Blood of My Blood by Barry Lyga (I Hunt Killers #3)

When we last left our valiant hero, (Although he's not always that heroic.) Jazz was left, bleeding and alone, in a storage unit in NYC after a hunt for a killer gone wrong. Connie, his girlfriend, is in the clutches of Billy Dent, the world's most deadly serial killer. And Howie, Jazz's best friend, is landed in the hospital.

When Jazz is finally found, he is the prime suspect in the murder of FBI Agent Morales, who was killed in the fight that wounded Jazz. Jazz is innocent, but he will have little luck convincing a board of men who think he's just following in his father's bloody footsteps. While Jazz has no wish to clash with the law any more, he will have to. His lethal plan will take him farther away from the law than ever before. Jazz needs to kill his father. Only with Billy's death can Jazz and those close to him live safely again.

Connie is shocked by Jazz's plan and begs him to see reason, but Jazz knows that he is the only person who can catch his diabolical dad. Connie and Howie set their sights on helping Jazz any way they can, mainly by searching for the killer called only Ugly J. Billy repeatedly has sworn that he is not Ugly J, which leaves the twosome guessing. Of course, they have no idea... Ugly J is closer to Jazz than anyone could have imagined.

Jazz, protagonist that he is, is chilling and frighting. I love how he isn't quite good. He's willing to do anything to find his father, enven if it means disregarding the law more than he already has. I knew he was Hell-bent on getting his father when he decided to go through with his plan even has Connie threatened him with everything from calling th cops to a breakup. If Jazz is willing to give up Connie, you know he's set on something. I enjoyed seeing him use so much of whar his father taught him. It made him seem delightfully eerie, and I could totally see him as a killer.

As for the older Dent, Billy scares me to death. Part of it is that he's a serial killer. Scarier than that is that he totally believes in what he's doing. Billy really cares about Jazz. He tries to help his son and would never hurt him. I think Billy really does think he's doing what's best for the boy. He thinks Jazz was raised to kill. Billy also has terrifying mood swings. One moment he'll be laughing at something Connie says, and the next he'll be pulling out a knife. On the topic of laughing, Billy is so cheerful all the time, smiling and chuckling. It makes the fact that he's insane so much more frightning.

The thing about the book's killers that is very interesting is how, in a sick way, some of the thinks he and Ugly J say make a lot of sense. Billy says that "People don't matter." It's true, if you think about it. You can say that all human life is valuable, but in the long run, nobody's going to care if that waitress from the local diner gets killed. Sure, her family and friend will mourn her. Maybe there'll be something in the paper about her. In the long run, however, nobody will care. That waitress won't matter. Someone will move into her house and take over her job, and people will forget. Second, Ugly J often complains about women. Ugly J says that most women are fools, dressing up to attract the attention of men. He/she goes on to add that men can't control themselves. In some ways, and in some cases, it's true.

The book started off with tons of action right away. This was probably set up by the crazy good cliffhanger ending of Game, the previous book. The action doesn't let up for a single moment and the plot moved at a breakneck pace. The search for Ugly J kept me guessing, and even when I thought I had it figured out, I was totally proven wrong! Looking back, the truth of all the book's mysteries was painfully simple. I loved all the information the series gave me about serial killers. After I finished reading Blood of My Blood, I actaully went out and got a couple books to learn more about the serial killer's habits and psyche. The book has gotten me interested in reading and learning more about crime, serial killers in particular. This was a splendid end to this great trilogy! The ending was satisfying, but also a bit creepy. (No spoilers!) It's hard to say goodbye to Jazz, Billy, Connie, Howie, and all the other characters. This is going to be a series I'm going to reread many times. 4.5/5 stars! I would love to see if Barry Lyga comes out with more books about horror and crime. I definitely would read them!

#thriller #crimeandmystery #bestofshelf