MR MONSTER by Dan Wells

John Wayne Cleaver has always known he has a dark side but he's fought hard to oppress it and live a normal life - separating John from Mr Monster to survive. But after confronting and destroying the vicious killer that was terrorizing his town, his inner monster is getting stronger and harder to contain. And now more bodies are being discovered... With the police failing to catch Clayton County's second serial killer John is going to have to use his secret knowledge of the first demon-killer to trap the second...but will he be able to avoid suspicion falling on him, and, in the face of extreme horrors, will he be able to restrain Mr Monster?

Last year, I read and absolutely loved I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER. So when I found out that there was a sequel, I just had to read it. I grabbed it a few days ago and finished it this afternoon. My gosh, what a great book!

John Cleaver isn't you average teenager, although he tries to come across that way. He's fascinated with serial killers, helps his mother in the mortuary, and feels more comfortable with dead people than the living ones around him. And after killing a demon, he's been feeling a little desperate. He needs something to take the edge off his craving and setting small fires seems to help. For a while.

When the bodies of dead women start showing up around town, he suspects there might be a new serial killer in town. But what are the odds of that? After all, he lives in a small community where even one serial killer was an oddity. That's when he realises that the new killer might be trying to send someone a message. That's also when things get moving.

John becomes a target and when his secret desires are discovered, he finds himself in the starring role in a game set up by a vicious killer who likes to imprison his victims and calls them 'toys'. As if dating the girl he has macabre fantasies about wasn't hard enough to deal with.

Mr Monster is an awesome and very entertaining book featuring a very complicated sociopath. And you know what? He might have evil intentions in mind and might fantasise about horrible things I can't understand, but I couldn't help but like him. John breaks a lot of his own rules in this book, but at the end of the day manages to stumble out as a hero. Again.

I think this is a very clever series. It's hard to create a teenage character with serial killer tendencies and make him sympathetic, especially since he does some pretty awful things. But this book works on so many levels, and it's totally addictive! I want more.

Mr Monster, April 2010, ISBN 978-075-534882-4, Headline Paperback (B)