This killer's already dead when the book starts. That's not a spoiler—it's the hook that had me gripping the steering wheel a little tighter on I-35 during a late-night drive back from a client meeting in Dallas.
Let me cut to the chase: J.D. Barker wrote a damn solid thriller here. The Four Monkey Killer—4MK if you're keeping notes—has been terrorizing Chicago for five years, leaving bodies with missing sensory organs (hear no evil, see no evil, you get the pattern). Then he gets hit by a bus. Case closed? Not even close. There's a girl still out there, and the clock's ticking.
The Diary Changes Everything
Here's where Barker did something smart. The story alternates between Detective Sam Porter's present-day investigation and the killer's personal diary entries from childhood. Two timelines, two narrators. Edoardo Ballerini handles the main investigation while Graham Winton takes the diary sections. That dual narration setup? Genius move. You're not just chasing a killer—you're watching one get made.
Ballerini captures Porter's intense, no-nonsense personality with real conviction. The guy sounds like he's running on coffee and guilt, which tracks with a detective who's got his own demons eating at him. When he shifts between characters—male, female, suspects, witnesses—the transitions are smooth. No jarring moments where you're wondering who's talking. That's harder than it sounds, and Ballerini makes it look easy.
One minor gripe that won't bother most folks but did catch my ear: occasionally the narration includes those extra dialogue tags—"Billy shrugged and said" type additions. Minor, but when you've spent decades in briefings where every word matters, you notice the fat.
The Se7en Comparison Isn't Wrong
The marketing calls this Se7en meets Silence of the Lambs. That's not just publisher hype—it's accurate. The methodical killer with a twisted moral code, the detective who's maybe too close to the case, the race against time with a victim's life hanging in the balance. Barker clearly studied those templates, but he's not just copying homework. The diary structure adds a psychological depth that most cat-and-mouse thrillers skip entirely.
What impressed me: the author did his homework on police procedure. No "clip" when he means magazine, if you catch my drift. The task force dynamics, the jurisdictional friction, the way evidence gets processed—it feels authentic. I've worked with enough law enforcement in my consulting work to spot the fakes, and this isn't one.
Where It Drags (Barely)
At 12 and a half hours, there are moments in the middle where the pacing slows. The diary entries, while fascinating, occasionally feel like they're stretching for effect. By hour seven or eight, I was ready for the present-day investigation to pick up speed. It does—the final third moves like a convoy under fire—but that middle section requires some patience.
The psychological thriller elements are solid without being gratuitous. Violence is present—this is a serial killer story, after all—but Barker doesn't wallow in it. Golden Lion takes a similar approach with its combat scenes, focused on character motivation rather than gore. He's more interested in the why than the how, which makes for a smarter read.
Who's This For (And Who Should Skip)
If you like your thrillers with psychological depth and don't mind a slow-burn setup for a fast payoff, this is your book. Fans of Jeffery Deaver or Thomas Harris will feel right at home. If you need constant action and can't stand dual timeline structures, you might get frustrated.
I listened at my usual 1.25x, and it worked perfectly. The narration's pacing is measured enough that speeding up doesn't lose anything. Good for long drives, focused listening sessions, or those nights when sleep won't come anyway.
Debrief
Ranger slept through most of this one—no explosions to wake him up—but I was locked in. Barker delivered a thriller that respects its audience's intelligence while still delivering the goods. The dual narration elevates what could've been a standard police procedural into something more layered. First in a series, and yeah, I'm already queuing up the next one.
Worth your time? If you've got a credit burning a hole in your account and you want a thriller that'll keep you engaged for the long haul, spend it here. The author clearly did his homework, the narration team executes with precision, and that ending? Didn't see it coming. And I'm usually pretty good at spotting the twist.
