Game Review
Release Date: April 16th, 2013 from Little Brown Books
Summary from cover:
"Several months have passed since Jazz helped the Lobo's Nod police force catch the serial killer known as the Impressionist. Every day since then, Jazz has dealt with the guilt of knowing he was responsible for his father's escape from prison. But when a determined New York City detective comes knocking on Jazz's door asking for help with a new case, Jazz can't say no.
The Hat-Dog Killer has the Big Apple in a panic, and the police are running scared. Is the Hat-Dog Killer Jazz's means of redemption? Or will he get caught up in a killer's murderous game?
And somewhere out there, Dear Old Dad is watching...and waiting."
I'm not going to lie about this book. When I first started reading, the beginning set me off....but in a good way. I adore Barry Lyga's writing style, and the way he started this sequel had me hooked instantly. Everything that Lyga writes has such a smooth continuous flow that I forget that I'm reading and imagine myself actually watching the events on a television screen or a movie theater.
This sequel is not like I Hunt Killers. The first book does not compare in gore factor. Lyga must have been watching the Saw movies or something, because this was the goriest and most disturbing plot line that I have every had the pleasure of reading. Yes, I said pleasure. I do not recommend this book to someone who can't handle gore or explicit content, because that content shows up in a good portion of the whole piece.
The plot was different as well. I liked the idea of Jasper branching out and leaving Lobo's Nod to help the NYPD with their investigation. What intrigued me the most was the mystery behind the Hat-Dog Killer and I found myself searching for clues in the piece that would've given me a hint. Luckily, I did not find any clues to spoil the end result, but what happened was situationally ironic.
The one complaint that I have about this sequel is the length of it. I feel as if there was too much "fluff" between the important scenes and I found myself skimming passages just to get to the interesting scenes. Nonetheless, that was the only thing that I found upsetting about Barry Lyga's work thus far.
The psychological aspect becomes more prevalent as the plot moves forward. Not only is Jazz expressing the Nature vs. Nurture debate, but he is having difficult with his subconscious throughout the entirety. He relationship with his loved ones becomes tense as he tries to sort out what is "wrong" with him, when in fact, the only thing that is wrong with him is not his DNA like he thinks, but with his own personal being.
