A captivating who done it which seamlessly combines dark fantasy and true crime mystery. The ideal read for those who love to listen to podcasts about serial killers and seek dragons in the clouds. Dan Wells hooks readers in with the first chapter and keeps them locked in his claws till the very end as he weaves a web of human connection, murder mystery and self-discovery.
From the blurb;
'My name is John Cleaver, and my hobby is death. I'm fascinated by serial killers, and I've seen a lot of dead bodies in my life, but since my family runs the town mortuary what do you expect? Especially since business has been booming...
'That's because there are two monsters living in my hometown. One of them is a vicious killer who tears his victims to shreds. It might be a man, it might be a wild animal, or it might be something far, far worse...
'As for the other monster, well.... I'm doing my best not to kill anybody at all.
'My name is John Cleaver. I'm fifteen. I'm a mortician. I'm a sociopath. But I am not a serial killer.'
Wells brings main character John Cleaver to life and draws us into his psyche, a complex narrative due to John's nature, which Wells perfectly and deliberately designs to make you not only agree with John but to question your own sensibilities and morals.
While the cast isn't very broad what characters to do come into play each have an important effect on John's mental disposition, with his mother and therapist having the greatest impact on his humanity.
Given a sudden and bloody glimpse into the life of John Cleaver and his family we are forced to piece together many aspects of their past, and how these incidents have played a part in making John the person he is today.
On the other hand another very human struggle is raging, tearing out of it's bounds and into the realms of the public's view. As the murders escalate and John's fascination turns into something deeper we aren't kept wondering about our killer for long.
Wells focuses in not on the mystery of the who but the why. And it is this question that keeps us hooked throughout the novel, for through the lens of John Cleaver the why is the biggest mystery of all.
We give I Am Not A Serial Killer Five Stars
ISBN - 978-0-7553-4881-7 Cover Price - £9.99 First Published in Great Britain in 2009 by Headline Publishing Group
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