I really need to read the summaries better. I didn't realize this was the end of a series. It wasn't working as a standalone so I had to read the other two. Though that was hardly a burden. Really fricking great series. Really, really good.

The 4MK Thriller trilogy is one my of my favourite mystery/crime trilogies of all time. The first book in the series, The Fourth Monkey, was one of my favourite books of 2018. I was immediately hooked on this dark, atmospheric series which felt like it had real stakes. I really enjoyed The Fifth to Die, the second book in the series, and was eagerly anticipating the concluding novel because there were so many questions left unanswered.

This book answered all my questions in a thoroughly unexpected way. I couldn’t have guessed how this plot would wrap up and there were so many surprises and twists. My one issue with this series is that it got less dark as the books continued and the plot was a little meandering in this novel. It started falling into the trappings of a really typical procedural serial killer novel, such as the serial killer trying to blame the detective investigating him and pretending he’s misunderstood and has been framed by the police department. I’ve just seen it happen so many times and it was a little frustrating to have such a cliched plot take up so much of the book. After how incredible The Fourth Monkey was, I found myself expecting far too much out of the remainder of this series and I was a little disappointed.

Overall though, this was a really solid book trilogy and I’ll miss the characters. Of course, I’ll be picking up any and all books J.D. Barker writes in the future.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. This has affected my review in no way.

Detective Sam Porter’s fate is uncertain. Previous events have led to a growing sense of uncertainty in the roles both Porter and killer Anson Bishop play in the 4MK murders. But Porter is more obsessed than ever. He’s willing to give up everything to track Anson down and bring him to justice. As he continues to read the diaries and pursue his nemesis, Porter’s motives and sanity are further brought into question as unexpected revelations about himself come to light. Who was he before losing large chunks of his memory?

Anson has a very carefully laid out plan to drag Porter deeper down the rabbit hole. There’s an apparent vendetta, but what’s the reason? Shockingly, Bishop turns himself in and tells the police the story of his past. Elements seem to align with what Porter has learned, while other details imply that maybe Porter isn’t who he says he is. What was believed to be reality becomes dark and murky. Who was thought to be a killer may actually be someone else.

While Anson and Porter face-off, Sam’s partner Nash, along with FBI agent Frank Poole, is trying to find the truth amid more 4MK like murders and the spread of a deadly virus. I felt Poole was the perfect secondary character who brought a certain level of objectivity needed to help keep the reader guessing.

This book is much more personal and convoluted. Untangling reality from a very dark past locks these two dynamic characters in a battle of good vs evil OR more accurately a lot of gray. The plot was like a spider web; so many twisted threads coming together in a perfectly twisted conclusion. I was blown away!

Unfortunately, while I loved the book, I can’t give it a full 5 stars. The book was unnecessarily long. It wasn’t until half-way through that I was 100% sucked in. Regardless, the series was skillfully crafted with a completely unexpected ending. It’s one of the best mystery thriller series I’ve ever read.

The final showdown between Detective Sam Porter’s team, the FBI and 4MK Anson Bishop. In this game of cat and mouse the body count continues to rise and tables turn in ways no-one could have imagined.

The Sixth Wicked Child is the third novel in the 4MK Thriller series.

I loved The Fourth Monkey and its sequel The Fifth To Die so I was thrilled to discover I had been approved for the ARC of the final chapter in the series. The story hooked me from the first line and didn’t let go until the very end. It’s such a cliche to say “I couldn’t put it down” but in the 24 hours after receiving the ARC, I was either reading The Sixth Wicked Child or sleeping.

If The Fifth To Die was a rollercoaster, The Sixth Wicked Child is the entire amusement park. There are surprises, twists, flips and turns then even more surprises.

The character development isn’t something I can discuss about The Sixth Wicked Child too much without huge spoilers but let me just say — wow.

The 4MK series is now one of my favourite crime series, up there with Lincoln Rhyme and Bill Hodges. The Sixth Wicked Child is the perfect ending to the saga and I can’t wait to see what Barker pulls out of his hat next.

If you enjoy crime thrillers then 4MK is a series that should not be missed.

I didn't want the trilogy to end! So many moving parts and people. I'm going to miss Detective Sam Porter and all of the others in the book.

