In the first book of the 'John Cleaver' series by Dan Wells, 'I Am Not a Serial Killer', readers are introduced to John Wayne Cleaver, a teenage sociopath fascinated by serial killers but determined not to become one. Living above his family's mortuary, John struggles to control his dark impulses while investigating a series of murders in his small town. As the plot unfolds, the story transitions from a psychological thriller to a YA horror fantasy, exploring themes of dark desires and the battle between good and evil within John's own mind.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
The book contains graphic depictions of violence, murder, and themes of mental illness, which may be triggering for some readers.
From The Publisher:
John Wayne Cleaver is dangerous, and he knows it. He's spent his life doing his best not to live up to his potential. He's obsessed with serial killers, but really doesn't want to become one.
So for his own sake, and the safety of those around him, he lives by rigid rules he's written for himself, practicing normal life as if it were a private religion that could save him from damnation. Dead bodies are normal to John.
He likes them, actually. They don't demand or expect the empathy he's unable to offer. Perhaps that's what gives him the objectivity to recognize that there's something different about the body the police have just found behind the Wash-n-Dry Laundromat - and to appreciate what that difference means.
Now, for the first time, John has to confront a danger outside himself, a threat he can't control, a menace to everything and everyone he would love, if only he could.
Ratings (25)
Incredible (6) | |
Loved It (6) | |
Liked It (8) | |
It Was OK (5) |
Reader Stats (57):
Read It (26) | |
Want To Read (25) | |
Not Interested (6) |
7 comment(s)
This was pretty good. Still not sure if I liked the massive twist in the tale. If you know you know lol but I will give book 2 a chance as something kept me reading this book.
I Am Not a Serial Killer was a wild and crazy read. As I'm sure many have already said, the reader cannot help but think of the TV series, Dexter, when reading it. John has a set of rules he has put in place that keep him from acting on his killer instincts. He must do so in order to keep his monster behind the wall. When people in his neighborhood are murdered and the bodies are showing up in his family's mortuary, he can't help but try to figure out who is doing the killing. Like Dexter, John knows that he must have a friend to make him at least appear to be normal - insert Max. The banter between these two and John's internal monologue are a hoot. I also really liked John's therapist.
The "demon" in the story was a bit odd. But, I kinda just rolled with it. I found John to be such an interesting character. His internal banter and thought processes seemed to mature for a teenager.
Favorite Quotes:
"1. John Wayne Gacy 2. Dad's named Sam ... Son of Sam and the 3rd link that leads John to believe fate wants him to be a serial killer, "My last name is 'Cleaver,'" I said. "How many people do you know who are named after two serial killers and a murder weapon?"
And the last line:
"You'll never see us coming." Spooky!
I will be reading the rest of the trilogy.
This book was good. I wanted much more but also couldnt put it down. Not what I was expecting, yet exactly what I was expecting?
I almost DNF'ed this a few pages in - the book begins with a graphic description of the embalming process. If you're queasy like me, skim this section or power through it, because this book is more than worth finishing. It reminds me of The Monstrumologist series, in its exploration of what separates people from monsters. Another obvious parallel is to the Dexter books and TV series, since this is also about a sociopath struggling to live a "normal" life. John Cleaver's voice is clinical and detached, but by the end of the novel I somehow felt for him. He struggles with understanding how and why people love each other, and what it makes them do.
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I didn't think I would like this book at all - I only picked it up because it is written by Dan Wells, whose Partials trilogy I adore. I was expecting a thriller-type murder-mystery, but instead found this to be primarily a character study against the backdrop of a highly entertaining game of cat-and-mouse.
Other reviews have already done a far better job expressing how amazing this book was, so let me simply say: this is one of the most beautiful, terrible, unique, colorful, horrifying, immersive books I have ever read. As I'm not a sociopath I can't speak to the accuracy of Wells's portrayal, but it reads real and is definitely one of the most intriguing character portraits I've ever come across.
2020 reread: This was a lot more disturbing than I remember. Still enjoyable.
It's creepy and deeply thoughtful.
What can you read after
I Am Not a Serial Killer?
About the Author:
DAN WELLS writes a little bit of everything, but he is best known for the Partials Sequence and the John Cleaver series, the first book of which is now a major motion picture.
He is a co-host of the educational podcast Writing Excuses, for which he won a Hugo and now helps run a yearly, week-long writing conference. In addition to novels, novellas, and shorts, he has also written and produced a stage play, called "A Night of Blacker Darkness," and works as a staff writer on the TV show "Extinct." He has lived in the US, Mexico, and Germany, and currently resides in Utah with his wife and six children and 439 board games.
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