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Mr. Monster (John Cleaver #2)

by Dan Wells (Goodreads Author)

4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 · rating details · 3,161 ratings · 515 reviews

In I Am Not a Serial Killer, John Wayne Cleaver saved his town from a murderer even more appalling than the serial killers he obsessively studies.

But it turns out even demons have friends, and the disappearance of one has brought another to Clayton County. Soon there are new victims for John to work on at the mortuary and a new mystery to solve. But John has tasted death,...more

Kindle Edition, 290 pages

Published (first published March 4th 2010)

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Jun 23, 2011 Mike (the Paladin) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, urban-fantasy

This book is a bit hard to rate...and review.

***Please note***:
I AM ASSUMING YOU HAVE READ I Am Not A Serial Killer which is the first volume of this "story". THERE WILL BE SPOILERS FOR THAT BOOK HERE.

I find many things about this/these book(s) interesting and well done. I also find a lot about (especially this one) objectionable. The books attempt to walk the lines between slasher/horror/urban fantasy. The first book follows John as he struggles with his own "verging" sociopathy. He has alway...more

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Jan 14, 2012 Erin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, thriller, favorites

Mr. Monster, the sequel to I Am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells, was scarily addicting. It’s a story about a sixteen-year-old sociopath, at war with himself over giving into his darker urges or doing right and acting normal. And while this sounds creepy and weird, the mystery of the story and the development of John’s character make for a fascinating read. Also, it’s impossible to put down.

Continuing a few months after I Am Not a Serial Killer, Mr. Monster delves even deeper into John’s sociopa...more

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Oct 20, 2010 Annalisa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: speculative, psychology, horror

"Trust me, from one sociopath to another: if you don't understand the reason for something, it's always love."

What fascinated me in I Am Not A Serial Killer is learning about antiosocial personality disorder, discovering the world of morticians, and more than anything rooting for a boy struggling with his sociopathic tendencies and his need to be good. But none of that was fascinating for me here.

When it wasn't repetitive or bland (all those "oh my gosh"es and first dates screamed Mormon author)...more

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Apr 18, 2012 Ryan Lawler rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Time to dive back into the world of John Cleaver, the troubled young boy who has been diagnosed as a sociopath, has saved his town from a murderous demon, and has dreamed about slowly dissecting the girl across the street. It's no secret that I found I Am Not A Serial Killer one of the most fascinating books I have read in a long time, and I was very eager to see what Dan Wells had provided next. With Mr Monster, Wells has created a sequel that achieves the remarkable feat of outshining its pred...more Time to dive back into the world of John Cleaver, the troubled young boy who has been diagnosed as a sociopath, has saved his town from a murderous demon, and has dreamed about slowly dissecting the girl across the street. It's no secret that I found I Am Not A Serial Killer one of the most fascinating books I have read in a long time, and I was very eager to see what Dan Wells had provided next. With Mr Monster, Wells has created a sequel that achieves the remarkable feat of outshining its predecessor in every single facet, and it is easily one of the best books I have ever read, and will probably ever read.

The story follows on almost immediately after the events of I Am Not A Serial Killer, with the FBI showing a very keen interest in John after his run in with the Clayton Killer. During the FBI investigation, a new serial killer starts piling up bodies throughout Clayton, and once again John takes it upon himself to find and dispose of the killer, believing wholeheartedly that this killer is another demon and only he has the skills to defeat it. This story is just perfectly balanced, using and maintaining equal parts of mystery, suspense, terror, anxiety, hope, and any other bunch of emotions you can name. The pace is masterfully controlled, it feels like it mirrors John's emotions - when John is scared and doesn't know what is going on, the pace slows and slows while the suspense builds and builds, but when John is excited and knows exactly what his going on, the pace becomes slick and the action scenes become electric. The plot is fantastic, it reads like a 'whodunnit' where Wells gives you all the evidence you need right up front to work out who the killer is, but because of all the brilliant red herrings the killer could plausibly be anyone. That is right up until one big scene where everything comes together all at once - you realise who the killer is and you kick yourself because you know that all the clues were there and if you had have paid attention you wouldn't have fallen for all the decoys. I just cannot speak highly enough about how good the plot and writing are for this book.

