by Dan Wells
Tor, 2016. 303. Horror
John and Brooke are on the run. From who? The law, the Withered... pretty much everyone. Their running isn't aimless, though; they're following the clues lodged in Nobody's memories about the demons that still remain after the massacre at the end of The Devil’s Only Friend. Freed from the framework of the FBI, the two are finally able to do things John's way, stalking and killing Withered using every trick in the sociopathic toolbox. Unfortunately, Brooke is as fragile as ever, flipping between personalities at the drop of a hat and alternately resisting and falling prey to her own suicidal tendencies. As he tries to keep his last remaining friend alive, John must confront the fact that a killer’s life on the road might not be what Brooke needs.
This book is the fifth installment in the series that started with I Am Not a Serial Killer, and this volume is engaging as all the ones that came before it. I have to admit that this is the weakest installment yet, though, as Well’s characterization suffers a bit from over-use. John has already completed his character arc, and seems to have stagnated, mostly just rehashing emotional moments from his past instead of having new ones. The plot twist in this volume also seemed a lot less inventive than the ones in the previous books. That being said, I still love this series, and fans of the other John Wayne Cleaver books will gobble up #5 without question.
LK
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