Se7en meets The Silence of the Lambs in this dark and twisting novel from the author Jeffery Deaver called, “A talented writer with a delightfully devious mind.”
Optioned for film and television! | Named one of iBooks Most Anticipated Thrillers of 2017!
For over five years, the Four Monkey Killer has terrorized the residents of Chicago. When his body is found, the police quickly realize he was on his way to deliver one final message, one which proves he has taken another victim who may still be alive.
As the lead investigator on the 4MK task force, Detective Sam Porter knows even in death, the killer is far from finished. When he discovers a personal diary in the jacket pocket of the body, Porter finds himself caught up in the mind of a psychopath, unraveling a twisted history in hopes of finding one last girl, all while struggling with personal demons of his own.
With only a handful of clues, the elusive killer’s identity remains a mystery. Time is running out and the Four Monkey Killer taunts from beyond the grave in this masterfully written fast-paced thriller.
Praise for The Fourth Monkey
Named one of iBooks most anticipated thrillers of summer 2017!
“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
“If you like fast-paced, disturbing thrillers, this is the summer read for you!”
—BookRiot
“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
“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 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
“Absolutely freaking brilliant! I didn’t want this book to end but what a fantastic finish! This is going to be THE crime thriller of 2017.”
—Maxine Groves, Top Amazon and GoodReads Reviewer
“Gripping, addictive, and devilishly clever. From its opening salvo The Fourth Monkey grabs you and never lets go. J. D. Barker is a stunning new talent.”
—Barry Lancet, award-winning author of Tokyo Kill and Pacific Burn
“Fascinating, fast-paced thriller. J.D. Barker keeps you on the edge of your seat right up until the final twist. A gripping read!”
—R.G. Belsky, author of the Gil Malloy thrillers
“In THE FOURTH MONKEY, J.D. Barker interweaves multiple mysteries into an exhilarating thriller with a compelling new villain. The complexity of the puzzles and the lighting pace funnels the reader through a Rube Goldberg contraption of twists and turns. Buckle yourself in and have fun!”
—Alex Dolan, author of THE EUTHANIST
“A daring, fearless, in your face read…an easy five stars for me, no hesitation.”
— Novel Gossip
“A relentless thrill ride that allows readers not only inside the mind of the killer, but of the man committed to outsmarting him this one last time.
— For the Love of Books
“You NEED this on your radar.”
— Reading in Between The Lines
“Genuinely fascinating…WOW, the ending was unbelievably brilliant.”
— Book Polar
“The Fourth Monkey is creepy, atmospheric and completely compelling.”
— Bibliophile Book Club
“Intensely vivid…it’s creepy and it’s startling, but it’s also addictive.”
— Eccentric Trilogy
“Reminiscent of Stephen King and Dean Koontz, I’m adding Barker to my must-read novelists.”
— The Write Lovers
“Dark and twisted…a MUST read.”
— Bound4Escape
“The Verdict: a twisted, movie-worthy serial killer thriller.”
— Crime by the Book
“Dark, dirty and downright gritty, this was a clear five star read! For those of you who have the stomach for it, pre-order it now! For the more feint-hearted amongst you, pre-order it now and read it through the gaps in your fingers. This is a book not to be missed!”
— The World is a Book
“It’s creepy and vicious, in a very IT clown staring up at you from a drain, kind of way.”
— Cheryl Imm
“Terrifying. A lot of people are going to be talking about this book…five stars.”
— Hooked From Page One
“A MUST READ.”
— Anthony Avina
“From the very opening page to the dramatic, tantalising conclusion, this is a book which will grab your attention and hang onto it with grim determination through every twist and turn.”
— British Bookworm
“Sheer brilliance from start to finish. A must have read.”
— Barney’s
“This book lives up to the hype.”
— Clues and Reviews
“…has the makings of a Hollywood blockbuster.”
— The Book Review Cafe
“A masterful first crime fiction novel that is perfect for fans of Se7en and The Silence of the Lambs.”
— The Real Book Spy
“A must read for all detective/thriller lovers!”
— The Story Collector
“A humdinger of a serial killer thriller in sheer overdrive!”
— Love Reading
“The Fourth Monkey is a haunting piece of graphic, psychological dark fiction.”
— A Magical World of Words
“OMG This is good stuff!!! Sensational and shocking.”
— Books from Dusk till Dawn
“What a blooming cracker of a story this is!”
— It’s All About the Books
“It is nicely twisty, beautifully executed and has a brilliant cliffhanger at the end. I loved it!”
—The Crime Warp
“A must read.”
—The Book Whisperer
“Any books that draw a comparison to Silence of the Lambs and Se7en I approach with great caution, they rarely live up to the hype, but The Fourth Monkey does. It is really that great.”
—Feminisia Book Reviews
“Impressively written with a chillingly sinister storyline that kept me reading late into the night.”
—Mistimoo Book Reviews
“A novel which stabs you, twists the knife and leaves you reeling.”
—The Book Trail
“Oh my, this is a sensational rattlesnake-strike of a read!”
—Love Reading
“Gripping from the off, this is one tense and fast paced read and a definite must read for crime lovers.”
—By The Letter
“This one lived up to the hype surrounding it and I could not put it down.”
—Jessica Map Reviews
“Holy crap on a cracker, people – this book is GOOD!”
—Where The Reader Grows
“This book is simply fantastic: chilling, disturbing, a brilliant complex plot brought to life.”
—Have Books Will Read
“This is seriously going to be the most talked about books of the year!”
—The Book Magnet
“Do I recommend this book? You bet your sweet arse I do!”
—Crime Book Junkie
“The ending was perfection really.”
—Tomes and Tequila
“I loved this. It is so beautifully twisted that I don’t even have a word for it. I banged through it, unable to look away, often freaking out slightly, J D Barker writes with such visceral reality that you just fall into it stuck between horrified and fascinated.”
—Liz Loves Books
“So far I would have to say that this is the best book I have read for 2017 (it also beats any book that I read in 2016). To J.D. Barker, I would have to say, I applaud you Sir on this masterpiece.”
—An Attic Full of Books
“The Fourth Monkey is a chilling thriller that is compulsively readable and offers up plenty of twists and turns that make it an essential addition to your summer reading list.”
—The Horror Bookshelf
“[Barker] crosses lines other writers won’t and that is a wonderful thing.”
—Damp Pebbles
“Chilling, thrilling and nerve tickling!”
—Liis Thinks
“It’s creepy, it’s dark and it’s so much fun to read, leaving you gasping for air.”
—Snazzy Books
“This book is so terrifying, suspenseful, and demented….and I absolutely LOVED it!!”
—Kristin’s Novel Cafe
“A taut and tight psychological thriller.”
—Jaffa Reads Too
Praise for J.D. Barker
“Incredibly written, supremely creepy. I don’t say this lightly: J.D. Barker is a force to be reckoned with.”
—Tosca Lee, NY Times Bestselling Author
“Barker knows how to evoke chilling imagery and will have readers anxiously looking over their shoulders with each terrifying “clickity, click, click.”
— Library Journal
“Barker is a master wordsmith.”
— AudioBookReviewer.com
“Masterful storytelling.”
— Bookish
“It is clear Barker is a name to watch.”
—The Horror Bookshelf
“A great stay-up-all-night spooky story.”
—The Book’s The Thing
“This book gave me chills!”
— The Word Smithe
“Five stars. Perfect.”
— Confessions of a Reviewer
“Scary, exciting, fun in all the right ratios, Forsaken is the right kind of book for anyone who enjoys a racing heart and a pounding pulse.”
– MichaelBrant Collins, #1 Bestselling Author
“It’s a superlative read!”
– Robin Spriggs, Author
“Incredibly atmospheric and cinematic – it would make a fabulously creepy movie. .”
— Lucy Literati
“Mr. Barker may have begun by following in the footsteps of such horror royalty as Stephen King, John Saul and Dean Koontz; but he has blazed a unique path of his own with FORSAKEN.”
— Fresh Fiction
“This was hands down the best novel I’ve read this year. From the first page, to the very last. This novel had me in its hold. I couldn’t wait to turn the page, yet at the same time, I was terrified to. This book is littered with heart stopping OMG moments. Toward the end of the book, the last few chapters, I was on the edge of my seat. As if this book couldn’t get any better for me. It’s not just an awesome story, but it is beautifully written as well. The flow from the first word to the last is seamless. I just love this book. I can’t wait for the next book. Without a doubt, this book deserves five stars.”
— Word Gurgle
“The plot is great. The action doesn’t slow down for a minute. The ending is brilliant.”
— Cheryll is Writing
