Before I’d Even Finished Reading, I’d Ordered Books 2 and 3 in the Series

Although I love literary fiction and nonfiction books, police procedurals, true crimes, and detective/investigation thrillers are my literary crack. There is nothing quite like the physical feeling of liftoff as a book soars airborne toward its climax, and you just can’t put it down. If such a book also has a more original story, is written well, and the last few paragraphs give an unexpected punch, it’s the cherries on top! If it takes place in Chicago, even better! The Fourth Monkey by J. D. Barker, book one in the book The Fourth Monkey Killer (4MK) thriller series, is just such a book. Before I’d even finished reading it, I’d already ordered books 2 and 3 in the series. 

The elusive perpetrator of a number of recent deadly 

kidnappings is interrupted making a crime related delivery, when a Chicago Transit Authority bus accidentally hits the killer mid stride. Although one detective later expressed a hope the bus reversed and backed over the killer again, one strike was more than enough to get the job done. A journal written by the criminal is located, dedicated “To Mother,” with the instruction “Don’t stop reading. I need you to understand what I have done.” As the investigation proceeds, the book’s narrative alternates between previously written journal entries in chronological order, and stages of the present day investigation. Since I used Audible narration, I was able to hear the killer’s voice narrating his own journal entries which added to the chilling atmosphere of my reading experience (another reason I’m getting addicted to Audible narration). 

The detectives and cast of characters are highly engaging in this stand alone book, except for the rats, of course. And in that vein, retributive murder can be unforgettable in nature, so reading this book is not for the squeamish. In some ways there was a synchrony of criminal and investigators, as the targets of the killer had all done very bad things, information and evidence were provided that lead to other previously unknown crimes the killer was avenging. The criminal is extremely intelligent in his planning and execution, and in some ways it reminded me of The Blacklist and Raymond Reddington’s partnership with the FBI pursuing crimes of powerful people and governmental entities, although there was no real partnership in this book, justice is served, but in the process evil is done. 

As the author explains in this book, “The four monkeys comes from the Tosho-gu Shrine in Nikko, Japan, where a carving of three apes resides above the entrance. The first covering his ears, the second covering his eyes, and the third covering his mouth, they depict the proverb ‘Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.’ The fourth monkey represents ‘Do no evil.’” Their names? “‘Mizaru means see no evil, Kikazaru means hear no evil, and Iwazaru means speak no evil.’” And the fourth monkey’s name? “‘Shizaru’ I said. ‘His name is Shizaru.’ ‘He stands for do no evil,’ Father said. ‘And that, of course, is the rub. Should someone see or hear evil, there is little one can do. When someone speaks evil, there is fault to be had, but when they do evil . . . well, when they do evil there is no room for forgiveness.’” The last few paragraphs in the book were an unexpected delight, and make me look forward even more to getting started on The Fifth to Die, second book in the 4MK series.