The thing is, the story isn't even the best part of this book. What I loved most of all was the way that Wells showed no remorse in putting John through the proverbial meat grinder. While there are a bunch of other characters in this story who are fully fleshed out with their own motivations and complexities (Brooke especially who has become one of my favourite characters), they just pale in comparison to John and the battle he wages with his inner demon Mr Monster for the entire book. John fights and fights, the tension is immense not because you fear John is going to die but because you fear that John is going to snap and let Mr Monster take control. And slight spoiler here the best scene in this whole series comes about halfway through this book when John finally succumbs to Mr Monster, not with a whisper but with a bang, and the rest of the story is all about John fighting to take back control from Mr Monster, even though it feels so so good to have Mr Monster in charge. His realisation that he is becoming a monster is one thing, but his realisation that he enjoys nothing more than being the monster makes his fight to stay human so much more powerful.

Wells is such a visual writer, and some of the things he comes up makes you seriously wonder about his of mind. From embalmings gone wrong to graphic torture scenes and even the effortless way in which John stalks everyone his neighbourhood, the whole book oozes psychological terror. This is a book that makes disturbing scenes fascinating because they are told from the point of view of a character who actually finds these disturbing scenes fascinating. I flipping loved this book and the more I reflect on it the more I love it. I could not put it down, I could not find a fault with it, and I recommend it to anyone and everyone. Even if you don't like horror. My wife is not big fan of horror or urban fantasy, but she could not put this book down and could not stop raving to me about how much she loved every part of this book. It is immensely entertaining, immensely challenging, and immensely satisfying.(less)

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Oct 18, 2012 Ivana S. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: i-own, 2012, demons, good-books, ya, fantasy-paranormal-sf, mystery-susp-crime-investig

This was a quick and good read, I liked it even beter than the first part.
Mr. Monster goes deeper in John's mind and we get to see more of his disturbing, but very, very interesting personality. He is a scary, dangerous person, but he is trying to be ''normal'' and live by the rules that keep him from crossing the thin line between good and evil. Everything about him is creepy, even his dreams are dark and morbid, but he struggles to do the right thing every day and that makes him one of the mo...more

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Apr 06, 2010 Sammee (I Want to Read That) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: for-review-read

4. 5 stars

For some reason the first book in this series completely passed me by so I am really pleased I was given the opportunity to review Mr Monster. I really loved it and think it’s fast become one of my favourite YA horror books.

Dan Wells has a charming style of writing and I found myself completely immersed in John’s story from the first few pages. It felt completely original and unlike anything I had read before. I found it easy to follow even though I hadn’t read the first book (‘I am NO...more 4. 5 stars

For some reason the first book in this series completely passed me by so I am really pleased I was given the opportunity to review Mr Monster. I really loved it and think it’s fast become one of my favourite YA horror books.

Dan Wells has a charming style of writing and I found myself completely immersed in John’s story from the first few pages. It felt completely original and unlike anything I had read before. I found it easy to follow even though I hadn’t read the first book (‘I am NOT a Serial Killer’) so you can easily read this as a standalone if you wish but I felt like kicking myself for not reading the other one first. I enjoyed this one so much I really wish I had started at the beginning.

Described in the press release as a cross between ‘Dexter and The X-files’ I found myself comparing it more to the show ‘Supernatural' – perhaps because I associate The X-files more with aliens and this story is demon based but also because it has a more young and fresh feel. I have also got to admit I had the ‘Supernatural’ tag line ‘Scary just go sexy’ going through my mind the whole time I was reading it – although in the case of John Cleaver perhaps it should be ‘sexy just got scary’!

Despite the fact he is a sociopath I found myself really liking John Cleaver, which considering the type of thoughts he has on a day to day basis, was somewhat disturbing. But I really did and I think this is testament to how good a writer Wells is. I actually enjoyed spending time with John and look forward to future instalments.

The story itself is really, really good. It’s also rather scary for a YA novel. Actually I’d compare it to many of the adult horror stories that are available – it is rather dark and there were moments when I actually had to put the book down. Definitely creepy - it also felt very believable and Wells doesn’t shy away from some of the more ‘horrific’ aspects of the story –and it is so much better because of it.

