22 October 2018

The Fifth To Die

Crime
Thriller
A 2018 Top Rated Read

By J.D. Barker

Paperback 384 pages
Publisher HQ (27th Dec 2018)
ASIN B078TVB1CP
ISBN-13 978-0008250386

‘J.D. Barker is a one-of-a-kind writer and that’s a rare and special thing. Stephen King comes to mind and Lee Child, John Sanford. All one-of-a-kinds. Don’t miss anything J.D. writes.’ James Patterson

📕My Review

The first book in this series, The Fourth Monkey, was one of my favourite novels of 2017. It was quite simply fabulous and in a class of its own. J.D. Barker had created a brilliant and utterly terrifying monster - psychopath Anson Bishop. This left me wondering if the second installment, The Fifth To Die, would cut the mustard. Well, let me tell you it does; with bells and whistles galore!

Old characters are revisited and a caboodle of newcomers introduced. There are shocks and twists aplenty as the plot hurtles along at full pelt. There's so much happening it's impossible to take a breath or slow down.

Author J.D. Barker certainly knows how to capture an audience and leave them gasping. His writing is faultless and a pleasure to read. How is it even possible to squeeze so much talent into one man? He really is that good!

A word of advice though - it's crucial to read the first book before starting the second. This isn't intended to be read as a standalone and you won't be able to 'pick it up' as you go along.

The third installment is due in late 2019 and if the first two are anything to go by, it'll be a killer (literally!).

My thanks to author J.D. Barker and publisher HQ for providing a copy of this book for my honest review.

Barnsey's Books Rating 

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📗The Blurb

Murder. It’s a family affair.

In the midst of one of the worst winters Chicago has seen in years, the body of missing teenager Ella Reynolds is discovered under the surface of a frozen lake.

She’s been missing for three weeks… the lake froze over three months ago.

Detective Sam Porter and his team are brought in to investigate but it’s not long before another girl goes missing. The press believes the serial killer, Anson Bishop, has struck again but Porter knows differently. The deaths are too different, there’s a new killer on the loose.

Porter however is distracted. He’s still haunted by Bishop and his victims, even after the FBI have removed him from the case. His only leads: a picture of a female prisoner and a note from Bishop: ‘Help me find my mother. I think it’s time she and I talked.’

As more girls go missing and Porter’s team race to stop the body count rising, Porter disappears to track down Bishop’s mother and discover that the only place scarier than the mind of a serial killer is the mind of the mother from which he came.

Perfect for fans of Helen Fields, Val McDermid and Jo Nesbo this gripping and twisted thriller will have you wondering, how do you stop a killer when he’s been trained from birth?

📘The Author

J.D. Barker is the internationally best-selling author of FORSAKEN, a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel, and winner of the New Apple Medalist Award. His work has been compared to Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and Thomas Harris. His latest novel, THE FOURTH MONKEY, released in June 2017. His third novel, THE FIFTH TO DIE, releases June 2018. He has been asked by the Stoker family to coauthor the forthcoming prequel to DRACULA due out in fall 2018. His novels have been translated into numerous languages and optioned for both film and television. Barker currently resides in Pennsylvania with his wife, Dayna, and their two dogs, both of whom sit outside his office door daily, eagerly awaiting his next novel.

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