I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga is a murder mystery book, told in third person by teenager Jazz Dent, while also told in the perspective of the “impressionist”, switching between the two.  Jazz is fascinated with murder, and especially loves to attempt to solve them as well. His intrigue towards such a viscous subject stems from the mind of his father, a former serial killer, Billy Dent, who killed hundreds of people. His father kept Jazz educated on his murders all of Jazz’ life, going into great detail about each victim, and explaining step by step his techniques of killing and how he got around them. Growing up around that atmosphere was normal for Jazz, and you can’t really blame him for being infatuated with the idea. Knowing what Jazz is a product of makes the book far more interesting, given we know that Jazz shares the same blood as Billy, being more susceptible to committing the same crimes. Jazz knows the most efficient ways to clean up a crime scene and knows a serial killers morals because of his father. Therefore, Jazz could potentially get away with murder if he desired, he could snap at any moment.

The book pulls you in right away, setting the scene by describing the crime scene of a dead girl found recently by the lake. Immediately, Jazz begins to collect evidence and ideas, hoping to show sheriff G. William his discoveries. Jazz is usually confident in his findings because he applies his knowledge from what his father had told him in the past, and continues to make connections constantly. He explains to the sheriff that this could in fact be a serial killing. The sheriff dis regards Jazz, not realizing his knowledge about this topic extends way further than his.

I have to actually be genuinely interested in a book in order to want to keep reading, I Hunt Killers kept me hooked. I liked how the beginning started with intensity. Usually I read the first couple pages of a book to see If I like it so the beginning really pulled me in. I like how the story narrates Jazz’ conflicting thoughts and viewpoints, while having him simotounsley be a good, normal kid. It’s interesting to see how Jazz tries to cope with his past and his vigorous thoughts and see where he exerts most of his energy. For instance, Jazz has a girlfriend that keeps him somewhat sane, yet obviously isn’t aware of what Jazz is thinking and knows. Jazz later on goes on to explain that he could be a potential sociopath given most things he doesn’t feel much emotion for.

All in all, the ending is a huge, unexpected twist. The book is extremely well written and dives really deep into the physcology of a young boy who is permanently changed by his fathers legacy.