Slightly disturbing but also rather awesome! I can’t wait to read more books by this author. I will have to go back to the beginning and read I am NOT a Serial Killer’ in my wait for the next book featuring John Cleaver.(less)

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May 19, 2013 Lorna Parsons rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I thought this book, if possible, was even better then the first. It kind of made me uncomfortable though as (slight spoiler alert, possibly) I am a woman and all the victims are women, being tortured, and it just makes me feel pretty uncomfortable with the feeling that they could have been me. I think it's interesting how the bond of John and Brooke develops in this book. I'm not a fan of romance books, however I haven't read about romance through the males point of view before, especially a ma...more

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Feb 25, 2013 Terry Weyna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

John Wayne Cleaver’s journey started in I Am Not a Serial Killer, but his problems get more severe in the second book in Dan Wells’s trilogy, Mr. Monster. The teenage sociopath is very determined not to become the serial killer he longs to be in his heart of hearts, but it’s a challenge. His dark side — Mr. Monster, he calls it — wants out, and it especially wants to kill Brooke, the beautiful girl he drives to school every day. John dreams about Brooke begging him not to hurt her — which is why...more John Wayne Cleaver’s journey started in I Am Not a Serial Killer, but his problems get more severe in the second book in Dan Wells’s trilogy, Mr. Monster. The teenage sociopath is very determined not to become the serial killer he longs to be in his heart of hearts, but it’s a challenge. His dark side — Mr. Monster, he calls it — wants out, and it especially wants to kill Brooke, the beautiful girl he drives to school every day. John dreams about Brooke begging him not to hurt her — which is why he hates to sleep. And it’s only gotten worse since John killed a demon. And worse yet because Brooke seems to have a crush on him.

If only she knew. John doesn’t consider himself a hero. But he’s a hero to his town — not because he killed the demon, as no one but his mother knows about that, but because the circumstances of that killing tended to suggest that he was trying to save the human who was inhabited by the demon. The demon was the Clayton Killer, which had been killing people in town for months. The demon’s corpse is categorized as the final victim of the Clayton Killer before the killer simply disappeared.

Only one person has ongoing doubts about John: Agent Forman, the FBI agent assigned to the Clayton Killer case. Forman frequently calls John into his office for a chat; as the book opens, he’s interviewed John at least half a dozen times. John has told him everything there is to know, except that a demon attacked him and his mother and he killed it. And, of course, John hasn’t told him about Mr. Monster, the dark side of his psyche.

John is increasingly tempted to start killing people who deserve killing, like his sister’s boyfriend. He lets off steam by setting fires, but manages to avoid killing even the cat that inhabits the abandoned warehouse he wants to burn down. Tending to the corpses in the mortuary managed by his mother and aunt also helps, though his mother has to remind him to refer to the corpses as “him” or “her” instead of “it.”

When new dead female bodies start showing up in town, showing evidence of extensive torture, John is more intrigued than horrified. He is the one who wades into the water to rescue one corpse in case the girl is still alive. He is the one who comes up with ideas about what the killer is up to, which he discusses with Agent Forman. It looks like he might even be the one who Agent Forman suspects committed the murders.

But the problem is deeper than that. This isn’t just another serial killer on the prowl, but a demon come to town to figure out what happened to his fellow demon. And this demon can see into John’s soul, providing him with irresistible temptation. Will John be able to keep his rules intact, and prevent killing anyone despite his longing?

Mr. Monster is highly original, and John Wayne Cleaver is a hero unlike any other I’ve read about. He’s not Dexter or Blackburn, the serial killers brought to life by Jeff Lindsay and Bradley Denton, as those character kill those who (in their estimation) deserve it. John is a sociopath who knows that he’s a sociopath, and doesn’t want to be. He’s a kid who’s as mixed up as any fifteen-year-old teenager, with the extra burden of a mental health diagnosis that terrifies him. And he’s smart — smart enough to figure out how to defeat some of the worst evil he’s ever imagined.

