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I Don't Want to Kill You

(John Cleaver #3)

Dan Wells (Goodreads Author)

4.23 · Rating details · 9,453 ratings · 1,045 reviews

John Cleaver has called a demon—literally called it, on the phone, and challenged it to a fight. He’s faced two of the monsters already, barely escaping with his life, and now he’s done running; he’s taking the fight to them. But as he wades through his town’s darkest secrets, searching for any sign of who the demon might be, one thing becomes all too clear: in a game of c ...more

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Hardcover, 320 pages

Published March 29th 2011 by Tor Books

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Oct 01, 2017 Miranda Reads rated it really liked it

A corpse is actually the perfect friend. The perfect pet. I feel more comfortable with them than I do with real people.

Classic John Wayne Cleaver.

John is your typical teenager, with the added bonus of psychopathic tendencies, an extremely rigid moral code and a wonderful family support system. He knows that he wants to become a serial killer but he absolutely refuses to give in and his mom is right there to back him up. I adore their mother-son dynamic:

"No, Mom," I said. "No pictures."

"B

...more

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Dec 30, 2010 Jessica rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, youngadult

I got so into this book that I burned off a chunk of my hair trying to read and use the blowdryer at the same time. I might take the chunk and mail it to Dan . . .

Because Dan is amazing. His brain just doesn't work like mine does. It's not that the whole serial killer thing worries me . . . if you ask around, you will probably find quite a few of your friends know random facts about serial killers, or Jack the Ripper, or true crimes. Who cares about that? What amazes me about Dan Wells is the i I got so into this book that I burned off a chunk of my hair trying to read and use the blowdryer at the same time. I might take the chunk and mail it to Dan . . .

Because Dan is amazing. His brain just doesn't work like mine does. It's not that the whole serial killer thing worries me . . . if you ask around, you will probably find quite a few of your friends know random facts about serial killers, or Jack the Ripper, or true crimes. Who cares about that? What amazes me about Dan Wells is the intricacy of his plotting, and realness of his characters. John Cleaver does not think like a normal human being, there is definitely something wrong with his brain, yet I care about him. Every interaction he has, with his mother or sister or aunt or neighbor, is fraught with tension because you don't know how John will react or how the other person will react to him. My heart just went out to him in this book as he really tried to have a normal relationship- AND IT WORKED! From the beginning of the first book I have thought that John's rules and his mother's overreaction to his condition have made them both forget how a normal teenager should act. Teenage boys joke about death, and violence, and girls, and all sorts of things that John and his mother have decided are taboo. I've been wondering if Dan would address that, and lo and behold, he did. He addressed quite a few things in this book, really, and ended John's story very well.

And by "very well" I mean that I jumped up and shouted, "HELL YES!" and actually pumped my arm in the air like a football fan. Of course, this was after sending Dan several emails telling what page I was on and basically trying to figure out how much more horrible this book would get before it ended. (Page 263 is quite, quite awful.)

But not gory-awful, I hasten to add. Each of these three books has been very different. I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER was sort of: check it out, we've got a potential kid serial killer and demons! Look at the crazy! MR. MONSTER was more straight-up, SAW style horror. And I DON'T WANT TO KILL YOU was very emotional, very psychological. What if you knew a demon was coming after you? What will it look like? What are you going to do about it? All wrapped up in the question of, at its most basic, How disturbed is John? Will he ever have a normal life?

It's fascinating stuff here, handled extremely well. Five stars all around and two thumbs way up. Just make sure you clear a good block of time to read it, because once you start there's no point in doing anything else until you're done. And if you don't believe me, I can send you an envelope full of hair . . . ...more

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Apr 28, 2011 Marvin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: horror

I just finished the John Wayne Cleaver trilogy by Dan Wells and here is my ratings for each novel:

I An Not a Serial Killer: Four stars
Mr. Monster: Four and a half stars.
I Don't Want to Kill You: Five stars.

I listed my rating because this is what I think a trilogy should do. It should build on each book making the next one even better. You should never get the feeling that the author is just trying to finish it up or complete for the pay check. Dan Wells appears totally invested in each work. In ...more

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Aug 24, 2020 Claude's Bookzone rated it really liked it

CW: Gruesome murder scenes. (view spoiler)

Well this one got incredibly dark! I'm scared to see how much more twisted this series can get! ...more

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Jul 16, 2012 [Name Redacted] rated it it was amazing

Shelves: halloween-2017, psychology, mystery, horror

First Read: ? - Sept. 3, 2012
Second Read: Sept. 10th, 2015 - Sept. 12th, 2015
Third Read: Oct. 30th - 31st, 2017

I don't even know how to process my reaction to this book. Wells kicks things up a notch for the (apparent) finale* of his "John Cleaver" series, but much of this book is actually dedicated to John's relationships to and with other people -- more than ever, John is forced to confront who and what he is and how others see him. It's incredible, it's gripping, and it's horrifying. And the ...more

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Apr 03, 2011 Heidi Tighe rated it it was amazing

This book didn't scare me, which confuses me because it seems like it did many others, but it thrilled me, moved me, inspired me.

First, his characters: in addition to John Wayne Cleaver, who's a pretty unique fellow in and of himself, Wells creates amazing characters. He doesn't take shortcuts or rely on tropes and stereotypes. The voluptuous most popular girl at school? Guess what--she's not an empty-headed bimbo. She's smart, reflective, even wise. Wayne's mother is neither the denial-ridden, ...more

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Oct 29, 2010 Michael rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, serial-killers, horror, humour, supernatural

I’m a little sad to think the John Cleaver series is now over. I was really enjoying the socially awkward teenage sociopath and his struggle through high school. While the supernatural twist was a good one, I really wanted to know more about John and his struggle with others and teenage urges. I wonder if there are more books like this.

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May 07, 2019 Melissa rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, borrowed, eager-for-next-installment, library-mwr, continuous-series, teenagers, angel-devil-demon-etc, highly-recommend, murder, serial-killer

I AM SO OBSSESSED WITH THIS SERIES! I highly recommend it. If you are looking for something different than you normally read, if you like edgy, the supernatural, anti-heros (if I understand the term correctly), then you will like this.

John Wayne Cleaver is a teenager. John Wayne Cleaver is a sociopath. In I Don't Want to Kill You, John Wayne Cleaver learns what it means to love someone. And it was EPIC! I was NOT expecting this ending and am very sad it went the way it did.

There is so much to sa ...more

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Jul 23, 2014 Mike (the Paladin) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, thriller

This is the third installment in the story of our intrepid sociopathic monster hunter/killer.

John has a trying life, as do those who care for him...or find themselves in their vicinity. For the first two books I fond these books very interesting. Here we got very involved in John trying to function in a world that he just doesn't get without seeming too weird, dangerous...frightening. After a while here I burned out on John's frustration. The story simply bogged down a bit in the middle. We've t ...more

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Dec 23, 2010 Carolyn Storer rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, young-adult, book-list-2010

3.5 Stars

I have been waiting for 'I Don't Want To Kill You' for what feels like forever. I absolutely loved the first two 'John Cleaver' novels and just couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy of the third and final book in this chilling trilogy. I cracked this baby open with great anticipation.

We meet John only a short time on from where 'Mr Monster' finished and there is another demon in town. This time it's after him. John has killed two of the demons friends and it wants revenge. John spends 3.5 Stars

I have been waiting for 'I Don't Want To Kill You' for what feels like forever. I absolutely loved the first two 'John Cleaver' novels and just couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy of the third and final book in this chilling trilogy. I cracked this baby open with great anticipation.

We meet John only a short time on from where 'Mr Monster' finished and there is another demon in town. This time it's after him. John has killed two of the demons friends and it wants revenge. John spends most of his time anticipating the demons' moves and analysing its motives. While John obsesses over this new demon, there a more murders which he thinks are linked to it, and he also notices there are far too many teenage suicides where he lives and wonder's why.

Unfortunately 'I Don't Want To Kill You' didn't quite meet my expectations. It may be because they were just too high. I was hoping for more internal struggle from John with regards to his desires to kill and his sociopathic tendances. Instead it felt he was just a young kid wanting to solve a murder. There really wasn't that much darkness or intensity, or the mention of John's 'rules' that were so prevalent in 'I Am Not A Serial Killer' and 'Mr Monster'.

I was to see John on the cuspe of finding out whether his serial killer compulsions were his truth or something he could resist. But John's development halted. I also felt that this time there was slightly too much repetition. With 'I Am Not A Serial Killer' the mention of all the activity which went on behind the scenes in his mother's morgue were gruesome, vivid, and gave a certain depth to John and his dark side. It suited his personality at that time. In this book, I felt it had already been done and we really didn't have to go there again. I understood what it meant to John to work there and handle dead bodies I didn't need to be reminded throughout this instalment.

Because of this, I didn't think that John's development as a person moved forward. John's relationships with girls also intensified, but it didn't really seem to bother him that much, even when it begins to get intimate with holding hands, hugging and kissing. The John in 'I Am Not A Serial Killer' and 'Mr Monster' would have been totally freaked out by this. If John was much older I may have seen this as character development, but because these books are all in the span of about a year it just didn't work for me.

VERDICT:

Despite my disappointment with some aspects of 'I Don't Want To Kill You' it is still a very good and engaging read in its own right, I just expected more from the last instalment of such a dark and thrilling series. I'm also not sure I'm particularly happy with the ending or think it was fitting for such a complex and dark character as John - I felt it was maybe a little bit predictable, and safe. However, I still enjoyed it and would recommend this series in a heartbeat, as overall it is utterly brilliant!
...more

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Sep 16, 2017 Zemira (Kylo Ren fangirl) Warner rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mystery, thriller, paranormal, killing-machine, best-of-2017

OMG! What a perfect book! I don't think Dan Wells can top I Don't Want to Kill You. Plot is disturbing, main character is sociopath yet you cheer for him. With every book John feels less upset about wanting to kill and can't wait to see what he's going to do next. ...more

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Oct 31, 2019 Mary ♥ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: faves

4.8/5 stars

Life is too short. It's too precious. We have to live in this world, but we don't have to wallow in it. We don't have to fill our lives with all of this darkness.

Something to listen to while reading this ♥

description

Trigger Warnings for: Mention of suicides, mention of child pornography

This was definitely the best book in the series, and definitely the best way to spend my Halloween night. I found myself turning the pages at an agonizing pace, feeling dizzy with worry and shaking my head in shock. I did guess one of the plot points but that is because I love these things, and it didn't ruin the fun at all for me. If everything, this book was one of my most enjoyable experiences this year. It had the amounts of horror and gore I expected, but also humour, and some unexpected love that made me smile because it was adorable. The biggest focus was though the essence of family, and I cried in this one scene.

John developed so much as a character, and I found myself loving him more and more and cherishing, even understanding his way of thinking, as the books proceeded. What was missing from this book was the references to his pyromania (this might be slightly far fetched) but I felt like it wasn't brought up very much and it is after all a part of him and his coping mechanisms. I definitely loved his dynamic with Marci though, and I also adored the multiple mystery plots he had to deal with in the course of this story. The writing was always incredible for the story, and I will miss it so much now that it's ended (until my next reread, of course).

I also loved all the symbolisms and issues that were discussed in this story such as self esteem issues, never being satisfied with one's self, catharsis, guilt, grief, vexation and paranoia. One thing that I will keep praising is that John is never demonized throughout these books, and this strongly beats the distorted and VERY WRONG most mystery/thriller books give us on mental illnesses.

Overall, I love the series and everything it includes. The mystery, the supernatural aspect, the gore, the forensics, the many ways in which it has moved me to think or put my mind to use, the portrayal of many emotions, feelings and situations and the discussion on many issues, and of course the introduction to a unique mind, John Wayne Cleaver's inner world. I recommend for fans of thriller, horror, mystery teenage novels, or someone who just wants to see an original, hair-raising creepy story about a boy who bravely fought both the darkness in the world and the one within him, multiple times ♥

Until the next review, keep reading ♥
~Mary ♥ ...more

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Oct 16, 2013 colleen the convivial curmudgeon rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, horror-esque, library-read, urban-fantasy

3.5

For most of this book, it was easily a 4-star. It was engaging and entertaining, and I really liked the addition of Marci to the cast. She brought a spark, and it was interesting to see John start to make an actual connection with someone.

I was a bit frustrated with John now and again, in his hunt for the demons, because I'd cottoned on to a couple of things long before he did. I can write it off as his obsession making him a bit myopic, but I still wanted to reach through and shake him a few 3.5

For most of this book, it was easily a 4-star. It was engaging and entertaining, and I really liked the addition of Marci to the cast. She brought a spark, and it was interesting to see John start to make an actual connection with someone.

I was a bit frustrated with John now and again, in his hunt for the demons, because I'd cottoned on to a couple of things long before he did. I can write it off as his obsession making him a bit myopic, but I still wanted to reach through and shake him a few times. (view spoiler)

Speaking of wanting to shake people - mom. One page she's saying she's gonna help him and his there for him, and the next scene she's blocking him again. WTF mom?

But, despite that, I was pretty into the story and them pages were a-turnin'.

But that ending. Ugh. The final battle seemed a bit anti-climactic, and the results of it sort of got glossed over. But, even more than that, the way things worked out in the end were just so pat. I mean, I like a happy ending as much as the next gal, and I'm not saying I wanted an unhappy ending, but there's a different between a happy ending and everything being tied up with pink swirly freaking bows.

I mean - (view spoiler)

So, yeah...

It wasn't one of those ending which makes me hate the whole thing in retrospect or anything - it wasn't nearly that bad - but it did definitely drop this from a 4 to a 3 (the 1/2 staying in because the rest of the book was still pretty good).

It also may have "succeeded" in taking this off my re-read pile. But, who knows, that could always change down the line...

