A review by hellssecretary
The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

More intriguing than you would expect.
The Naturals take you through the mind of killers, victims, and our main character Cassie, natural profiler, in a suspensful way, while combining elements of suprise, mystery and fear.
The last 50 pages of the book are packed with plottwists upon plottwists, and final one comes so out of blue that you will be turning back the pages wondering i didn't even think of this.

Plot-wise and character-wise, this book lays a good ground for the rest of the series.
Main mystery is carried from one book to the next, with a whole added layer, but character cast is also left space for development. Particularly, when talking about emotions, with Michael talking to Cassie about his feelings, giving her green light to think about hers and what she will do, although it's very clear from his confession that he knows he won't be the final choice.


Compared to author's other work, The Inheritance Games, The Naturals lack only one thing - character and relationship compecity, translatd into words. While both books have interesting casts of characters, who spend all their days together, The Naturals doesn't bother with explaining and expanding on their closeness, their feelings are vague, with rare mentions of daily interactions and that'  also just to serve the plot.
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