All Things Halloween Review - Game

Game (Jasper Dent, # 2)

By: Barry Lyga

Published: April 16th 2013 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

520 pages

Genre: YA, Mystery, Horror, Thriller, Suspense, Crime

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!)

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*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Billy grinned. “Oh, New York,” he whispered. “We’re gonna have so much fun.”

I Hunt Killers introduced the world to Jazz, the son of history’s most infamous serial killer, Billy Dent.

In an effort to prove murder didn’t run in the family, Jazz teamed with the police in the small town of Lobo’s Nod to solve a deadly case. And now, when a determined New York City detective comes knocking on Jazz’s door asking for help, he can’t say no. The Hat-Dog Killer has the Big Apple–and its police force–running scared. So Jazz and his girlfriend, Connie, hop on a plane to the big city and get swept up in a killer’s murderous game.

What to say? What to say? If I Hunt Killers is the Dexter of the Jasper Dent series then Game is The Following of the series. We know that I Hunt Killers ended with Japer’s father, Billy, breaking out of prison. We know that he had to have help in his escape. And so we know that Billy possibly has a fan club like Joe Carol from The Following even if Billy’s helpers are not essentially a cult.

Game, itself, felt like a much slower book than I Hunt Killers. With coming in over 500 pages, I’m not really surprised that Game felt like a longer and slower book; however, it was more than just length. The pacing really was much slower. And even when I was completely interesting in figuring out what was going on and knowing what was going to happen next, Game still felt like an easy book to put down.

The characters that I fell in love with so much from I Hunt Killers were present: Jasper, Connie, and Howie essentially. But even Billy is such a charismatic character that while knowing he’s utterly evil, I can’t help but enjoy his presence in the book when he’s actually present, in Jasper’s memories of him, and in the running Billy-commentary that Jasper has going on in his head. Jasper’s so real as a character. He still battles wondering if he’s going to snap and turn into his father at any moment. He’s still haunted by his memories, his past, and his potential. Connie is as supportive as ever—maybe even more so in Game than in I Hunt Killers. I don’t remember any sections of I Hunt Killers being narrated by Connie so that was a nice addition to Game. And I loved her faith in Jasper, her love for him, and her willingness to do just about anything for him—even taking on--or possibly leaving--her family. However, Connie had several parts where I wanted to smack her in the head and tell her that she was being reckless and stupid. Howie wasn’t as present as I wanted him to be, yet there were plenty of parts that had me chuckling to myself. Howie brings the humor to this book and this series. He keeps things from getting too intense with his typical teenage boyness and his struggles with his hemophilia.

As far as plot goes, I felt like Game was pretty brilliant. In some aspects, I had certain things figured out WAY in advance, but other things took me a while to piece together. I felt both really smart for figuring some pieces out and really stupid for missing some things that now feel more obvious. I think that might have been exactly the way Barry Lyga planned this book. You don’t want to completely frustrate the reader, but there has to be something they don’t get at the same time because being too predictable is the worst. I highly enjoyed the plot for Game and how it appears to play into the overall plot of the series. Yet as I mentioned earlier, the pacing was a bit slow.

I feel like it’s worth noting because apparently some readers HATE this, but Game ends in like a three-way cliffhanger. The reader is uncertain of every single character and what’s going to happen next with our favorite ones. But I’ve already started Blood of My Blood and it picks up immediately where Game leaves off so no worries there. I would just suggest perhaps making sure you have Blood of My Blood available to dive right in as soon as you finish Game.

My favorite quotes:

-“…I never met Mrs. Dent, but I know she must have been a good person because I’m pretty sure Billy Dent didn’t raise Jasper to rescue helpless hemophiliacs from bullies.”

-“Ever since I’ve known you, you’ve been thinkin’ that someday you’re gonna crack and end up like your daddy. And you’ve been looking for proof that you won’t. What you don’t realize is this: The lookin’ is the proof.”

-He figured he cut a pretty dashing figure in his jeans and heavy shirt. And gloves. And hat. Not like a page out of a catalog or anything, but it showed how he thought ahead. He was prepared. Women dug guys who were prepared.

-“Howie, you’re the same age as my nephew.”
”Actually, I’m six weeks older.”
She shook her head. “It’s not going to happen.”
”You say that now.”
”I do.”
”We’re both two lonely people,” Howie said seductively, “trapped in a world created by Billy Dent.”
Samantha howled with laughter. Howie figured that wasn’t a good sign.

-“Dude! You hit on my aunt!”
”That depends on how you define ‘hit on.’”
”You totally hit on my aunt.”
”Was that wrong? Was I not supposed to do that?”
”You should think about what you just said. Think about it, Howie.”
”I’m just not seeing where I went wrong. For an older woman, she’s got a nice body, and she must moisturize like a mofo because her skin is—“

-“Watch it. That’s the mother of my illegitimate children you’re talking about.”

Also, I feel like it should be noted that I normally hate dialect, but I rarely even noticed it in either I Hunt Killers or Game. As a matter of fact, Barry Lyga did dialogue so well that I actually enjoyed it. It wasn’t always present. It wasn’t over the top. And I don’t know any other writer who could use “they’d’ve” and get away with it. But Mr. Lyga pulled it off.