Bleh. ...more

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Mar 24, 2011 Yolanda Sfetsos rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-paranormal-supernatural, thriller

After absolutely loving the first and second books in the John Cleaver series, I couldn't wait to get stuck into this one... and it didn't disappoint.

John's not like other teenage boys. He doesn't have real friends, he tries to keep his distance from girls, he enjoys helping his mother in the family mortuary, he's an expert on serial killers, he has a set of rules he constantly recites to himself, and he's a sociopath. Oh, plus he's killed two demons. Evil demons that decided to terrorise his to After absolutely loving the first and second books in the John Cleaver series, I couldn't wait to get stuck into this one... and it didn't disappoint.

John's not like other teenage boys. He doesn't have real friends, he tries to keep his distance from girls, he enjoys helping his mother in the family mortuary, he's an expert on serial killers, he has a set of rules he constantly recites to himself, and he's a sociopath. Oh, plus he's killed two demons. Evil demons that decided to terrorise his town. And now, there's a new demon in town and she's got her eye on John.

The new killer in town seems to be very ritualistic and kills public leaders. While John is trying to figure out how he can stop Nobody--the female demon he's sure is responsible for these deaths--he befriends Marci. However, not all is as it seems and for once, John might actually find himself up against a real serial killer, and another who is directly connected to the unexplained number of teenage suicides...

I particularly liked seeing how John dealt with a girlfriend--something he's never wanted, but unwillingly finds himself with. Marci, the hot girl in school who shouldn't technically even look his way, really affects him. She makes him realise that he's not as alone as he always thought he was, and that other people are also interested in murderers and what makes them tick. Their relationship was sweet, and tragic. And it changes John, in the most devastating way.

I Don't Want to Kill You is an awesome book! It's entertaining and dark, and I enjoyed it very much. It's just as addictive as the two before it and a real page-turner. I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next, but was saddened when I got to the end.

I really enjoyed this trilogy, and just found out that this will be the last book in the John Cleaver series. No! I could totally read more books with John as the narrator. Still, this was a wonderful end to John's trilogy. Not just because it intensified everything, but because we get to see a side of John we haven't seen before.... in a very human way. ...more

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Apr 08, 2018 Travis rated it really liked it

Well that wraps up the first arc in the John Cleaver series! I got to say that was also one of the most gut wrenching, intense endings I've read in a while. My brain is still trying to process what happened but that will take some time! The mystery in this book took a very religious turn and I kind of guessed right away from the beginning who the serial killer was. Now in the aspect of the demon that took me awhile to figure out. This series though has been so entertaining and just the right amo ...more

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Oct 27, 2020 Selena Reiss rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: three-stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 3 stars?? I guess??

Not as bad as book one, but not as good as book two.

I enjoyed the beginning of this, and I enjoyed John Cleaver’s development—the issue is that it comes at the expense of every important woman who loves him, pretty much. While I think the deaths that happened in this books were natural completions of the arc Dan Wells set up, this arc is a fridging arc where John Cleaver realizes he feels/has emotions/realizes he can love ONLY after the death of his mom and Marci. He literally 3 stars?? I guess??

Not as bad as book one, but not as good as book two.

I enjoyed the beginning of this, and I enjoyed John Cleaver’s development—the issue is that it comes at the expense of every important woman who loves him, pretty much. While I think the deaths that happened in this books were natural completions of the arc Dan Wells set up, this arc is a fridging arc where John Cleaver realizes he feels/has emotions/realizes he can love ONLY after the death of his mom and Marci. He literally says this—he admits to Marci’s dead body that he only knew he loved her after she was gone, even though he did love her without knowing how before. His mom’s sacrifice is meant to tug on the heartstrings and necessary for John’s preserved innocence, but with the indifference he’s treated her with thus far and the conflict and with the ending where John realizes he feels grief, it really seemed like the biggest role she had was making him feel. They died for his development, or continuing a plot wrapped around his development—either way this is like seeing fridging in action.

I also had issues with the portrayal of the girls’ insecurities, and how they were used in such a way that lacked so much depth and never said anything about the very real issue Dan Wells stole for this book. Then there’s that scene with Max which was nearly wholly unnecessary where John kind of stoops to Max’s level in talking about Marci yet again. But if you check my other reviews, writing women is a consistent issue for Dan Wells—at least from what I can tell.