It’s not surprising that Dan Wells mentions in his Acknowledgments that his mother-in-law secretly called his wife to ask if she felt comfortable being alone with him. It’s that kind of book. The JOHN CLEAVER trilogy continues in I Don’t Want to Kill You, and I can’t wait to get my hands on it.

Originally published at http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...(less)

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Feb 07, 2013 Katharina Renn rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Nachdem ich mich in Mr Monster reingelesen hatte, habe ich mir sofort den ersten Teil zum Geburtstag gewünscht. ich hatte das Gefühl, dass mir das Buch mehr bringt, wenn ich den ersten Teil kenne und das war auch so. Nun habe ich beide Teile durch und bin begeistert.

Cover und Roughcut wecken sofort das Interesse und sind super auf das Buch abgestimmt. Das Buch sieht nach dem Lesen etwas vergriffen aus, aber mittlerweile haben 4 Leute die Bücher gelesen und alle fanden es gut.

John Cleaver, ein 16...more Nachdem ich mich in Mr Monster reingelesen hatte, habe ich mir sofort den ersten Teil zum Geburtstag gewünscht. ich hatte das Gefühl, dass mir das Buch mehr bringt, wenn ich den ersten Teil kenne und das war auch so. Nun habe ich beide Teile durch und bin begeistert.

Cover und Roughcut wecken sofort das Interesse und sind super auf das Buch abgestimmt. Das Buch sieht nach dem Lesen etwas vergriffen aus, aber mittlerweile haben 4 Leute die Bücher gelesen und alle fanden es gut.

John Cleaver, ein 16 jähriger Junge, wirkt nach außen hin schüchtern und zurückhaltend. Sind das nicht alle Serienmörder? Sagt die Nachbarschaft nicht immer, sie seien liebe und zurückhaltende Menschen? John Cleaver lässt uns aber an seinen Gedanken teilhaben. Er möchte das Monster in sich in Schach halten, immerhin hatte er ihm im ersten Teil der Trilogie erlaubt, einen Dämonen und Mörder zu töten. Nun schreit sein Mr Monster nach mehr. Doch John hält ihn mit strikten Regeln in Schach und gerade diese Regeln machen ihn so sympathisch: Quäle niemals Tiere, berühre nichts, was deinem Schwarm gehört, den du am liebsten Einbalsamieren würdest und, meine Lieblingsregel, wenn du jemanden töten möchtest, sag etwas nettes zu ihm. Wenn es ihm doch zu viel wird, dann legt er ein Feuer. Oder versucht es zumindest, denn eine Katze hindert ihn oft daran.

Dem Tod begegnet John sehr oft: er darf seiner Mutter, die Bestatterin ist, oft beim Einbalsamieren der Leichen helfen. Seine Mutter achtet dabei peinlichst genau darauf, dass er die Leichen als Menschen und nicht als Dinge sieht und sie "er" oder "sie" und nicht "es" nennt.

Nun erschüttert eine neue Mordserie die Kleinstadt und John ist fasziniert. Ist es wieder ein Dämon? Warum scheint es so, als würde ihm der Mörder Nachrichten hinterlassen? Was weiß er? ist er etwa der gewalttätige neue Freund der Schwester, bei dem wohl so manch Leser erschreckt feststellt, dass er sich wünscht, Mr Monster würde die Oberhand gewinnen und den Typen quälen?

Zwischen den Irrungen und Wirrungen der ersten Liebe, Stress zuhause und dem ganz normalen Leben eines Teenagers macht sich John auf die Suche nach dem Killer und bringt damit nicht nur sich selbst in Gefahr.

Viele Fortsetzungen sind nicht so gut wie Teil eins und ich hatte bei Mr Monster die Befürchtung, dass Dan Wells nur eine Kopie von "ich bin kein Serienkiller" schreibt. Doch dies ist nicht so. Mr Monster schafft es, den Leser zu fesseln, zu überraschen und das buch ist sehr schnell weggelesen. Dan Wells Stil passt perfekt zur Story. Einfach, witzig, prägnant. Wer eine nicht zu anspruchsvolle Unterhaltung sucht, sich nicht vor ekligen Szenen scheut, der ist mit diesem Buch bestimmt gut bedient. ich fand es top (less)

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Jan 28, 2013 Christine Rowe added it · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 23, 2013 Lori Anaple rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, suspense, paranormal

OK. If you have not read "I Am Not A Serial Killer" yet and don't want to know anything about it...move along. Because my review of this book will spoil everything for you.

Seriously,

Last chance

OK, so here we are after John kills the Demon. I am still not sure about all of this demon stuff. I was all set for a good wholesome sociopathic story, but I got one with demons. I don't know if I am bitter or not. Hard to tell.

So, in this book, John and Brooke start to date. John's mom is his staunchest s...more

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Jan 03, 2013 Victoria rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Wowza!! What a sequel! And that ending - more so than the first book, I Am Not A Serial Killer, this one really demands its sequel, I Don't Want to Kill You, be read in immediate succession. Unfortunately, I am waiting for it to arrive, so I am feeling particularly antsy for its arrival! Though Wells includes enough of a summary of the first novel that new readers won’t be completely lost, I still am very glad to have read them back-to-back. Though this one could function as a standalone novel,...more

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Dec 13, 2012 Ginger Weasley rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

***SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST BOOK (i am not a serial killer) AHEAD***

the second book in the trilogy about the teenager john cleaver. he is still battling with his sociopathic tendencies and with mr monster - that's the 'serial killer' part of him that he holds back with a lot rules. but a few months earlier when he had to kill his demon-neighbour mr crowley he needed for mr monster to take over. and now he's stronger than ever and wants john to kill people, to torture them, to set things on fire et...more ***SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST BOOK (i am not a serial killer) AHEAD***

the second book in the trilogy about the teenager john cleaver. he is still battling with his sociopathic tendencies and with mr monster - that's the 'serial killer' part of him that he holds back with a lot rules. but a few months earlier when he had to kill his demon-neighbour mr crowley he needed for mr monster to take over. and now he's stronger than ever and wants john to kill people, to torture them, to set things on fire etc.

this book was so intense regarding john's feelings - how he's truggling with himself, how he wants to bee good but how he has dreams where mr monster takes over and he can satisfy his urges. although he seems a bit more disturbed than in the first book i still like him. i can't possibly imagine what it must feel like to have such strong urges you can't act on and you can't do nothing against them but maybe because he's not perfect he's such a likeable character. everyone has some flaws and he's really doing everything he can to be good.

but soon a new killer comes to town and john immediately thinks that it's a new demon - in the end we find out that he was right. so, again, he's the only one who can stop him.

in the first book i wasn't really happy about the supernatural element because it came out of nowhere - the blurb made it seem like it would be a 'normal' thriller or crime novel. but in the second book i liked it because i already knew that i should expect something like that. and after a while i really like this component of the book because it makes them something special, something original.

the writing style is again very good - i would dare to say even better than in the first book. the story keeps you on the edge of your seat most of the time, you just can't stop. it's addicting. i read this book in a bit more than four hours because i just couldn't put it down.

the only thing i didn't like and that is common to a lot of sequels is that the author likes to explain things that he already explained in the first book. like a 100 pages into the book john suddenly explains - when they get a new corpse - that his mom's a mortician and he likes to help with the embalming process. and stuff like this happens throughtout the first third of the book which i think it's pretty pointless and just annoying. but that's just a teeny tiny flaw which doesn't deteriorate the reading experience one bit.

so if you like liked the first book, go read this one too, you'll love it!(less)

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Dec 04, 2012 Bücherplanet rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Nach dem der zwischenzeitlich 16jährige John Cleaver im Band 1 (Ich bin kein Serienkiller) feststellen musste, dass es außer dem in ihm selbst beherbergten Dämon - der danach schreit ein Serienkiller zu werden - tatsächlich reale Dämonen in seiner Stadt Clayton County gibt, bekommt er in der grandiosen Fortsetzung erneut die Gelegenheit, seinen mörderischen Trieb auszuleben. Mehrere junge Frauen kommen diesmal unter merkwürdigen Umständen zu Tode und erneut ahnt John, dass nur er den unerkannten...more

