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The Fifth To Die
Book 2 in 4MK Thriller Series
In the thrilling sequel to The Fourth Monkey, a new serial killer stalks the streets of Chicago, while Detective Porter delves deeper into the dark past of the Four Monkey Killer.
Detective Porter and the team have been pulled from the hunt for Anson Bishop, the Four Monkey Killer, by the feds. When the body of a young girl is found beneath the frozen waters of Jackson Park Lagoon, she is quickly identified as Ella Reynolds, missing three weeks. But how did she get there? The lagoon froze months earlier. More baffling? She’s found wearing the clothes of another girl, missing less than two days. While the detectives of Chicago Metro try to make sense of the quickly developing case, Porter secretly continues his pursuit of 4MK, knowing the best way to find Bishop is to track down his mother. When the captain finds out about Porter’s activities, he’s suspended, leaving his partners Clair and Nash to continue the search for the new killer alone.
Obsessed with catching Bishop, Porter follows a single grainy photograph from Chicago to the streets of New Orleans and stumbles into a world darker than he could have possibly imagined, where he quickly realizes that the only place more frightening than the mind of a serial killer is the mind of the mother from which he came.
Praise for The Fifth To Die
“I described J. D. Barker’s first story about Chicago detective Sam Porter and his hunt for serial killer Anson Bishop, entitled The Fourth Monkey, as bearing comparison with Thomas Harris’s creation of Hannibal Lecter. This sequel confirms my view: it is a superbly paced, beautifully constructed evocation of evil. Genuinely frightening, and with a terrific villain, it underlines just how good Barker is.”
—Daily Mail
“Well-written, haunting, and insanely addictive. . . Bottom line, this is what a suspense thriller is supposed to look like. Think Stephen King meets Michael Connelly — J.D. Barker was born to write suspense thrillers, and The Fifth to Die is his latest masterpiece.”
—The Real Book Spy
“The craftsmanship here is outstanding. The story is intricate without being annoyingly so; the characters are sharply defined; the dialogue is fluid; and the ending—well, let’s just say that when the book ends, it’s like a speeding train slamming into the side of a mountain: unexpected, abrupt, painful. The story is scheduled to conclude in the next book, which better get here soon.”
—BookList
“Insanely entertaining and utterly addictive!”
—Lancashire Evening Post
“Got me glued to my seat until the very last page!”
—The Girl with all the eBooks
“This book sucked me in page by page, chapter by chapter and then right at the last moment chewed me up and spat me out. Hats off to you Barker because I am more than eagerly awaiting book three.”
—The World is a Book
“J.D Barker has become a favorite author!”
—Bound4Escape
“Bold, dark, and engrossing – never lets up for a second!”
—Novel Gossip
“Barker once again dangles a carrot right in front of the reader’s face. You are so concentrated on what’s right in front of you that you miss what’s changing in the surrounding information. Just when you think he’s shown all his cards, Barker has a pocket ace up his sleeve.”
—QuitterStrip
“Scary, chilling, horrific, and creepy; this book is a must read.”
—A Book and a Cup of Tea
“One of the most fascinating sociopaths I have ever read.”
—Ludwig’s Book Reviews
“J.D. Barker has mastered how to write the perfect sequel, upping his game greatly to create an even more intense, thrilling and engaging story than The Fourth Monkey.”
—Anthony Avina
“A flawless piece of fiction.”
—The Crime Warp
“The Fifth to Die is an intelligent, gripping, exceptionally fast-paced police procedural that highlights Barker’s extraordinary imagination and talent as a spine-chilling storyteller.”
—Whats Better than Books
“If you love psychological thrillers then this is the cream of the crop.”
—The Romance Cover
“One of the darkest, creepiest, and sharpest serial killer novels I’ve ever read.”
—Bookaholic Reflections
“Chillingly written.”
—Woman’s Own Magazine
“Cinematic. The pages fly by.”
—Eastern Daily Press
“A gritty thriller that gets right under your skin.”
—Heat Magazine
“A mammoth nail-biter and a must read.”
—Bookaholic Reflections
“A dark, twisted, gripping, psychological thriller.”
—Lansing State Journal
Praise for the 4MK Thriller series
“One of the finest suspense/serial killer trilogies ever written.”
—BookReporter.com
“The Fourth Monkey has one of the most ingenious openings that I’ve read in years. This thriller never disappoints.”
—James Patterson, #1 NY Times Bestselling Author
“Superbly constructed and immaculately paced, this is one of the few serial killer thrillers that bears comparison with Thomas Harris’s 1981 masterpiece Red Dragon.”
—Daily Mail
“Bram Stoker Award finalist Barker ingeniously blends horrific images into a bizarre plotline to create this devilishly dark thriller.”
—Library Journal
“…Nice twists on classic thriller tropes.”
—Publisher’s Weekly
“Not since Hannibal Lecter had a friend for dinner has a serial killer been so skillfully rendered on the page.”
