The Fourth Monkey- JD Barker-  5*

One stunning read! We have all heard of the three wise monkeys- hear no evil, see no evil and speak no evil. For those not in the know the fourth monkey is “Do no evil”.  A man is killed by a bus holding a small box. These boxes are symbolic of the the fourth monkey killer who has been killing young girls for the last 5 years. Could this be him and if so where is the latest victim? Why has she been chosen as the team now know that the others were chosen for a very specific reason? This is a brilliantly put together tale which inveigles you into the pages. and doesn’t let go. The story is told from two aspects- first that of the detectives and then the diary of 4MK which has been found with him. There is a brilliant camaraderie and sometimes humour amongst the detectives , needed when on an intense case such as this and is told incredibly well. Porter and his sidekicks come across as real life characters in this high powered plot. The diary part is eerie and the book is not for the squeamish- nothing to give you nightmares but gruesome descriptions that mean you wouldn’t want to be eating beef stew whilst reading this. A book is good when you keep turning the pages, when it is brilliant you can’t either read or turn fast enough, each chapter has that little bit more to entwine you. This is one of those that you remember for a long time afterwards.

I voluntarily chose to read this ARC and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased.