Rating: 4.5/5

First of all, I'd like to express my profound gratitude towards NetGallery for providing a digital copy of this book at my disposal. My thanks also goes to Hampton Creek Press, and to the authors, J.D. Barker and Christine Daigle. I'm extremely thankful.
Usually I start my reviews with listing all the possibly triggering points a book contains, but fortunately I did not find anything that would count as such. (If we don't count one single mention of child abuse) Of course this entire review is going to be spoiler free. With that in mind, we may proceed further into this review.

Corner points throughout the review:
▢Plot
▢What I liked
▢What I did not like
▢Overall

PLOT
How strong is your faith? Do you believe, that everything has a purpose in our world? Are you convinced, that religion and faith is the answer for every question, the tool of some higher entity which grants you the power to decide what is wrong and right? Who shall live, and perish? That through faith you shall become the vessel of your God, therefore understanding the greater will, and carry out his will?
Religion is a divisive topic for a lot of us, and for a reason. In my opinion religion is a mirror shattered to a million pieces, which every time when looked into, shows a different face, and we as the watchers believe that what we saw is the one true reflection.

I know, that was a long introduction, but these are the topics around which the story revolves. Our protagonist is Jena Campbell, a detective who is burdened by her past actions. It's been five years since the arrest of the feared Leviticus killer, whom she put behind the bars, and now she must face with her innermost secrets and fears to solve a new case before the deadline given by someone, who calls himself Azarel, expires. During the investigation she must reveal and understand the hidden meaning behind a special world of faith created by her nemesis, the Leviticus killer himself.

WHAT I LIKED
▢The pacing of the story was just right, it didn't feel dragged anywhere. Also, the plot had two threads, and it worked extremely well here, made it even more thrilling.
▢Whenever I read a crime story or a thriller, I want to be surprised, and the plot held a few twist here and there which I appreciate.
▢The methods the killer used to murder the people were creative, I was unable to find out who's going to be the next victim.
▢I really liked how the authors pushed the boundaries by asking questions about what makes a belief wrong or right. They showed that every coin has an other side.
▢And last, but not least, I found that the ending was great. The authors left a loose end, which makes me wonder what really happened.

WHAT I DID NOT LIKE
▢The only problem I had, which has nothing to do with the authors or the story, is that I came up with the identity of Azarel way too fast, and that ruined my experience a little bit. But again, it's only my opinion, and I'm pretty sure, that others will enjoy the story just as much as I did nevertheless.

OVERALL
This book has an immersive storyline, it is able to pull you in and keep your attention for a long time. I enjoyed every single minute of it. Definitelly recommend this one to anyone who is intriqued by the topic, and for even those who are not, because it may serve as a perfect way to spend your reading time.

Happy readin' everyone!

Heavy Are The Stones is a crime mystery, thriller with a plot involving a serial killer with religious connections, copycat themes, hostage situations, and unique methods for inflicting crimes. This book is told in dual POV alternating short chapters between the lead detective and the hostage, which will keep you glued to the edge of your seat and unable to stop turning the page to see what happens next. This book could easily be made into a movie and at times would remind me of movies such as The DaVinci Code, Copycat, and the Red Dragon with its themes and undertones. I gave this book a solid 4.5⭐️ with .5 ⭐️ deduction because the antagonist was fairly easy to guess early on and I would’ve loved a big plot twist thrown in. Overall this book is fabulous, a serial killer on the loose that the detectives just can’t seem to get ahead off, lies, horror, working to piece together connections from one crime to the next, interesting plot and themes, and an action packed ending make this a book that you will not be able to get enough of!

Thank you to the authors and to Hampton Creek Press for the ARC of Heavy Are The Stones in exchange for my honest review.

Pub date: 11/26/24

Ten days to keep a lie.
Ten plagues if you deny.
Ten ways to watch them die.

Detective Jena Campbell put away a notorious serial killer named Silas Halvard (The Leviticus Killer) five years ago based on evidence which was more circumstantial than real.

At the beginning of this story, Jack the Governor's son is kidnapped and Jena is called in to investigate. It very soon becomes clear that solving the case becomes a race against time whilst the kidnapper, using the alias Azrael, threatens to kill unless Silas is released. One by one, the jurors from Silas' trial are murdered using inspiration from the ten Biblical plagues. Jena tries to get Silas to cooperate, but her efforts are futile and time is running out to save Jack.

At the edge of your seat, nail biting psychological thriller.

I think a lot of this must have been written by Ms. Daigle. It wasn't as paced as well as books written by Mr. Barker. I usually devour a book by him but thus took a bit to read. It didn't grab me like Mr. Barker's books usually do. Looking forward to HIS next book. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

JD Barker, author of the Fourth Monkey series joins up with Christine Daigle to deliver a chilling, and gruesome thriller. I have enjoyed JD Barker’s books before, in particular the first book in the Fourth Monkey series. The concepts of the plagues was an interesting premise that I thought gave the story a unique idea. The characters were interesting and easy to connect with. I’ll be sure to read more by both of these authors in the future.

Revenge, biblical scenes, hard murders and some very specific details on practical issues when being held hostage (quite original tough) are the main ingredients of this new book.
Heavy are the stones is a genuine rollercoaster and a race against time which makes me as a reader speed from one page to the next, anxious to know how and wheng things will turn out.

Like in his previous thrillers JD Barker, and co-writer Chrisine Daigle, this one nearly asks for a movie or TV-series. I can easily picture that when reading.
I really enjoyed reading 'Heavy are the stones', thanks so much for giving me the opportunity to pre-read.
Obviously I highly recommend this one to every reader who appreciates 'action thrillers'.
Absolutely 5 stars well served for this one !

Ten days to keep a lie.
Ten plagues if you deny.
Ten ways to watch them die.

Five years ago, Pittsburgh Detective, Jena Campbell, put the Leviticus Killer behind bars. The murders committed in his name were particularly brutal. However, Jena wasn’t totally honest about his conviction.

So, five years on she’s pushed it to the back of her mind, until someone calling himself Azrael begins to show up on social media with threats about ten plagues, and ten deaths, in ten days, unless Leviticus is released.

Azrael has already committed some of the murders, (all jurors who committed Leviticus), with the exception of the Governor’s 17 year old son Jack). Well, of course Jena can’t bring about Leviticus’s release, because Leviticus knows exactly what she did, and she can’t share that with anyone. But in order to stop Azrael killing anyone else including Jack, she has to face a meeting with Leviticus (the man she helped incarcerate) to discover the identity of Azrael.

Let’s just say from the start that Leviticus and Azrael are evil personified. Their methods of killing are truly barbaric. I suspected who Azrael was pretty early on, though it still had me gripped as the clock ticked down to save the remaining jurors and 17 year old Jack. Definitely recommended.

Firstly I would like to thank netgalley and independent book publishers and the great authors J.D.Barker & Christine Dangle for an early copy of there book to read.

My rating is 3.5 rounded to 4
I do enjoy reading JD Barker books,it took me a while to get into this read,the second part of the book I enjoyed more.Jena a detective and her team put behind bars a serial killer named silus.Jack a governor son is missing,will Jenna find him.is this the work of a copycat killer.a gruesome read...looking forward to reading more of his books.

WARNING: it's another completely unexpected unpopular opinion review!!

I'm still shocked this has happened with yet another most anticipated release. I usually love J.D. Barker's writing and while I do tend to enjoy his solo work best, I was still excited to try this collaboration with Christine Daigle. It's also no secret that I have a weak spot for a serial killer thriller, so it's easy to understand why I thought I had another winner on my hands. BUT. Sadly, I can't say that I was all that impressed by Heavy Are The Stones. I honestly didn't recognize much of J.D. Barker's usual writing style in this story, and this makes me wonder just how one-sided this collab was... Either way, I can't say that I was a fan.

Don't get me wrong: the premise has a LOT of potential. Heavy Are The Stones offers you not one, but TWO twisted serial killers in the spotlight, which alone should be enough to keep you engaged. Add a kidnapping, a race against the clock and a VERY active serial killer, and I should have been on the edge of my seat the whole time. I say 'should', because somehow the exact opposite occurred... This has never happened to me before with one of J.D. Barker's books, but somehow I was struggling to find the motivation to keep reading at times. The pace is rather erratic, and there are parts that are repetitive and almost dull. The story just never kept me on my toes, which was a first as well as I'm usually running to keep up.

The story uses a multiple POV structure, which helps you show different sides of the action. The detective, the serial killer, the victim... All solid POVs and usually interesting, but there was just something about the characters themselves that made it quite hard to warm up to them. I can't put my finger exactly on the why though. Did they lack fleshing out more? Were there too many cliches involved? Maybe. But even the serial killers were surprisingly dull considering their brutal and gruesome crimes. To make things worse, the identity of Azrael was SO obvious straight away, which really put a damper on things for me. Jena was highly frustrating, and the whole building up of her 'secret' ended up in an anti-climax for me.

This story is not for those with a weak stomach despite the dull moments, because there are a lot of gruesome and violent scenes incorporated into the plot. Heavy Are The Stones was definitely darker than expected, although this wasn't an issue for me personally. I struggled more with the focus on religion; I knew there was going to be some after that plague reference in the blurb, but it became way too much for me especially whenever Silas appeared. Related to this are the mixed media elements: I initially enjoyed them, but they sound started slowing down the pace considerably and some texts were surprisingly tedious (especially everything related to Silas, his preaching and his lawyer).

Before I go, I do have to say that I seem to be in the minority so far, so it might just be my fickle reading mood acting up once again. Just putting in my two cents in case I'm not the only one who struggled. I've never rated a J.D. Barker book this low before, but Heavy Are The Stones sadly didn't hit the mark for me despite it belonging to one of my favorite genres. Like I said before, I had a hard time identifying his usualy writing style in this story... Make of that what you will.