I'd like to thank Netgalley for this arc to read and honestly review.

Wow ...... just wow......,. in fact all the wows!! I was a bit down on the second book but this one more than makes up for that.

This is the final instalment in the Fourth Monkey trilogy and what an ending. I loved it. I would strongly advise that the books be read in order and in fairly quick succession. There's an awful lot of detail and as the author says himself, he lived with the characters and arcs for years with post it notes everywhere. In fact I felt quite emotional when I read his words. It must be really hard to let go of characters you've lived with for years. We as readers have little time to digest it all. There's a lot to remember if there's been any great length of time in between books. Fortunately I remembered a fair bit from the last book and salient points were drip fed throughout.

This was an intoxicating, thrilling read that kept the pages moving at a speedy pace. All the loose ends were tied up and I loved, loved the end. I'm going to miss Porter, Poole, Nash and co. And in a weird kind of way I'm going to miss Bishop too. As much as I understand why what happened took place it just goes to show a psychopath is just that ..... a psychopath.

If you've not touched on this trilogy before then go there and prepare to put all things aside, food, kids, pets, whatever .....!! It's that good!! Enjoy!

Phew, that was hard work - but I made it in the end! I got this from NetGalley back in August, but then had to acquire and read the first two, which took longer than I had expected, so I missed the deadline and the later it got, the more other ARCs got bumped up the list. Then I took a break from serial killers, having ODed on them this year, and the sheer length of this was pretty daunting, but it’s a new year, and I was determined to catch up, so here we are.
Overall I’m glad I’ve read this series - which so many of my Goodreads friends had raved about - but liked this the least of the trilogy and am glad it ends here.

Warning - you absolutely need to read the first two of this series for T6WC to make any sense - and preferably not too far apart, as there is minimal recap and a large number of characters to keep track of. I do wish books came with “Previously on...” summaries like TV shows do, and a comprehensive character list (including whether they are dead or alive) wouldn’t go amiss either.

This one picks up where The 5th To Die left off, with Chicago Homicide Detective Sam Porter implicated in the 4MK killings and on the run after breaking a woman out of prison, who was then executed by Anson Bishop.
Clair and Kloz are under lockdown in the hospital, showing symptoms of the killer virus, Nash and Frank are still working the case and struggling with the mounting evidence against Sam, and new bodies are turning up in the snow...

The narrative shifts between the main characters with each chapter, including diary entries detailing Anson’s time in the foster home - or do they? I already struggled with this technique in the last book - each chapter ends with either mini-cliffhanger or the promise of a reveal, then you have to wait another five chapters to find out what happens next - but this time it completely did my head in and I kept putting the kindle down to browse the Internet because I was getting so frustrated (or fall asleep because I was bored). It completely ruined the flow of the story for me.

It’s also much too long. There’s a lot of filler and repetition in the first half, and I didn’t find following the various detectives around as they chase their tails either entertaining or rewarding. You know all the way through that you’re being manipulated, and while the twists and reveals were brilliant as ever, I just wanted it to be over. It did get more gripping in the second half, but that still took me the best part of ten hours. I did like the ending although felt that even with all the attention to detail there was still plenty of loose ends left unaddressed. The plot is also so complicated that a whole lot of things don’t make sense and rely on completely implausible coincidences.

Barker is a great story teller and I would definitely be keen to read more but preferably stand-alones. I had enough problems remembering the plot of Book 2 and I only read it two months ago, so having to wait a year between books would’ve been awful. (I do not have time to re-read to refresh my ageing memory! 🙀) The majority of my friends have given this 4 and 5 stars, so if you loved the first two then you should definitely finish the trilogy, just be prepared! 3.5 rounded down for the length and making reading feel like work.

My thanks to NetGalley for the arc which allowed me to give an honest review and sincere apologies for it being so late.

I knew this was the final book in trilogy and I took a leap of faith when choosing to review it because the series sounded good. I am so glad I did. The whole trilogy not only lived up to, but surpassed my expectations. Prior to reading this one, I read the first two books and found them to be excellent.

It is important to note that this is not a standalone story. Each installment builds off of the last and you will not know what is going on in this book if you skip the previous two. It is important to read them in order. Also, the second book ends on a pretty significant cliffhanger, so be sure to have the final book ready to go.