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Dec 02, 2012 Shelf Talkers Anonymous rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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Sep 05, 2012 Erin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, young-adult, best-of-2012

I was in the mood for something creepy and this definitely fit the bill! Filled with fun facts you never wanted to know about serial killers and embalming practices this book was super gross, and at times absolutely horrifying. While technically a YA novel (our "hero" is only 16 after all), this book will tantalize and terrify all age brackets, and is definitely not recommended for those under 15. Although I am a self-identified weenie...
John Cleaver is a sociopath who is desperately torn betwe...more

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Jul 27, 2012 Aurora rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Auch der zweite Band dieser Trilogie hat mich total gefesselt. So sehr, dass ich das Buch innerhalb von 24 Stunden (nicht non-stop ;) ) ausgelesen habe. In diesem Buch taucht nach mehreren Monaten des Friedens ein weiterer Serienkiller auf. Der ganze Ort geht davon aus, dass der erste Serienkiller wieder zugeschlagen hat. Doch der ist tot. Das wissen allerdings nur John und seine Mutter. Während der erste Killer ausschließlich Männer tötete, werden nun tote Frauen aufgefunden. Alle mit kleinen W...more

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Mar 03, 2012 Courtney rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Oh wow. I think this book was better than the first. It didn't take me long to finish it either. Just a few days, I think.

After the excitement of killing a demon ebbed, John tries his best at returning to his old life. Except now his mother knows that his alter-ego Mr. Monster exists, not that it makes her love him any less. The only problem is, now that Mr. Monster is out of his cage, John is having a little trouble keeping him under control. And then there's Brooke, his neighbor who he's attra...more

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Jan 19, 2012 Themistokeles rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Inhalt: John Cleaver lebt in Clayton County. Er ist sechzehn Jahr alt und lebt zusammen mit seiner Mutter über deren Leichenhaus, welches Johns Mutter und seine Tante betreiben. Vor wenigen Monaten wütete in Clayton County ein Serienkiller, der schon viele Opfer auf dem Gewissen hatte. John kam diesem auf die Spur, wobei sich herausstellte, dass es sich bei dem Clayton Killer um einen Dämon handelte. Letztendlich gelang es John den Clayton Killer zu töten, denn John ist kein normaler Junge. John...more Inhalt: John Cleaver lebt in Clayton County. Er ist sechzehn Jahr alt und lebt zusammen mit seiner Mutter über deren Leichenhaus, welches Johns Mutter und seine Tante betreiben. Vor wenigen Monaten wütete in Clayton County ein Serienkiller, der schon viele Opfer auf dem Gewissen hatte. John kam diesem auf die Spur, wobei sich herausstellte, dass es sich bei dem Clayton Killer um einen Dämon handelte. Letztendlich gelang es John den Clayton Killer zu töten, denn John ist kein normaler Junge. John ist ein Soziopath, der mit all Mitteln versucht kein Serienkiller zu werden.

Wenige Monate nach dem Tod des Clayton Killers, von dem in Clyton County außer John und seiner Mutter niemand was weiß, tauchen neue Leichen auf. John vermutet, dass es sich wieder um die Taten eines Dämons handelt, der den Mörder des ersten sucht. Jedoch geht dieser Mörder um ein Vielfaches klüger vor, so dass sich John mit größeren Schwierigkeiten konfrontiert wird, als er den Entschluss fast auch diesem Täter das Handwerk zu legen.

Meinung: Mir hat auch dieser Teil der Reihe wieder sehr gut gefallen. Insbesondere der innere Kampf, den John nun um ein vielfaches stärker mit seinem zweiten Ich Mr. Monster auszufechten hat, wird verdammt gut dargestellt. Auch der neue Mörder hat was für sich, zum einen gefallen mir seine Kräfte recht gut. Zum anderen bin ich auch ehrlich nicht auf die Lösung des Falls gekommen und war schon ein wenig überrascht, als sich herausstellte, wer der Dämon war.

