FICTION

The Fourth Monkey

by J.D. Barker
Houghton Harcourt. Jun. 2017. 416p. ISBN 9780544968844. $26; ebk. ISBN 9780544969940. F
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Bram Stoker Award finalist Barker (Forsaken) ingeniously blends horrific images into a bizarre plotline to create this deviously dark thriller. When a man jumps in front of a Chicago bus in an apparent act of suicide, Det. Sam Porter identifies the deceased as the Fourth Monkey Killer (4MK) after finding a white box in his jacket, which contained an ear from his latest victim. For more than five years, he had dismembered seven girls in the Chicago area, targeting the daughters of high-society criminals. The apparent eighth victim, Emory Talbot, the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy real-estate developer, might still be alive. Barker torques his characters through unforeseeable and highly unusual twists.
VERDICT By splitting his narrative among Porter, 4MK's diary, victim Emory, and Det. Clair Norton, Barker adds multiple perspectives, making following this intricate story unnecessarily more difficult. Still, fans of the movie Se7en and gruesome serial killer thrillers will hang on for the ride. [Barker has signed on to write a prequel to Bram Stoker's Dracula with Dacre Stoker.—Ed.]
Reviewed by Jerry P. Miller. Cambridge, MA , May 15, 2017
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