—Taylor Elmore, Writer/Producer of Justified and Limitless
“J.D. Barker’s second novel is a terrifying romp.”
—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“If you like fast-paced, disturbing thrillers, this is the summer read for you!”
—BookRiot
“Scary, stomach churning, and utterly addictive, this has to be one of 2017 most exciting thrillers.”
—Lancashire Post
“Creepy, scary . . . and impossible to put down! The Fourth Monkey is everything a thriller should be—a must read!”
—Heather Graham, NY Times Bestselling Author
“Intense, disturbing and relentlessly suspenseful, “The Fourth Monkey” is a dark and wildly entertaining novel.”
—Plattsburgh Press Republican
“In the tradition of SE7EN and THE USUAL SUSPECTS, THE FOURTH MONKEY combines breakneck speed with a baffling puzzle. It has pace to die for.”
—David Morrell, New York Times Bestselling Author of Murder As a Fine Art and First Blood
“A highly recommended and beguiling page-turning thriller that is both disturbing and immensely entertaining.”
—New York Journal of Books
“A chillingly delicious page-turner.”
—Kelley Armstrong, NY Times Bestselling Author
“THE FOURTH MONKEY will keep you up all night …reading.”
—Lansing State Journal
“Gritty, masterful suspense…Lee Child, you’ve met your match.”
—Tosca Lee, NY Times Bestselling Author
“Brilliant. Complicated. Psychopath. This character is truly riveting.”
—Marc Webb, Director of The Amazing Spiderman, Gifted, & (500) Days of Summer
“A first-rate, devilish thriller.”
—Eric Rickstad, NY Times Bestselling Author of The Names of Dead Girls and The Silent Girls
“A state of the art thriller, a current nightmare, a panic wrapped up in a box.”
—Josh Malerman, Award Winning Author of Bird Box
“Serial killers in fiction are a dime a dozen these days, and it takes a powerful lot of thought and crafty planning to come up with one who’s unique. In THE FOURTH MONKEY Barker does just that — and gives us more than one. And he bounces his bad guys off a colorful cast of believable characters. For you puzzle fans, there’s a story within the story as strange and twisty as the tale itself. But make no mistake, this is a suspense novel through and through, and it’s in no way shy about it.”
—Jack Ketchum, Award Winning Author of Off Season and The Girl Next Door
“This book is seriously brilliant: the best serial killer thriller I’ve ever read.”
—Lisa Milton, Executive Editor HarperCollins HQ
Praise for J.D. Barker
“J.D. Barker is a one-of-a-kind writer and that’s a rare and special thing. Stephen King comes to mind and Lee Child, John Sandford. All one-of-a-kinds. Don’t miss anything J.D. writes.”
—James Patterson, #1 International Bestselling Author
“A talented writer with a delightfully devious mind!”
—Jeffery Deaver, NY Times Bestselling Author
“I don’t say this lightly: J.D. Barker is a force to be reckoned with.”
—Tosca Lee, NY Times Bestselling Author
“JD Barker is an author to watch in the coming years.”
—Rolling Stone
“What sets Barker apart is his unique ability to blend genres seamlessly. His novels are a masterful fusion of horror, crime, mystery, science fiction, and the supernatural, creating a reading experience that is both thrilling and thought-provoking.”
—CULTR.com
“J. D. Barker is quickly becoming one of the best thriller writers working today.”
—Book Reporter.com
“Devilishly dark.”
— Library Journal
“Barker is a master wordsmith.”
— AudioBookReviewer.com
“Masterful storytelling.”
— Bookish
“J.D. Barker knows how to set a scene.”
— Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“...on par with Stephen King, Joe Hill and especially, Dan Simmons. Riveting and relentless.”
— BookTrib
"J.D. Barker was born to write suspense thrillers."
—The Real Book Spy
“It is clear Barker is a name to watch.”
—The Horror Bookshelf
“Barker’s slight of literary hand is absolute genius. He builds tension and then rips the rug right out from under you, just to do it all over again.”
—Quitterstrip
“Mr. Barker may have begun by following in the footsteps of such literary royalty as Stephen King, Thomas Harris, and Dean Koontz, but he has blazed a unique path all his own.”
— Fresh Fiction
“J.D. Barker is quite frankly one of the best crime thriller writers out there who should be on everyone’s radar!”
— Novel Delights
“Barker is an award-winning writer who is the second coming of Thomas Harris.”
— Book Reporter.com
“Barker's mastery of character and dialogue is noteworthy.”
— Booklist
“Barker is the Mozart of thrillers!”
— GoodReads
“Barker is such a skilled and exciting writer, delivering a chilling, slow-build thriller, a final, jaw-dropping twist, and a cliffhanger ending that leaves readers dangling precariously by their fingertips.”
— Lancashire Evening Post
“Mr. Barker doesn't just tell a story, he paints pictures with his words.”
— BookBub
“If you haven't read any J.D. Barker, I strongly suggest you start now.”
— Goodreads