Book 18: Killer Instinct by S.E. Green

Book 18: Killer Instinct
Author: S.E. Green

I admit, I read the first two chapters of Killer Instinct with Dexter's voice in my head. If you haven't watched the show DEXTER, Dexter is a blood splatter specialist — and a serial killer who murders...serial killers.

Take out the "murder" part, and you have the loose premise behind Green's Killer Instinct — but for YA. In fact, even the tagline, "Everyone's got a dark side" is reminiscent of Dexter's infamous "dark passenger."

Lane is a typical teenager. She gets good grades, she has a loving family, and an after school job at a local veterinary. But she also has an unnatural obsession with serial killers that goes beyond the scrapbook diary she keeps on some of them. She's not evil — she just gets urges....

There's no question this book is dark.

But while I may have started out thinking too much about the parallels between Lane and Dexter, by the fifth chapter, Lane's voice cut through and took control. I read this book in almost one sitting (finished early in the morning after a binge evening read), teased by clever cliffhanger chapter endings and Green's no-nonsense writing style.

I'm still digesting the end, but I assure you, Lane does not go off in a boat to live a Lumberjack's life.

- Dawn