Außerdem fand ich die Darstellung und den Verlauf der Beziehung zwischen Brook und John, sowie seine Reaktionen auf die Beziehung seiner Schwester zu Curt sehr interessant dargestellt. Des Weiteren finde ich auch wieder verdammt genial, wie der Autor es schafft, diesen verrückten und eigentlich kranken Charakter zu treffend und präzise zu beschreiben und darzustellen. So dass man sich zum einen in seine Gefühlswelt einleben kann und er zum anderen sehr real erscheint.

Auf jeden Fall ein klasse Buch und ich bin schon auf den dritten Teil gespannt!(less)

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Aug 09, 2011 Maria rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm going to start out with the one tiny thing I didn't like about this novel - just so I can get it out of the way - which was the fact that John acted WAY too old for his age. He's supposed to be 15, but sometimes he just thinks and speaks like a 30 year old.

Other than that, I found this book to be great! I enjoyed reading about the embalming process and how it connects John and his mother. I especially loved the relationship between the two of them. She knows that her son is a potential kill...more

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May 31, 2011 Jay Daze rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, horror, sf, library-book

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May 24, 2011 Patrick rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Mr. Monster, for whatever reason, made me feel more uneasy with John Cleaver as a character than that previous book, "I Am Not A Serial Killer" did. I'm sure that Dan Wells intended this, as he's a skilled writer, and has a knack for putting you in a position where you're torn between wanting to root for the protagonist, and feeling altogether revolted by him.

For a while, it was hard to tell where this book was going. It seemed to meander, and wasn't quite as high tension as the previous one. It...more

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Mar 11, 2011 Monica Ray rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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Feb 18, 2011 Larry Zieminski rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This second book in Dan Well's I Am Not A Serial Killer trilogy is very good. I really enjoyed the first book in the series, but this second book surpasses the first book in many ways.

My favorite aspect of these books is the information we get about how the embalming process is done. Stephen King has talked about how death and the ways we care for our dead is one of our big taboo subjects (i.e. we really don't know what goes on between the death of a relative and the viewing of the casket at the...more

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Jan 06, 2011 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Dan Wells has certainly done his homework. He pulled me in with I Am Not A Serial Killer, his first look at John Wayne Cleaver, his well-named sociopath (named for both John Wayne Gacy and a weapon). While the first novel explored the relationship between John's good side and "Mr. Monster," his twisted inner demon, this latest novel delves much farther into John's relationship with his own psychosis.

As someone who's always been a little fascinated with serial killers (I've stopped reading the t...more

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Jan 01, 2011 Yolanda Sfetsos rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-paranormal, thriller

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Last year, I read and absolutely loved I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER. So when I found out that there was a sequel, I just had to read it. I grabbed it a few days ago and finished it this afternoon. My gosh, what a great book!

John Cleaver isn't you average teenager, although he tries to come across that way. He's fascinated with serial killers, helps his mother in the mortuary, and feels more comfortable with dead people than the living ones around him. And after killing a demon, he's been feeling a l...more

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Dec 27, 2010 Jared rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am going to review Mr. Monster by Dan Wells.

In the interest of full honesty, Dan and I don’t go way back, nor are we even Christmas card friends. We met a few years ago and have barely talked since (not out of any animosity). However, the circumstance was just unusual enough that I remember him and he remembers me. He’s an accomplished author and I’m an aspiring one.

And that’s all there is to that.

Now on to his book.

I read I Am Not a Serial Killer, also by him and the first in his John Cleaver...more

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Dec 13, 2010 ReaderM rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Well Dan Wells does it again. Centering around our protagonist/antagonist depending on your view point of John C. Wayne; he creates a captivating sequel to "I Am Not A Serial Killer". This well anticipated sequel was a worthy read because in my opinion showcases properly the growing dilemma of what happens when you "let the Beast out the cage." The on-going struggle between trying to fake normalcy and scumming to his natural instinct was tastefully done and the Warehouse/Cat scene will remain a...more

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Dec 03, 2010 Carmaletta Hilton rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. We pick up months after John has stopped Crowley and he's different. Mr. Monster has taken over and he has to fight hard to keep him at bay. He's actually going on a date! And, apparently, most of the town think he's a hero. Reading those words from Brooke's father's mouth, I felt pretty much the same way John did. "Oh, if you only knew."