Despite the pacing, I feel like Game has the makings of a brilliant book in a brilliant series. Even though I feel certain Game will probably be my least favorite in the series, Game gets 4 Stars from me easily. I can’t wait to see how things wrap up with Blood of My Blood. Have you read Game? What did you think? Let me know!

This review is part of my All Things Halloween event--a month of paranormal, supernatural, mystery/thriller, etc reviews and books.

All Things Halloween Review - I Hunt Killers

I Hunt Killers (Jasper Dent, # 1)

By: Barry Lyga

Published: April 3rd 2012 by Little, Brown and Company

359 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Horror

Source: Borrowed from my local library

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*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--What if the world's worst serial killer...was your dad?

Jasper "Jazz" Dent is a likable teenager. A charmer, one might say.

But he's also the son of the world's most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, Take Your Son to Work Day was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could—from the criminal's point of view.

And now bodies are piling up in Lobo's Nod.

In an effort to clear his name, Jazz joins the police in a hunt for a new serial killer. But Jazz has a secret—could he be more like his father than anyone knows?

Fans of Dexter...I Hunt Killers is the book for you. Husband and I haven’t quite finished watching Dexter (at the time of writing this review, by the time this review goes live we will have finished it), but we’re about a season and a half out from finishing. Because we’re in the middle of the show, I couldn’t help but spot similarities of I Hunt Killers with Dexter. While Dexter’s father wasn’t a serial killer but a cop, he still taught Dexter how to evade getting caught. Jasper’s father was also teaching his son how to be a killer and how not to get caught. But while Dexter’s father taught him how to evade capture by thinking how the cops think, Jasper’s father did it by taking him along on his kills. From the way Jasper remembers it, his father seems to have turned every situation into a teaching experience. And so even though Billy Dent isn’t a model father, he had the teaching part down pat.

Because Jazz knows how a serial killer thinks, it was easy for him to spot how a recent murder in his small town of Lobo’s Nod fit the bill for a serial killer and that there would in fact be more murders. Local sheriff, G. William, has taken a personal interest in Jazz’s life. Despite that, G. William finds it difficult to believe Jazz’s serial killer theory. This causes Jazz to branch out and do his own investigation. Eventually G. William sees Jazz’s point of view and enlists Jasper’s particular knowledge of his father’s murders to help solve the case.

More than the story itself, I Hunt Killers is character driven. Jasper is understandably affected by everything he experienced and witnessed at the hands of his father. He’s paranoid about what the town thinks of him which is also understandable. Anyone would fear being thought of as a killer when their father turned out to be one of the world’s worst and taught you everything you know at the same time. Jasper subconsciously seeks to find the killer in this instance in hopes of proving his own innocence. Jasper’s character was so psychologically well-thought out by Barry Lyga. Every action he takes, every thought he has serves a psychological purpose. Jazz is a complex and brilliant character.

But Jazz would be nothing without his sidekicks. His best friend, Howie, is a hoot. Howie is a Type A Hemophiliac. This is a genetic deficiency involving the blood’s clotting factor which increases bleeding. Because of this, Howie is well…fragile. He’s prone to injury, and normal injuries can prove to be much more serious for him than most. Howie is Jazz’s go-to partner for any illegal investigating and such. Howie always has Jazz’s back and they’ve been friends since before everyone found out about Jasper’s father. Howie stuck by Jazz during the transformation period from popular to pariah. Howie was a great character and an awesome best friend. Plus he actually caused me to laugh out loud at one point which is always a bonus for me.

We can’t forget about Connie—Jazz’s girlfriend. Connie and Jazz form a bi-racial couple, and I loved the added tidbit that Connie’s father wasn’t happy about the pair. Connie wasn’t as supportive of Jazz’s extracurricular investigations, but I didn’t mind that because she came from a place of being genuinely concerned about Jazz. Connie has Jazz’s best interest at heart. She wants him to be safe. There was a period when Jazz talks about Connie being a “safe” choice for him to date. I went through a period of time wondering if the fact that Connie was a “safe” choice meant that Jasper didn’t really have true feelings for her, but that wasn’t the case at all. All in all, I loved Jasper and Connie’s relationship. Have no fear though, this relationship, while present, doesn’t overtake or overshadow the story at all.

I’m not sure that there were any too big surprises or plot twists. There was one thing that I didn’t predict, but I wasn’t blown away or shocked by it as I might have been. Yet, I Hunt Killers leaned towards being one of those books where I didn’t feel the desire to figure everything out because the process of experiencing this book was just so stinking enjoyable.

I Hunt Killers is just about as well done as a book can be. It’s YA so there’s nothing too graphic. There is mention of some intense subjects considering we’re talking serial killers here and serial killers don’t really have personal boundaries. There’s a little bit of romance, a little bit of mystery, a little bit of humor, and a lot of psychology. I thoroughly enjoyed every single minute of it. Fans of the TV shows Dexter, The Following, and even the short-lived Cult will probably enjoy I Hunt Killers. Ultimately, I’m giving this one 4.5 Stars. Have you read I Hunt Killers? What did you think? Let me know!

This review is part of my All Things Halloween event--a month of paranormal, supernatural, mystery/thriller, etc reviews and books.