If I were a serial killer, I certainly wouldn’t complicate my own life with as much convolution as Ansom Bishop does in the sequel to “The Fourth Monkey.” I wouldn’t plan things so meticulously and with plans within plans, and definitely not on such a tight schedule.
I wouldn’t want to constantly watch the clock, fearing I might miss out on my own machinations.
Meanwhile, I’d be under investigation for the heinous acts committed in the previous installment. I certainly wouldn’t keep a diary, only for half the police force and the FBI (to whom I generously provide it) to feast on, gathering useful information against me. But what do I know…
So, in Barker’s book, there’s a bit too much complexity, it’s a bit overwritten, and the FBI subplot (hello, Agent Poole) is utterly unnecessary. The two INCREDIBLE twists can easily be predicted well in advance by anyone’s child.
However, Bishop’s diary (a book within the book, though considerably shorter than in the first installment) reads well, and unlike the main plot, the reader’s curiosity propels it forward… And miraculously, by the end, even the infinitely complicated intrigue gains some semblance of meaning. Well, to some extent.
So, I’ll have to read the concluding part… darn it, cursed curiosity!
6.5/10
The Fifth to Die (4MK Thriller #2) by J.D. Barker
384 pages, Paperback
Published July 23, 2018 by HQ Fiction GB