This one was as interesting, if not more, than the first, because the monster inside is out, and there's more of a will he/won't he vibe throughout the whole th...more We pick up months after John has stopped Crowley and he's different. Mr. Monster has taken over and he has to fight hard to keep him at bay. He's actually going on a date! And, apparently, most of the town think he's a hero. Reading those words from Brooke's father's mouth, I felt pretty much the same way John did. "Oh, if you only knew."

This one was as interesting, if not more, than the first, because the monster inside is out, and there's more of a will he/won't he vibe throughout the whole thing. Again, we still have the psychology of serial killers here, which I love. Most novels with serial killer antagonists focus on the police investigation, so we never learn much about the killers. As someone interested in serial killers, though thankfully not to the degree of and with the reasons of John, I found myself pulled in every time John gave a mini-lecture on why killers do this or that, or when he tried profiling them. With Mr. Monster, we get not only the insight into the serial killer, but we also get to see more of the development of the killer that John will surely become.

This last bit, however, takes me back to my initial distaste over how close these stories are to the Dexter stories. We can see John progressing to a kind of Dexter. He's got his rules, and he uses the excuse that he's killing a killer, saving innocents, to break his rules and commit murders. I could see him going into law enforcement, just like Dexter did, something that would get him near the bodies, but not to where people would think there was anything weird. It's like I'm reading the story of Dexter as a young child, except this Dex has to figure it out on his own without Harry to guide him.

There were a few other things that bugged me and momentarily took me out of the story. First, John was driving around without a licensed adult with only his learner's permit, and no one said anything about it. His mom even got him a car. The permit is treated like a driver's license and that kind of threw me for a minute. Another thing was John's friendship with Max. When we left the two in the previous book, Max had kicked him out of his house after John confessed to only pretending to be his friend. Sure, we can assume that after the death of Max's dad, things changed with them, but considering John wouldn't even talk to Max when they were all gathered at his house for that vigil, it would have been nice if the rift between them had been acknowledged. It was never even mentioned. Lastly, there was the ending, yet again. The actual killing of Foreman was very anticlimactic, and more than that, it paints John as a different kind of killer than what we see from his dreams and desires. Yes, it's situational, he has to use what's at his disposal, but for someone we see who's going to, in all likelihood, become a serial killer of some sort, we're not even seeing the start of any kind of ritual, which is key in serial killings.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and will read the final one in the trilogy when it is released. (less)

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Nov 06, 2010 Heidi Tighe added it · review of another edition

So very, very disturbing. This is an LDS author like you've never read before.

As a teenager, I used to wonder what it would be like to be a sociopath who was trying not to kill. It seems very similar to the way I felt about sneaking snacks into the movie theater. It's something that I know I shouldn't do in my head, but I didn't think my heart would feel any guilt if I actually did it. What stopped me, then, from sneaking snacks in even though I really wanted to? Was that the same thing that wou...more

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About Dan Wells

Dan Wells is a thriller and science fiction writer. Born in Utah, he spent his early years reading and writing. He is he author of the Partials series (Partials, with the second book coming early 2013) and John Cleaver series (I Am Not a Serial Killer, Mr. Monster, and I Don't Want To Kill You). He has been nominated for both the Hugo and the Campbell Award, and has won two Parsec Awards for his p...more

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Books by Dan Wells

I Am Not A Serial Killer (John Cleaver, #1)

I Don't Want to Kill You (John Cleaver, #3)

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Quotes from Mr. Monster

“It's a pretty big shock to realise that the only people you can identify with are psychopathic killers.” — 22 people liked it

“Feelings aren't good or bad. They're just weak or strong. Love, for example, is weak: someone loves you, you love them back, you're happy for a while, and then it fades away. But if one of those lovers betrays the other, then you have a real emotion - then you have something powerful, something that leaves a mark you'll never be rid of. Betrayal is the most delicious of all, but it takes a while to set it up, and fear can be just as intense if you know what you're doing.” — 13 people liked it

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Mr. Monster (John Cleaver #2)

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