Killer Instinct by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (The Naturals Book #2)
Follow-up book to The Naturals. Cassie, Dean, Michael, Lia, and Sloane are still at the house in training. There is a new serial killer on the loose, and they also have a new instructor. You’ll have to read the first book to understand why there was an opening.
I was thinking about how these teens have such a wild ability to read, profile, and know statistics in general that it seemed almost fantastical. But if you look around social media, you’ll see people like this. Some people notice the tiniest things in videos, photos, and stories. It’s wild. I think it would be so interesting to see these types of people in action, but at the same time, I don’t want to be profiled or have someone read my emotions.
In the first book in the series, Cassie was the one in danger with a killer who was obsessed with her mother’s murder/disappearance. In this one, Dean’s father, well, his father’s murderous history, is the focus. Someone is copying his dad’s crimes. There are a lot of suspects in this one. You read a little more about Dean’s life, as well, growing up with a serial killer for a father.
That sort of made me wonder how much therapy these kids are getting as they go through this program. These kids have a lot going on in their lives, not to mention their pasts, and they are always deep into studying horrific cases. I don’t think there is ever a mention of them meeting with any type of mental health professional. I also still don’t like the love side story. I just can’t get into two people falling for each other while murders are happening around them. I get that that might be their way of escaping the murder stuff, but as the reader, I am only thinking about the murder! I still really liked the book. I’ll most likely read the next in the series.
I will say this is one of those books where you think everything is wrapped up but then you see there are close to 50 pages left. Why are there so many pages left? What is going to happen!
Four out of Five Magical Coffee Cups
Literary Coffee 