I also had major issues with suicide’s place in this book. Even if you take into context that the suicides aren’t really suicide, this book is full of harmful information and beliefs about suicide that aren’t rectified by the reveal. John maintains an attitude that suicide is wasting a life he saved, and that is worse than people being murdered, as well as he thinks many other similar remarks. While this is in keeping with John’s character, this is a very common thought about suicide that people who don’t have Antisocial Personality Disorder believe and think is still okay to believe. And so its inclusion can’t escape contributing to stigma. Furthermore, there’s an idea that people who are suicidal—before they commit suicide, of course—are being dramatic, attention-seeking, etc. The girls who “commit suicide” have insecurities for one night and then do it, and even though they aren’t suicides, I still think this book plays with the idea that suicide is a selfish thing people do on a whim on a bad night for no real reason. Suicide is an epidemic with systemic causes and reasons people don’t get help, and by playing with harmful stereotypes about it, intentional or not, this book lightens that. There’s no real correction of these things; John is never like “oh, these didn’t seem like suicides anyway” for these reasons, and so even though they weren’t actually suicide, the misinformation about suicide is never actually dealt with in a good manner. The only thing John says is basically “oh good, I’m glad they weren’t suicides because that would’ve been harder for me to deal with because they don’t care.”

There’s other iffy things that came up—like the priest defending a pedophile—but I don’t wanna make this review all negative. I did enjoy reading this book, even though I called most of the stops. I enjoyed John’s development, and what the last scene means, if not for the cost of getting there. I don’t really like the Brooke thing at the end, pretty much at all. Basically this started good with some ugly things sprinkled throughout, but the ending went in a direction I didn’t love and, rather than fixing the problems I had, doubled down on them. I still stand by the second book being a great YA horror, but I didn’t love how this sequel went. ...more

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Feb 20, 2018 Rusty rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: prose, fantasy, horror

I’ve just finished the third book in this series. Right in a row. Of the three John Cleaver books I’ve read, I think this is the best one. Or my favorite at least.

I heard the author say that his intent with the second book was to take this character to a real bottom before he overcame his personal demons enough to combat the external demons. In retrospect, that dark place left a bad taste in my mouth. Something about a fictional character murdering a fictional housecat changes my all too real p I’ve just finished the third book in this series. Right in a row. Of the three John Cleaver books I’ve read, I think this is the best one. Or my favorite at least.

I heard the author say that his intent with the second book was to take this character to a real bottom before he overcame his personal demons enough to combat the external demons. In retrospect, that dark place left a bad taste in my mouth. Something about a fictional character murdering a fictional housecat changes my all too real perception of who he is.

I mean, this isn’t a gruff anti-hero with a heart of gold… it’s… a gruff anti-hero with a heart of evil.

Anyhoo – if I’d finished the second book before I ordered the third, I might have stopped there. But I’d not done it that way. So when I finished number two this one was already en route. Turns out, while the external stuff in this book is much worse. All that inner-darkness our hero faces is significantly less. No more page after page of dreaming of mutilating the girls he knows, and burning down abandoned buildings for fun… or the aforementioned cat murders. Nope, that’s mostly behind him. Now he’s laser focused on helping people by killing more demons.

In all, I thought the plotting, pacing, and even the prose was much better than in the second book (You’ll never know, however, because I never brought that stuff up in my review of the last book, but I had some issues… and that sounds about right for me. Leave out the important stuff… focus on the incidentals). I thought Marci was great – John’s mother was great. And I like how once the body count started. Well, it kept right on going til the end.

And while I really like these books, I don’t think they are quite perfect. John’s plans for bad guys are usually elaborate, and in this book, almost comically so. But there isn’t time to get to worked up about that because things quickly go wrong and John is scrambling to impart his judgement on the deserving all while trying to keep himself and those close to him alive.

I ordered the next book in the series. ...more

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May 08, 2012 Ryan Lawler rated it really liked it

I Don’t Want To Kill You is the third and final book in the John Cleaver series. After the awesome debut of I Am Not A Serial Killer and the sheer epicness that was Mr. Monster, this book had some mighty big boots to fill. In the end this book may have fallen just short of the level set by Mr. Monster, but it is still a brilliant book and a fitting a fitting end to the series.

I Don’t Want To Kill You starts a few months after the end of Mr. Monster. John is still feeling the affects from his bat I Don’t Want To Kill You is the third and final book in the John Cleaver series. After the awesome debut of I Am Not A Serial Killer and the sheer epicness that was Mr. Monster, this book had some mighty big boots to fill. In the end this book may have fallen just short of the level set by Mr. Monster, but it is still a brilliant book and a fitting a fitting end to the series.

I Don’t Want To Kill You starts a few months after the end of Mr. Monster. John is still feeling the affects from his battle with another demon, the loss of control to his inner demon, and the breakdown of his first ever relationship. But there is hope – he has thrown down the challenge to Nobody, leader of the demons, and he gets his answer when another serial killer starts to terrorise Clayton. The first demon was unprepared for John, the second demon underestimated John, but this third demon is pissed and she is desperate to make an example of John at the expense of his friends and family.

