Words on Game by Barry Lyga (I Hunt Killers #2)

The serial killer that was terrorizing Lobo's Nod, The Impressionist, is no longer a threat, but someone else is. Billy Dent, Jazz's father, has escaped from prison and is now running lose. The police are in a panic, as Billy is one of the country's most lethal, clever, living killers. Now he's out in the world, and who knows how much damage he can cause or how long it will take to catch him, if he can be caught.

In New York City, however, the police have a more pressing issue. A killer is lose and has been murdering innocent people for several months, and the cops have no leads. The police are desperate, and so they find themselves asking for the help of the one person who may be able to solve the case: Jasper Dent. Jazz can think like the men the cops are so desperate to catch. If anyone can find the killer that is being called "Hat-Dog", it's Jazz.

Jazz agress to come to the Big Apple, but he has his own project to work on. Jazz wants to find his father and kill him to put an end, once and for all, to Billy Dent's reign of blood and terror. Jazz may be the only person in the world who can catch his father, since he's capable of thinking like the demented man. Meanwhile, Jazz's girlfriend, Connie, and his best friend, Howie, are digging into Jazz's past, and Connie finds something that could change Jazz's view of himself.

The thing about Jazz is that, regardless of how he may actually be, people are scared of him. He's scared of himself, worried that he could snap at any moment. His biggest fear is also his father's greatest dream: Jazz will become a killer just like his old man. I do think Jazz is a good kid. He wants to solve the murders, take care of his senile grandmother, and try to have a normal life. Of course, I feel a little sorry for him, because with such a notorious family history, having a normal life isn't really going to happen. Too many people might judge him for his family history. It's something I don't think they'll be able to not do, you know? You hear the name "Dent", and you get an image of some dead bodies and a grinning Billy.

Going back to people being scared of him, Jazz thinks like a serial killer, and he acts like one sometimes, too. Sometimes he manipulates people to get what he wants, and he's a stellar liar. In one case, he makes a joke about kidnapping his best friend, Howie. He just doesn't have the humor to pull it off, and Connie, his girlfriend, recalls being seriously concerned for Howie's safety at the time. Even people who care about Jazz, such as Howie or Connie, have seen hints of Billy, and the fact that Jazz looks so much like his father doesn't help things, either.

One thing that Jazz has issues with in the book is being in NYC, since there are so many people. One belief that Billy drummed into Jazz as a kid is that "People don't matter." What he means by that is that, in the grand scheme of things, people don't really mean anything. If they die, sure people will mourn them, but eventually someone will move into their home and take over their job and so on, and then they'll just become another memory. Jazz has to try to convince himself constantly that "People matter." Even so, it's hard to care when there are so many people. The sad part is, I think part of him agrees with Billy, because Billy's little mantra make sense in a sick kind of way. Jazz is scared off that part of him because he's convinced that if he gives in to that part or agrees with it too much, he'll turn out llike his father.

Speaking of Howie and Connie, they're great friends. They stay by Jazz no matter what, even though they know that being the best friends of someone so deeply involved with the capture of serial killers could end badly for them. Howie isn't always helping Jazz up on the front lines, but he's happy to stay at home and keep an eye on Jazz's grandmother, which is a battle in itself, since the woman is totally crazy. She's convinced the pictures of Billy's victims that Jazz keeps in his room are Santa's elves, and she's often convinced that Jazz is either Billy or Jazz's grandfather.

Connie, on the other hand, helps comfort Jazz when he feels like he's losing it and just gives him some one to talk to about the murder case. They don't judge Jazz because of his childhood or father, which is rare, and I think it helps him feel more comfortable, since he doesn't have to deal with those memories more than he already does.

The book was very chilling, with cold-blooded killers and ominous foreshadowing that suggested that Jazz has gotten himself caught up in some sort of conspiracy. Jazz's inner turmoil about his past and possibility to become a killer is frightening. I thought the book was very suspenseful and I couldn't put it down, wth exciting chases and searches for Billy and Hat-Dog. The killers are very smart and difficult to catch, making for a thrilling read. There was plenty of mystery about who was guilty of the murders, and even when I, as well as the characters, thought it was all figured out, we were proven wrong again. Reading this book was like taking a running leap off a cliff. It's fast, exciting, and a little scary, and at the end, you take a petrifying plunge straight down with the book's cliffhanger ending! 4/5 stars! This was a great sequel, upping the action with a fast-paced plot and amazing characters.

#crimeandmystery #thriller