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I Am Not A Serial Killer (John Cleaver) Hardcover – March 30, 2010

by Dan Wells (Author)

302 customer reviews

Book 1 of 3 in the John Cleaver Series

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John Wayne Cleaver is dangerous, and he knows it.

He’s spent his life doing his best not to live up to his potential.

He’s obsessed with serial killers, but really doesn’t want to become one. So for his own sake, and the safety of those around him, he lives by rigid rules he’s written for himself, practicing normal life as if it were a private religion that could save him from damnation.

Dead bodies are normal to John. He likes them, actually. They don’t demand or expect the empathy he’s unable to offer. Perhaps that’s what gives him the objectivity to recognize that there’s something different about the body the police have just found behind the Wash-n-Dry Laundromat---and to appreciate what that difference means.

Now, for the first time, John has to confront a danger outside himself, a threat he can’t control, a menace to everything and everyone he would love, if only he could.

Dan Wells’s debut novel is the first volume of a trilogy that will keep you awake and then haunt your dreams.

I Am Not A Serial Killer (John Cleaver)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The teenage (and innocent) John Wayne Cleaver swears he is not the serial killer that has emerged in his small town--despite his grisly name and a series of unpleasant and eerie similarities. His fascination with the killer leads him to launch his own investigation of sorts-- one that leads him to the identity of the murderer. There are shades of Jeff Lindsay's darkly comic Dexter series, but John Allen Nelson is miscast. His female voices are grating caricatures, and he cannot become the protagonist--his voice is too deep, assured, and assertive even when the text suggests otherwise. A Tor hardcover (Reviews, Feb. 1).
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Review

“This dazzling, un-put-downable debut novel proves beyond a doubt that Dan Wells has the gift. His teenage protagonist is as chilling as he is endearing. More John Wayne Cleaver, please.”---F. Paul Wilson, New York Times bestselling author

“The beauty of the prose, mixed with the depth of characterization, gives the haunting, first person narrative a human touch. Regardless of your age or your genre preferences, you will find this story both profound and enthralling.”---Brandon Sanderson, New York Times bestselling author

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Product details

Series: John Cleaver (Book 1)
Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Tor Books; 1 edition (March 30, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0765322471
ISBN-13: 978-0765322470
Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.2 x 8.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (302 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #320,559 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1638 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers & Suspense > Crime > Serial Killers
- #2860 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers & Suspense > Supernatural
- #5111 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers & Suspense > Crime > Murder

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Customer Reviews

302

4.1 out of 5 stars

5 star		45%
4 star		32%
3 star		12%
2 star		4%
1 star		7%

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Top Customer Reviews

Sooooo good!

ByJennyfrijoleon April 29, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I watched the movie first, thankfully, so I was prepared for what was all coming in the book.

I loved it so much more than the movie. John is the kind of character every author wishes he/she could create. I certainly do. He's an anti-hero that you can't help but fall in love with, and then you feel guilty about loving someone so screwed up, but that makes you love him more, because he's screwes up. A lovely sick cycle.

If you like incredibly well written YA paranormal, this is for you - don't let the YA deter you, John is every bit as adult as you or I. Maybe more so? He's a self-proclaimed, semi-diagnosed sociopath. He lacks empathy. He's got rules to keep him from doing anything bad, but he really really wants to do bad. He's a training mortician, and he dreams about embalming the girls in his classes. Yet there's something about him that's easy to associate with. Or maybe I'm just a psycho, who knows. He knows he can't hurt people, but when someone else starts hurting the people in his town, he figures maybe he can fight fire with fire. Emphasis on fire.

I will be honest - the series did not maintain the excellence that was this first novel. You can't maintain a character like John without losing something.

But with that being said, I inhaled all five over the course of four days, and I'm anxiously awaiting book six, and none of the books were rated below a 4 star from me, so they're still better than most of the stuff I read.

If you like dark and screwes up and strange and entrancing, I cannot recommend this book enoug

0Comment 2 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Solid first novel, and not as Dexterish as you'd imagine

ByMark Andre Alexanderon May 9, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

A 15-year-old sociopath knows his tendencies and resists them with (or despite) the help of his therapist.

I had this book in my queue for a couple of years and resisted reading, probably because of the years I had been immersed in the TV show Dexter. Once I decided to read it, I found it much more compelling than I expected. And I must say that by the final third of the book, I found myself in full non-stop reading mode.

As a Thomas Harris fan, I enjoy psychological horror. Although Dan Wells is not yet a Thomas Harris (and really, few pro writers are) I found that there was enough interesting psychology to propel the novel and my interest.

And though I was initially unsure about this being a series I would continue, I'm now putting the second book in my cue and warming up for it.

Other reviews have already given away the genre-mixing difference in this book. I recommend that if you don't know about it, avoid those reviews and dive in. It's a refreshing difference, one that helps keep this world unique and not so Dexterish.

Recommended.

22 comments 4 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Got an odd kid at home? BUY this book!

ByLou J Bergeron February 21, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Dan Wells has hit a home-run with this, his first published novel!

A rollicking middle-grade read, our emotionally stunted hero embraces most of the very characteristics that make a serial killer. In a twist away from the obvious, he then vows to keep the “monster” within caged using a series of well-researched rules that serve to insure that he will never, himself, become a serial killer.

Things are good in his sleepy little hometown, and his daily needs for his ongoing fascination with death are met by studying up on all the serial killers he can read about in his high-school library, and helping his mother and aunt in the basement of their home, where his family runs a mortuary business.

Until a serial killer begins to kill the citizens of his sleepy little burg.

An exquisitely crafted book, paced well, and with a very believable protagonist, “I Am Not A Serial Killer” is a must-read, especially if you (or your kid) is a bit socially awkward and refuses to acknowledge the mysterious disappearance of the family pet.

0Comment 3 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

I'm, AHHHHHHH!!!

BySirèneLittéraireon April 27, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Honestly, this book is so gorgeously, flawlessly written, that I actually want to read the next one-- which is something since I cannot endure horror or anything even a teeny bit scary. Maybe because I worked with psychologically disturbed teens for the better part of a decade, & all that darkness is too real for me, & not something I find entertaining because I'm invariably reminded of former clients, etc...?
I read this because I've viewed Dan Wells' YouTube class on story structure which was utterly brill, so I took the bit in my teeth & read it.
The book is CRAZY compelling & wholly absorbing.
Why then the missing star then, you ask?
I'm not even going to pretend to be fair; I deducted a star because this book was so creepy I was mentally throwing up in my mouth for about half of it!
It's not especially graphic or anything like that, I mean other than the nature of this "serial killer's" methods, but just getting inside of this kid's head & hanging there for a few hours was soul-chilling & scary.
If you like a high creep-factor & occasional violence that is not displayed in an overtly gruesome way, here you go.
I have no idea why I want to read the next novel except that the writing is SO very good that "John" does feel like a client & I have a compelling need to complete his pt history so I can start helping him, lol😳
Which is totally nuts.
But some seriously crazy awesome writing.