Housewife Blues and Chihuahua Stories

Book Info
ebook, 1st Edition, 282 pages
Published April 3rd 2012 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (first published January 1st 2012)
original title I Hunt Killers
ISBN 031620174X (ISBN13: 9780316201742)
edition language English
series Jasper Dent #1
characters Connie, Jasper "Jazz" Dent, Billy Dent, G. William Tanner
setting Lobo's Nod
literary awards Bram Stoker Award Nominee for Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel (2012), Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee (2014), Goodreads Choice Nominee for Best Young Adult Fiction (2012)
other editions (25)
Source:Netgalley EARC

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BOOK SYNOPSIS

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?

My Thoughts

Jasper Francis Dent, Jazz for short, is a young man with the most outrageous upbringing of any character in any story that have read thus far. Fascinating though that at 17 he is able to use what he learned in a way that defeats the purpose of his father's teachings. This is one of those books you just gave to experience, it is more than it seems and gets better as the story progresses!

As someone whose YA genre consists of reads about either female leads or stories that involve couples it is always refreshing to find a tale with a young man as the main character, especially one as conflicted and charismatic as Jazz Dent.

13 years old when his serial killer father was finally apprehended and put in prison for life the past 4 years have been spent with Jazz constantly hearing his father’s voice in his head, the voice that over and over tries to convince him that his own deviant nature will soon show and a new killer will be born!

Now 17 years old Jazz has once again become embroiled in the world of murder when a young woman is found dead outside town in a field, after hearing the alert on his police scanner the intrepid teen makes his way unseen by police to the scene and when a piece of evidence is found he is chilled to the bone when he realizes this was the work of a serial killer.

Now if only he could convince his town sheriff maybe the nightmare crime spree in Lobo’s Nod could be stopped!

As this story unraveled and more clues are revealed, as Jazz puts himself into the mind set of the killer looking for anything that would help lead to his identity, as we become more and more aware of the psychological aspects that are incorporated into how the past merges with certain present events our tension builds higher and higher. Without the bits and pieces of comic relief provided in lighter moments with Jazz and his geeky hemophiliac friend Howie as well as the tougher no nonsense attitude that his girlfriend Connie takes when Jazz finds himself conflicted this sometimes dark tale would be harder to relate to.

As others have stated the characters themselves have riveting personalities and when we finally get to meet Billy Dent, even though we know he is a chillingly evil mass murderer, one cannot help but feel connected to the man.

Interesting, fascinating, fast read that was hard to put down and looking forward to sequel Game and book three Blood Of My Blood that also snagged a digital galley review copy to read.

[EArc from Netgalley in exchange for honest review]