Review: ‘The Sixth Wicked Child’ by J.D. Barker ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Review: ‘The Sixth Wicked Child’ by J.D. Barker ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

SYNOPSIS:

In the riveting conclusion of the 4MK trilogy, Barker takes the thriller to an entirely new level. Don’t miss a single word of the series James Patterson called “ingenious”.

Hear No Evil.

For Detective Sam Porter, the words “Father, forgive me” conjure memories long forgotten, a past intentionally buried. For Anson Bishop, these three words connect a childhood to the present as he unleashes a truth he concealed for decades.

See No Evil.

Found written on cardboard near each body, these words link multiple victims to a single killer – discovered within minutes of each other in both Chicago and South Carolina – clearly connected yet separated by impossible miles.

Speak No Evil.

Chicago Metro and the FBI find themselves caught in chaos – a hospital on lockdown, a rogue officer, and corruption at the highest levels. When Anson Bishop, the prime suspect in the notorious MK4 serial murders, turns himself in, he reveals a story completely unexpected, one that not only upends the current investigation, but one that will change the lives of all involved.

Do No Evil.

With unrelenting tension and pulse-pounding suspense, the past unravels at breakneck speed as the truth behind the Four Monkey Killer’s motive is finally revealed in this masterfully crafted finale.

MY REVIEW:

Oh. My. God. What an exhilarating, jaw-dropping, crazy and spectacular ride! J. D. Barker has ended the Four Monkey Killer trilogy on a bigger note than the gigantic one I was already anticipating. Not content with blowing our minds at the end of book two and leaving us wondering what on earth happens next for months, he now returns and takes everything you were thinking after the previous books’ revelations and pulls the rug from under you once more. I got book whiplash from all the twists and turns. Nothing you think you know is true. No one you trust is reliable. And you have no idea what to expect as you hold on for dear life while reading this final installment.

Picking up where book two ends we soon catch up with the events of the last book and are immersed in the gruesome and brutal 4MK serial killings, a threat to unleash a virus on the general population, and the hunt for the truth about the person, or persons, behind these events. As before the story is told by multiple narrators in the present day with flashbacks in the form of Anson Bishop’s diaries; though this time we don’t know if they are real or elaborate forgeries created to distract from the real Four Monkey Killer. We also now have two suspects – Anson and Detective Sam Porter. Sam has spent years obsessively hunting 4MK but new evidence suggest this may have been a rouse and he is more involved than his team want to believe. Both men protest their innocence. Both men point their finger at the other. But who is telling the truth and who is chasing who in this deadly game of cat and mouse?

Before you read this book it is vital you read The Fourth Monkey and The Fifth To Die as knowing what happened in the previous books is the only way to make sense of what happens in this one. When reading a book series, one of my favourite aspects is getting to know the recurring characters. Over the course of this trilogy I’ve particularly come to love Detective Sam Porter. He’s a well respected member of his team, dedicated cop and while he might bend the rules a little to catch the bad guy, you know he’s a good man and a good Detective. So it seemed anyway. One of the hardest parts of this book for me is having all that crumble as his true involvement with 4MK is questioned. The idea of him being the Four Monkey Killer sickened me and I honestly read this book dreading that outcome. I didn’t know who to believe and it remained that way right until the final sentence.

I’ve always liked the use of diaries written by Bishop to tell his backstory and even though these were unreliable in this book, they were still some of my favourite parts to read. Learning more about what the diaries claim happened when Bishop went into the foster system, his friends and budding relationship with Libby humanised him more than previous books. He wasn’t as cold, calculated and strange and I thought that was a great way to also make the reader unsure if he was 4MK or is innocent like he claims.

The Sixth Wicked Child takes you to some of the darkest corners of human nature, the despair, depravity and cruelty that lies hidden behind closed doors and the masks people wear every day. The writing and plotting is once again exquisite, cunning and captivating. The author is the master of the dark psychological thriller and has created one of the best book series I’ve ever read. I’m sad that it’s over but excited to see what he writes next. I know I will be first in line to read it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Hampton Creek Press and J.D. Barker for an ebook copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: August 27th.

Available to buy from your favourite bookseller.

ABOUT 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.