if it means the breakdown of every moral he has. There were some stunning (and disgusting) revelations made, some spots where it seems like there’s not a single “good guy” in sight.
And honestly, some parts of Blood of My Blood were hard to follow, since it’s been a year since I read Game, which ended on one humdinger of a cliffhanger. That is, obviously, not the author’s fault, but I think that a little but of recapping in initial chapters would have been helpful.
Any reader whose come this far should try to see Jasper out to the end of his tale. Blood of My Blood is intense, sinister, and involved—probably the best I’ve read from Barry Lyga so far. This is a completely worthwhile series finale.
