A review by heiditighe
I Don't Want to Kill You by Dan Wells
5.0
This book didn't scare me, which confuses me because it seems like it did many others, but it thrilled me, moved me, inspired me.
First, his characters: in addition to John Wayne Cleaver, who's a pretty unique fellow in and of himself, Wells creates amazing characters. He doesn't take shortcuts or rely on tropes and stereotypes. The voluptuous most popular girl at school? Guess what--she's not an empty-headed bimbo. She's smart, reflective, even wise. Wayne's mother is neither the denial-ridden, emotionally absent parent nor the uber-controlling fix-it freak. She's just a mom who loves her kid and who's going to insist on loving him even though he's a sociopath. Brooke isn't the adoring rescuee--she's the teenage girl who's freaked out because she was held hostage and had a knife at her throat.
Next, plot. Most of the time, I guess books' endings and I'm either right or disappointed because the ending I guessed was better than the ending the author used. This almost always happens when I know in advance that it's a "didn't see THAT coming ending." But in this case, I truly didn't see that coming and what came was way better than what I expected. And wells executes something else (which I can't elaborate on without spoiling the book) that SHOULD feel forced but doesn't because he brings it about so subtly. Excellent stuff.
Finally, feel. I don't know why, but this series feels intimate. Maybe it's because you're inside the head of an completely candid serial killer. Maybe it's because the characters are so real. Whatever the reason, you feel like you need to own this book because you just can't let Cleaver go.
I should add that this book got the MIL award: my mother-in-law borrowed my copy and then called to ask if she could lend it to her friend. Score!
First, his characters: in addition to John Wayne Cleaver, who's a pretty unique fellow in and of himself, Wells creates amazing characters. He doesn't take shortcuts or rely on tropes and stereotypes. The voluptuous most popular girl at school? Guess what--she's not an empty-headed bimbo. She's smart, reflective, even wise. Wayne's mother is neither the denial-ridden, emotionally absent parent nor the uber-controlling fix-it freak. She's just a mom who loves her kid and who's going to insist on loving him even though he's a sociopath. Brooke isn't the adoring rescuee--she's the teenage girl who's freaked out because she was held hostage and had a knife at her throat.
Next, plot. Most of the time, I guess books' endings and I'm either right or disappointed because the ending I guessed was better than the ending the author used. This almost always happens when I know in advance that it's a "didn't see THAT coming ending." But in this case, I truly didn't see that coming and what came was way better than what I expected. And wells executes something else (which I can't elaborate on without spoiling the book) that SHOULD feel forced but doesn't because he brings it about so subtly. Excellent stuff.
Finally, feel. I don't know why, but this series feels intimate. Maybe it's because you're inside the head of an completely candid serial killer. Maybe it's because the characters are so real. Whatever the reason, you feel like you need to own this book because you just can't let Cleaver go.
I should add that this book got the MIL award: my mother-in-law borrowed my copy and then called to ask if she could lend it to her friend. Score!