As he has done in the previous books, Wells takes a well constructed plot and applies liberal amounts of creepiness and suspense. This time around you get the distinct feeling that John is the one being hunted, the people being killed around him are getting closer and closer and it is very much a race against time to solve the mystery, unmask the killer, and save his own skin. The twists are big, the revelations are bigger, and bad things happen to good people. My wife cried but I am far more heartless than her.

This is all great material, but I think I was slightly let down by the lack of actual mystery elements, the lack of an the elaborate setup and all the red herrings that were so well done in the previous two books. It’s hard to go into much detail without spoiling the book, so while I found the concept and the physical form of the demon Nobody to be very cool, I felt slightly disappointed that the ‘big reveal’ of Nobody wasn’t all that big and was also a bit predictable. It may seem like a small thing, but the ‘big reveal’ was what made the first two books so good. It might be because I was expecting something similar to the first two books and was disappointed when that expectation wasn’t met.

As in the previous books, Wells demonstrates that his biggest strength is characterisation, and this is evidenced by the way we get to know so much about the support cast despite being limited to John’s point of view. John is a very observant and obsessive character and he provides a very detailed / creepy analysis of every character he interacts with, especially when wondering how he would feel when killing them. We get to see a John that is much more in control in this book, he is embracing his obsessive nature, and he is able to vent everything to Marci who is fascinated by the way he thinks. I loved Marci in this book, a lot more than I thought I would, and she played the ‘most desirable teenager in the cosmos’ role brilliantly.

The style, the pacing, the writing as before is absolutely brilliant. Wells is a gifted wordsmith, and at times this book is beautifully poetic in its prose. It seems weird, but it was an absolute pleasure to read about such dark and disturbing themes. I cant say anything more about his writing, except that I expect Wells could take any concept whatsoever and write it in a way that would be appealing.

I Don’t Want To Kill You is a great conclusion to a brilliant debut series. The final demon was the most monstrous of all, the characters reached the end of their arcs, and it felt like series reached a natural conclusion despite the very tantalising thread Wells left for us in the final scene. I am very excited to see what the future holds for Dan Wells, and I hope that he returns to the world of John Cleaver in the not to distant future. ...more

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Mar 26, 2012 Rebecca rated it really liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. (Minor spoilers for the first book only-- this is more of a review of the series in general.)

I wanted to wait until l finished all three books before writing a review about any of them, because that seemed to make the most sense. I enjoyed these books a lot-- I read them in three days, so obviously I was into it-- although of course it's more of a "fun quick read" kind of thing and not a "life-changing omg must recommend" feeling.

First of all, I accidentally read several pages of I Don't Want T ...more

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Nov 29, 2016 Andi rated it really liked it

Shelves: recommend-to-anyone

What an ending to a first trilogy!

John has really grown over the last three books and I am so happy that he is still as broody, clever, ingenious, and warped as he started out in book one. However, the slight turn is that there is hope and he has learned to live with his demons and keep them in check. Use them for his better advantage on taking care of the demons that exist and continue to wreck havoc among his town.

I liked that this book focused on John's romantic side and if he is suitable to ...more

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May 08, 2015 Eric Allen rated it really liked it

Of the three current John Cleaver books, I felt that this one was probably the weakest. By this time, there's not much more that the author can do to shock us with John's behavior, and I figured out pretty much the entire plot as soon as the first Handyman killing happened. The mystery was a little weak and way too predictable. (view spoiler) ...more

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Jul 28, 2016 Emm C² rated it really liked it

Shelves: adult-and-new-adult, thriller, paranormal-supernatural, mystery, reviewed, horror, favorites

4.5 Stars
Quite awesome. This one I felt, was a little more slow-paced than the two before it, and in the first half especially is more speculation than action. Is that a bad thing? No, actually. There's a lot of character development there.

In summation, John has invited this creature called Nobody down to his hometown, completely unaware of what this monster can do... though that fact doesn't really hit him until bodies start to drop.
He suspects this Nobody is at the heart of two mysteries - a c ...more

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Apr 15, 2018 Jessica White rated it it was amazing

It's been a very, very long time since a book has made me mad, but I loved every second of it.

Read at your own risk, spoilers ahead.

We met John Cleaver, demon hunter, two books ago.

Book three, I Don't Want to Kill You, takes place because John called a demon. I mean, he literally picked up a phone and called a demon.The problem with his plan? He doesn't know what she's going to look like, what she's capable of, or how he's going to find her.

After his last run in with a demon, his relationship w ...more

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Apr 05, 2017 Laura Thomas rated it it was amazing

Shelves: horror, audible

Hold on to your hats people. While I don’t expect every book in a series to be better than the previous ones, I do expect to see characters grow and plots thicken. Never fear, as this one is every bit as good, if not better, than the others.

