3 Reasons to Read the Jasper Dent Trilogy by Barry Lyga
Serial Killer Parent: The main premise in the Jasper Dent trilogy is that Jazz has been conditioned by his father to become a serial killer. While Billy Dent has been caught when I Hunt Killers begins (the first book in the series), a lot of the damage has already been done. I found it fascinating throughout the series how Jazz kind of walked the line of being his own self – and a good person – and living with Billy Dent’s words in his head. Jazz knows he has the skills to be like his dad, but he’s determined not to turn into the person Billy raised him to be. It’s a really fascinating character study in a way!
Jazz’s Best Friend: Howie has hemophilia (which means a simple shoulder punch can really injure him), and this makes him an interesting best friend for a serial killer’s son. I love Howie though. He knew Billy a bit before he was captured, but he obviously never realized he was a serial killer until after the fact. Regardless, he is loyal to Jazz and he knows that Jazz is not like his father, even if Jazz isn’t always so sure. Plus, Howie is just really funny and these type of books always benefit from some humor.
The Books Build: I felt like each book was really great all on its own (honestly, I gave the first 4 stars and the last two 5 stars on Goodreads). This is always a great thing when it comes to series because sometimes it can feel like one of the books is more of a filler than the others – usually the second book in trilogies- and I didn’t think the Jasper Dent series had that problem. Yes, there are overarching mysteries and story lines to keep you reading, but each individual book had its own little mystery to sort out too.
Have I enticed you to try this series? You can purchase all three books on Bookshop.org – these are affiliate links, I get a small % of any sale at no extra cost to you and you’re supporting independent bookstores!
Did you like this post? Please pin this image!
I read the first two books years ago. I should finish the series. I’d probably have to read re-read the first two again to get anything out of it. Glad to hear you loved the series! 🙂
My child loved this series! The book covers are spooky!
I would love to read this trilogy all 3 books sound amazing. I love these types of books so interesting,
I mean, not to judge books by their covers, but these look SO GOOD.
These sound like great books!
This sounds like a great series. I really love the covers too!
This is one of my most favorite series! I adored how dark it was and how different. Definitely not your normal YA series at all!
I have been wanting to get to this but I am still backed up from other book. I hope to this Spring have a chance on reading these.
@tisonlyme143
I’ve actually been meaning to read the first book, didn’t know there are follow ups. Gonna bump it up it my to-read pile now, exciting stuff 🙂
I had the first book (& a very cool promo pack from the publisher) but I never got to it. I was always curious though and I could always binge read now that they’re all out.
Karen @ For What It’s Worth
This sounds good to me
[…] created the above image when I reviewed the Jasper Dent trilogy, starting with I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga. But it can be said in reverse – if you loved the […]