Killer Instinct Book Review
Killer Instinct by Jennifer Lynn Barnes book review and recommendation with NO SPOILERS
Date: 3-05-25 Post Written By: MK Overall Rating: 8.3/10
Book Cover Rating: 6.5/10
(My personal opinion)
Title: Killer Instinct
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Pages: 375
Genre: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Mystery
Subplots: Thriller, Romance
Series: The Naturals #2
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2014
Number of Editions: 30
Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, Ebook, Audio
Awards Won: International Thriller Writers Award for Best Paperback Original, YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults
Goodreads Rating: 4.26/5
# of Goodreads Ratings: 152,221
Amazon Rating: 4.4/5
# of Amazon Ratings: 11,037
Movie/TV Show?? : No
Book Type: Standard
POV Type: Dual, First/Second Person
Pacing: Fast
Generally: Young adult criminal minds, exciting, thrilling
Hook: Cassie Homes seems to have found a sort of home with the FBI’s secret teenage program: The Naturals. However, all the Naturals can agree their last case hit WAY too close to home for any of their likings. Unfortunately for them, their next case is about to hit just as close to home- if not closer. At least, for Dean.
Dean’s life was forever changed when his own serial killer father was finally imprisoned - and if it were up to him he would never see, or think about, his father again. But, the most recent criminal in D.C. seems to have quite the obsession with Dean’s father. The most recent criminal is copying multiple key aspects of Dean’s father’s crimes. In the tumble of crimes, mental exercises, and emotions, everything else seems to be put off to the side. This case is all-encompassing and forces both Dean and Cassie to dive into Dean’s father’s headspace…. a very unhealthy habit for them both.
My Review
Going Into It:
Going into this book I had just read The Naturals and LOVED it!! I FLEW through The Naturals and I hoped this would be equally fast paced and exciting.
Main Characters:
Cassandra Hobbes- Cassie is the main character of this book. She is seventeen. She’s a Profiler (she can basically look at someone and see the little things they do and decide things about them: job, family, personality, wants, interests). She is kind and truly wants to make people happy.
Dean Redding- Dean is eighteen, and is also a Profiler. He pretends to be the person he is profiling in order to truly understand them. He struggles to get close to people because he thinks he will hurt them.
Lia Zhang- Lia is seventeen. She’s basically a human lie detector. She can effortlessly lie, and often uses this to mask her real emotions. She also had a VERY rough childhood.
Michael Townsend- Michael is seventeen. He can read others’ emotions. Michael rarely (if ever) shares his true emotions. He is daring, and sometimes, stupid with his actions. He tends to purposefully rub people the wrong way, but in reality has a caring side as well.
Sloane Tavish- Sloane is sixteen. She’s basically a human wikipedia. She is constantly overflowing with facts, statistics, and data. She can also remember (almost) everything she sees and hears. She is really sweet, but sometimes insecure.
I LOVED THESE CHARACTERS SO MUCH!! Their unique personalities, interactions, and abilities. I loved how some of them seemed a little stereotypical, but then you find out something new about them that TOTALLY changes that!!
Character Rating: 10/10
Setting:
This book takes place just outside of Washington D.C..
The setting was described pretty well given it’s a realistic fiction book (is it just me or are realistic fiction books’ setting almost always not particularly interesting??). This book did do a GREAT job describing all the crime scenes and clues without giving anything away.
Setting Rating: 6.9/10
Plot:
I loved most of this plot!! It was super similar to The Naturals, and had the same general vibe. It was SUPER fast paced, entertaining, and I loved the creepy, dark mystery aspect!!
Plot Rating: 8.8/10
Writing:
Jennifer Lynn Barnes did not let us down!! She did an AMAZING job with this, and I’m so happy she wrote it!! She can ALWAYS combine the perfect amount of mystery to the perfect amount of plot and unique characters.
Writing Rating: 9.9/10
Ending:
This was the one part that I wasn’t completely on board with. I felt like the book ended really quickly and there could have been a few more clues pointing to the real criminal. That being said, I still liked it.
Ending Rating: 5.7/10
The Overall:
Overall, I LOVED this book, but I liked The Naturals a little bit more. This book was full of energy, had fast pacing, had THE BEST characters, and I’m really happy with it!! 😊 Of course Jennifer Lynn Barnes wrote another must-read!
Overall Book Rating: 8.3/10
I would obviously recommend this book
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She often goes by Jen
She has written over 20 books
She has received degrees from both Cambridge and Yale.
When she was just 19, she became a published author
She has a dual appointment in Psychology and Professional Writing.
For more information, view Jennifer Lynn Barnes’s website: jenniferlynnbarnes.com
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