It’s been a month since John’s last otherworldly encounter and he’s feeling more in control of his urges. Enough to challenge a demon to come and get him. The demon accepts his challenge and the consequences are dark indeed. The author through me a curve ball ...more

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Apr 08, 2017 Breanna Causey rated it liked it

Have to rate this one lower because I had the twists figured out pretty quickly (one was just too obvious right from the beginning), and I also didn't like that a certain character died.

I really enjoy the puzzle aspect of these books. John profiles and gets inside the heads of the killers and finds out their weaknesses and from there has to puzzle out the best way to defeat them. This book has that in it, but because of the nature of the twists, I didn't feel that the ultimate ending of the book ...more

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Feb 13, 2013 Amanda rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, mental-illness, thriller, ya, horror

*Actually 3.5 stars*

The plot this time around was disappointingly full of obvious red herrings. I knew within the first chapter where Nobody was hiding, and it was kind of ridiculous that talented, intelligent John was missing it. Similarly, I found the serial killer who John identified as who he could end up being if he made the wrong choices to be a bit heavy-handed. John was already well aware of the risks of his sociopathy from the very first book. It felt a bit unnecessary to make this such *Actually 3.5 stars*

The plot this time around was disappointingly full of obvious red herrings. I knew within the first chapter where Nobody was hiding, and it was kind of ridiculous that talented, intelligent John was missing it. Similarly, I found the serial killer who John identified as who he could end up being if he made the wrong choices to be a bit heavy-handed. John was already well aware of the risks of his sociopathy from the very first book. It felt a bit unnecessary to make this such a strong plot point. It came across as preachy, which is something that this series had avoided so far. Similarly, John goes to see a priest at one point in his investigations, and his conversations with him felt a bit too heavy-handed, almost like the (known religious) Wells was preaching at the readers through the priest. Authors are allowed their opinions and perspectives, but preachiness is never good writing. Perspective and opinion should be shown eloquently through the plot and characters.

Speaking of characterization, John was still strongly written, but his mother and sister were another story. They felt less like they were doing what was logical and more like they were doing what needed to be done to move the plot forward. On the other hand, I really enjoyed John’s new girlfriend. She was well-rounded and realistic. Plus she was fit while being curvy, which I think is a great thing to see in a book.

In spite of the slightly obvious plot, I still was engaged to get to the end. Even though I knew whether or not there was a demon and who the killer was, I still deeply wanted to see how John would handle it. The audiobook narrator, Kirby Heyborne, helped with this momentum. His narration was just the right amount of tension while still remaining in a teenager’s voice. Be warned, though, that there is some yelling in the book, so the volume does spike considerably at a few points in the narration. You may want to keep the volume a bit lower than usual to accommodate this.

Unfortunately, where the plot ultimately ended up was deeply disappointing to me. It was not at all a satisfying ending, and from a mental illness advocacy perspective, I actually found it distressing. Whereas John’s sociopathy previously was handled with a lot of scientific understanding, I found the ending of this book to be completely out of touch with real sociopathy. While it wasn’t offensive per se, it drastically oversimplifies sociopathy, both its treatment and its causes, which is just as bad as demonizing it. I will address this issue more fully in the series review, but suffice to say that I found the ending to this book’s individual mystery and the series as a whole to be disappointing, particularly given the potential of the book.

Overall, then, this is an average book that wraps up an above average series. If you are someone who is fine with stopping things partway through, I’d recommend just stopping with the previous book in the series, Mr. Monster. But if you are interested in the overall perspective, this book is still an engaging read that doesn’t drag. It just might disappoint you.

Check out my full review. ...more

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Jul 11, 2018 Aine rated it it was amazing

I love this series so much!

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May 14, 2019 Miriam rated it really liked it

Shelves: series, audio, favorite-narrator, young-adult, mystery

5 stars audio
4 stars story. Wanted to take a break from this series, but shit getting real! Book 4 promises to be super hawt!