This was an excellent finale to the series. I had figured out a few of the twists, but J.D. Barker had a few surprises still in store for me. I was not expecting the ending to the series to turn out the way it did and it left me plenty to think about.

The writing in this trilogy is completely engaging. It is a story that you will think about every time you put it down until you can pick it up again. This series was the first I've read by Barker and I look forward to reading more of Barker's work in the future. I hope (and expect) to get fully drawn in again.

I chose to listen to the Audible version of the first two books in the series and enjoyed them so much that I also purchased this one in that format. The narrators, Edoardo Ballerini and Graham Winton, did an amazing job.

Series rating: 4.5★

J.D. Market's writing is phenomenal and his stories are really creative. I loved Dracul, unfortunately this series has not gripped me as much as Dracul but I will always pick up this author's books.

The Wicked Sixth Child picks up where The Fifth to Die ends off and brings this exciting series to a conclusion.

I started off grooving to the pace of the story and intrigued by the turn the story started to take. The pace slowed and started to dally along for me and felt a little bit like I was being strung along instead of feeling the suspense to the story. At 628 pages I could have done with a few fewer words at the beginning of the story. I became a bit frustrated with the jigging and jagging going on. Well J.D. Barker tightened those strings and the pace picked and things started zigging and zagging along and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to see what's next.

The unrelenting tension and suspense rise as those shocking reveals are revealed and secrets start to come out. The body counts rise and at times, it felt like I was on a merry go around and spinning around so fast my head started to get dizzy but I just couldn't jump off till the motives behind the Four Monkey Killer are revealed. Once I jump off I was running around cheering for how everything comes together so well. I highly recommend this series

I kinda hate myself on this one. I should have never read past book one. The Fourth Monkey I loved that sucker. I loved it so much that I lost my mind and kept reading the series.

I'm not really going to go over the whole synopsis of this story line. BUT I will tell you. If you have old lady brains like I do and it's been a few since you read the other books this one is like going to a party where you know no one and trying to fit in.

The good?
It's readable. At times I worked up some care to what happened.

The bad?
The story was too damn long. This book meanders just to hear itself talk.
Loose ends from the other books just weren't wrapped up or handled well.
This line of characters taking this turn of events? WHYYYYYYYYY??? This could have been just a separate story NOT added to an perfectly fine story.



Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review

An excellent end to an excellent trilogy. This finale finishes leaving no lingering questions on your mind. A very satisfying, page turning read that I was sad to finish. Highly reccomend.

I loved the rest of this series and this book brings the series to a satisfying close. However, this book's pacing does not keep up with the previous two. This book was very long and I wish it's pace could been sped up. I wanted to love it more than I did, though if you make it to the end you will be rewarded with a great end to the story of Anson Bishop and Sam Porter.

This is book 3 in the series. The first 2 have to be read to understand this. I have been a fan of 4MK and Detective Sam Potter since the time I was introduced to them.

Author J. D. Barker didn't disappoint. Initially I found it difficult to get into the story as I didn't remember the details of first 2, so read through them again. And this book was smooth sailing.

The tension was gripping and the writing brought out the suspense. Truth was overturned when certain facts came to light. The backstory of 4MK and Sam were soon intertwined and that made the mystery escalate.

The twists were mind blowing and showed off the talent of this writer. I had to keep walking while reading the book just to counter the adrenaline rush. This was the best conclusion to the story which kept on my toes since the first book.

A brilliant read.

Really disappointing. I liked the first book in the series, thought the second was less than impressive, and found this one verging on the incoherent. Full disclosure: I gave up on it at a little less than halfway through when I just couldn't read anymore.

I would say that the narrative makes very little sense unless you've read the first two books in the series, but I HAVE read the first two books and it STILL made very little sense. Maybe this book is just so tightly integrated with the first two books that you must remember all the details from both of them in order to follow this one. Does that make it my fault that I found this book unreadable? Not on your life.

Just not very good.

This one was probably the slowest one of the series for me. Even though there was action right away, it took me a bit to be reeled in. As Sam has been tracking 4MK all this time, now that he's also become a suspect he even starts to question past events after the shooting which left him with huge memory gaps. As arrests are made and suspects escape or are released, the stakes become higher than ever as everyone anticipates Anson Bishop's next move.

