I Hunt Killer Barry Lyga Sparknotes

The novel I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga is an eye catching fiction thriller that describes the life of Jazz who is the son of famous serial killer, Billy Dent. The reader gets a glimpse into how Jazz lived his life growing up with his killer dad bringing his work home for his son to see. Jazz has always tried his best to not end up like his father. As a new string of murders take place in his hometown Lobo’s Nod, Jazz wants to do all he can to help find the killer and clear his name. Billy Dent is the infamous serial killer of Lobo’s Nod; he is also known as one of the smartest killers out there. Billy tortured and tormented many girls and kept “trophies” to remember them by. He kept all his trophies in the basement, also known as the

He remembers everything he was taught. In the novel Jazz puts what he learned from his dad to use in a somewhat positive way. For example, when he heard of the first murder the devil reminded Jazz that he had to stealthily observe the crime scene from afar. He remembered a key lesson his dad taught him when looking for victims: “ you gotta be real quiet, see? Most people have got little noisy habits they never think of. You can’t do them things Jasper. You have to be totally quiet. Dead quiet.”(pg.5). Instead of using it for murdering he used it to find a murderer. This also shows how Lyga portrayed Jazz’s struggle with having the killer instinct in him and trying very hard not to become like his dad, even though he is much more like his dad than he chooses to believe. Lyga also uses the phrase “The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.”, the citizens of Lobo’s Nod use this phrase against Jazz. This becomes Jazz’s biggest insecurity, which says to him that he exhibits a lot of similar qualities to his

Howie has a medical condition called hemophilia, this condition causes a reduction in the blood’s ability to clot. So, if he gets a mild cut it would bleed severely, more than average. Howie provides comic relief in Lyga’s dramatic thriller, he is also the stabilizer in their friendship. Howie keeps Jazz grounded and normal in a way, “ ...close to the line of safety and legality” and “...as human as possible”(pg.24),. A major turning point in the book for the two is when they came really close to apprehending the Impressionist. Jazz found out how the Impressionists chooses his victims, he predicted that the next victim would be their theater teacher Ms.Ginny. Acting as the police, Jazz and Howie showed up at her house catching the killer in the act. “ Howie had already lost a lot of blood...ten pints…”(pg. 204). Howie got sliced by the knife the Impressionist had and began to bleed everywhere. This put things into perspective for Jazz, being the saviour and bringing his friends along proved to be very dangerous and Jazz’s girlfriend, Connie, wanted him to stop and let the real police handle it. Connie has also been another person in Jazz’s life that keeps him grounded. Whenever Jazz starts to shame himself Connie is always there to tell him he needs to stop letting his thoughts get the best of him. However it is hard for Jazz to simply let these events go and the thrill