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Apr 02, 2014 Sam Whitehouse rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mystery, own, favourite-books, must-read, supernatural, horror, ya, will-definitely-be-reading-sequel, crime

Rating: 5/5
I Am Not a Serial Killer, the first book in the John Cleaver series (which has recently been extended to 6 books) was one of the best books I read last year. The sequel, Mr Monster, wasn’t as good as its predecessor, but it was still crazily paced, with plenty of tension and Cleaver’s witty, crazy first person narration. The second book suffered from being similar to the first, and not really developing in terms of plot or character.
The third book manages to be just as good as the fi Rating: 5/5
I Am Not a Serial Killer, the first book in the John Cleaver series (which has recently been extended to 6 books) was one of the best books I read last year. The sequel, Mr Monster, wasn’t as good as its predecessor, but it was still crazily paced, with plenty of tension and Cleaver’s witty, crazy first person narration. The second book suffered from being similar to the first, and not really developing in terms of plot or character.
The third book manages to be just as good as the first, and delivers an ending that promises to change the rest of the series completely.
This time around, John knows there’s a demon coming for him, and he plans on getting to it before it can hurt anyone else—him included. But things don’t go to plan and he ends up hunting two killers.
Wells gets into John’s head like in the last two books, but John’s psychosis takes a bit of a back seat this time to the investigation and the crazy amount of tension Wells builds up. The plot is tight and races along and is never anything less than gripping. There’s a slight jar in pace three quarters of the way through, but it’s not major enough to detract anything from the rating.
Well’s writing is sharp and there’s no excess description to slow the pace. John is a believable, likeable narrator despite the fact that he’s obsessed with killing people. Some readers might find it hard to identify with some of the things John thinks about. And there’s a rare moment when some of John’s sociopathic problems don’t ring true—maybe there’s a little too much telling, not enough showing for it to be always believable. But Well’s makes up for some minor character problems with enough tension to make this a read-in-one-sitting book. There’s rarely a moment where you’re not waiting for something bad to happen or a page where your knuckles aren’t white around the pages.
The ending is what ensures this book gets full marks. Wells could have ended it like he did the first and second book, but he defies any readers’ expectations and delivers a punch in the gut instead. It’s a gripping, unexpected ending to a wholly unpredictable book. What it means for the rest of the series is a massive change—to John and the plot.
When the first book introduced the supernatural elements, I wasn’t fully sold. But then the second book changed my mind. Now the third solidifies the fact that this series works well with the supernatural elements and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes.
If Dan Wells has ARC copies available, I’d face off with a demon myself for one.
Overall, this is massively entertaining, tautly paced, filled with suspense and ensures that there is definitely still life in this series. And it's fast turning into one of my favourite series of all time.
Highly, highly recommended.
...more

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Jan 23, 2013 Lori Anaple rated it it was amazing

Shelves: suspense, paranormal, 2013

I finally get it. It took me three books to do it, but somewhere in this one I had an "AHA" moment. I have to look at this book from a religious perspective. Not religious in terms of preachy, become a christian, but religious as in choice and a loving God.

There are three pivotal scenes which led me here. The first was in Mr. Monster when John didn't kill the asshat who beat on his sister; where he learned that he would be no better than said asshat if he killed or even hurt him. The second is a I finally get it. It took me three books to do it, but somewhere in this one I had an "AHA" moment. I have to look at this book from a religious perspective. Not religious in terms of preachy, become a christian, but religious as in choice and a loving God.

There are three pivotal scenes which led me here. The first was in Mr. Monster when John didn't kill the asshat who beat on his sister; where he learned that he would be no better than said asshat if he killed or even hurt him. The second is at when John is face to face with the Handyman serial killer. John makes his decisions on practicality, what would hurting this man make him. And the third, when Nobody extends her love. John weighs these decisions ultimately making his choice on who he wants to be. He realizes who he is.

He also comes to realize, I think, that he is not really a sociopath. He has just shoved his feelings so far down that he doesn't feel them anymore. All because of his Dad. Tragic really. His Dad used to beat on his mother, his sister and him, but he still loved him because he was "Dad". When Dad left, John shut down emotionally. This trilogy is his journey to feeling again.

We also have Marcy to thank for bringing John out of his shell. He learns to love and the final scene was touching; if not inevitable.

Even though I gave it 5 stars, I do think this book (series) is far from perfect. It certainly isn't one of my Best Books EVER, but I do appreciate horror/suspense and I do appreciate a profanity free horror/suspense book. I also liked the journey John finds himself on. What didn't sit so well for me was the finality...is it over? What happens to John? What becomes of him? What about all of the other demons that are out there? I liked the struggle of good vs evil; especially on such an internal level. Conversely, what about someone who was a true sociopath? This book just wouldn't work. The author is trying to show that good and evil are a choice, and I don't totally buy it. I think that there is true evil in the world and I think a true sociopath, when faced with these same choices and dealing with the same desires, would succumb.

If you didn't like my review, you are wearing a very nice shirt. HA! ...more

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About Dan Wells

Dan Wells

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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, Isolation, Fragments, and Ruins), the John Cleaver series (I Am Not a Serial Killer, Mr. Monster, and I Don't Want To Kill You), and a few others (The Hollow City, A Night of Blacker Darkness, etc). He was a Campbell nomine for best new w ...more

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John Cleaver (6 books)

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

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