The final in the 4MK Thriller series is brought to a crescendo of a close in The Sixth Wicked Child. The characters we have got to know over the past few books return, and things are as crazy as ever as we don’t know who to trust.

I’d definitely recommend reading this as part of the series, not as a standalone. I had forgotten a lot of what had happened in previous novels so I struggled to work out who everyone was and what was happening. At over 600 pages, this is also a long novel – I felt like some of it could be cut down, as it took the reader away from the more exciting parts.

However, for fans of the series, you won’t be disappointed at this plot – it’s as complex and impactful as ever. I have no idea how JD Barker kept a grip on all the different parts of the story, but he managed! There are some twists and red herrings to keep you guessing, and it’s an entertaining read with lots of trademark 4MK Thriller craziness – I just felt it could have been trimmed down a little.

I am a HUGE fan of this series, and Barker. This final chapter of the series was superb. I will not share a thorough summary to avoid any spoilers, but I will say that this book is much longer in comparison to the first three. Overall, the plot moved at an appropriate pace, and the twists and turns were well done. The ending was somewhat predictable if you pay attention throughout the duration of the book, and there are absolutely no loose ends. Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Before I begin my review of this book, I want to stress out that it is the first time in my life that I've read all three installments of a trilogy in succession. It all started with the intriguing and suspenseful "The Fourth Monkey", which I devoured, almost, in just one sitting despite its enormous size (over 500 pages) and after finishing it I felt hooked to the plot's brilliance. So, I continued with "The Fifth to Die" which I found a bit weaker than the first one, though this ascertainment didn't prevent me from relishing the book's intricate storyline which was closely linked with the events that occurred in "The Fourth Monkey". So, in the end, I had only one book left to finish this great crime fiction saga, and I was enthralled to learn that I have been approved for getting a free ARC of this novel through NetGalley. It should also be mentioned that in order to assess properly the "4MK killer" trilogy, it is best to read the books in the right order or you will find yourself lost inside J. D. Barker's thrilling world. Most of the characters appear on all three installments while there are certain key events that the reader should bear in mind in order to fully understand what is happening and why.

Barker narrates his rich, elaborate serial-killer story through multiple perspectives, as he did in the previous two books, and in "The Sixth Wicked Child" Sam Porter, the detective-protagonist that was the leading character so far, shares the spotlight with colleagues (Nash, Claire), FBI agents (Poole) and even the villain(s) themselves. By using that narrative technique, Barker succeeds in accelerating the pace with which the story unfolds and also adds to the gripping, hair-raising tension that permeates the whole novel. This trilogy must have the higher body count I've ever encountered so far in the genre and you literally have to take notes in order to remember all the victims that moreover are dispersed throughout the country, even though the central setting is the city of Chicago. The plot of this book is -perhaps- overly complex and maybe some of the readers will feel discouraged or even tempted to abandon reading, but I strongly recommend not to stop at any cost. All the pieces are falling into place in the finale, one of the most gratifying I've read in a long time. I won't even attempt to draft a synopsis of the plot and I will leave this special joy to the reader.

Of course, reading the "4MK killer" trilogy whetted my appetite for more and I'm considering reading another highly celebrated novel written by J.D. Barker, titled "Dracul", who collaborated with Dacre Stoker the great-grandnephew of Bram Stoker, author of the iconic "Dracula". I feel that this trilogy will be rendered as a classic of the crime fiction genre in the years to come. J. D. Barker proves that American crime writers are always a force to be reckoned with and also that they still can produce magnificent modern crime/thrillers reaching the quality of the classics like Chandler, Hammett, Mcdonald and the others. My, totally honest, 5-star rating concerns the trilogy as a whole, nevertheless, if I absolutely had to choose the best of the three books, I would favor "The Sixth Wicked Child". It is a roller-coaster ride destined to daze and fascinate you.

A thrilling conclusion to JD Barker's trilogy. This is one of those books that causes you to lose track of time. Just one more chapter doesn't happen. The police investigation and pursuit of a killer are unusual enough that I had to keep reading. Just as you thought you knew what would happen next...another clue pops up to prove you wrong. I can't wait to see what JD Barker has planned for his next book.