I was super excited when I was chosen by Netgalley to review a JD Barker book. Needless to say Im super disappointed and dont feel like JD Barker wrote this. I read until 42% and could not get into it. I struggled with every chapter and was lost most of the time. I had no connection to any of the characters either. I dont know whether its the writing style or subject matter, but I had to DNF this one.

D Barker is my favorite author and I was so excited to be given this pre-released book from NetGalley, but it just was not that great. I didn’t feel as if I was reading a Barker novel at all. The story was boring, the characters unlikeable and the “bad guy” was predictable from the very beginning.

2.5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley for the free read, hoping the next one is better.

Brilliantly graphic, thrilling, and suspenseful. This one kept me on the edge of my seat. It’s basically about a man justifying killing for religious reasons and a detective doing anything she can, legal or not, to try to take him down. It was intense!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

A book authored, or co-authored by JD Barker is a guaranteed good read in my humble opinion.

I love an inventive serial killer story and this one did not disappoint. Old Testament fire and brimstone? Good start. Weaponize gaming and social media? Now, this is the stuff that truly scares me.

The main antagonist, Azrael, threatens to unleash 10 plagues in 10 days, and this is portrayed in one of the most unique and creative ways, I’ve seen.

I found the main characters to be well-developed, the writing proficient, the ending satisfying and all questions answered.

Why didn’t I give this a solid 4-stars, or higher? I found there to be slow parts interspersed related to the other antagonist, Leviticus. Regardless, I definitely recommend reading this book if you enjoy a good serial killer thriller.

I received a complimentary ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was an excellent read. It was face-paced, and it kept me wanting to read more. I read 70% of the book in one sitting. I loved how short each chapter was. I also loved the double point-of-view, as well as the police reports / interviews being included throughout as well. This was my first time reading anything from this author(s), and it definitely won’t be the last!

This was like pulling teeth to get through but I'm glad I finished. I had many problems with this book, namely the pacing and the characters.

Detective Jena Campbell was like a cartoon caricature of a cop, so unbelievably unrealistic I rolled my eyes through the whole story. I'm surprised she didn't sing Taylor Swift songs on the way to work and carry a water pistol instead of a real gun. I found her insufferable. Like wise her partner was also annoying but barely fleshed out. The other characters drifted around in the background. No one stood out. No one was memorable. Even the killer was forgettable.

I was completely confused by each and every crime. Having no understanding of VR or computer games in general, I had no idea how the murders were being committed. I'm sure this made sense to everyone else but I didn't get it. Usually, I could forgive bland characters if the crimes are interesting but in this case it was 0 for 2. When it was finally explained, the eye rolling continued.

Finally, the pacing. There were several chapters that droned on. The detectives brainstorming or Jena thinking about her love life. Or the crime she committed that wasn't revealed until the second half, which by that time I was already bored with her. Then all of a sudden, there was a murder and the cops were already at the scene, which was barely described.

J.D. Barker has always been a hit or miss author for me. This one just wasn't it.

Ok, J.D. Barker, I see you.

I read the 4MK series recently and was delighted to see Heavy Are the Stones show up on NetGalley to receive an ARC.

Anyone can read the book's description, so I'll spare you that. What I will say is this: the story is very reminiscent of 4MK but different enough that I didn't feel cheapened by the copy-and-paste type of book that I sometimes see with prolific authors. I experienced the same emotions but felt a contrasting appreciation for the main character and the subject matter. It felt like a damn good movie. Barker writes intelligent and unique novels and, to be honest, I actually enjoyed this more than 4MK. I'm still reeling from the climax and I will be thinking about this one for a while.

If you have read JD Barker previously, then you will know what to expect, the unexpected, and in this book that is very much what happens, what starts out as something fairly straight forward turns into something, well you'll see. Jena Campbell is a detective with the Pittsburgh police (love how Pittsburgh is brought to life in this story) she has been assigned to speak to the Governor and his family about his son who had recently gone missing. Jena is somewhat well known for her solving the Leviticus Killer murders some 5 years ago, someone who was killing people based on what they had done (but not been convicted of), like child porn. Jena quickly realizes that the son of the Governor and some new killings that have happened are linked, a new killer is murdering the jurors from the trial of the Leviticus Killer and demanding his release, if not, he will continue to kill a juror and the son of the Governor unless his demand is met. He is killing them in 10 ways, over 10 days based on 10 plagues (very gruesome). Jena is rapidly reassigned to lead the investigation and quickly becomes a target of the killer, who goes by Azreal, who seems to know everything about Jena and taunts her with a nickname that was given to her by the Leviticus Killer, Little Bird, something that was only known between them. So she goes to the prison where he is being held and asks for his help, but this man is a psychopath he's not interested in helping but he does give her some tidbits that end up helping. The story is told from Jena and Jack (governor son) perspective, I did not guess the killer, and when it was revealed it was surprising, I raced through this book, and I would recommend though caution that some of the murders are graphic. Thanks to #Netgalley and #Hampton Creek Press for the ARC, much appreciated.

I was lucky enough to be offered an advanced copy, unfortunately, Can't say this was my favourite J D Barker book though. It was
okay. But I didn’t actually like the main character. May have been OK for others, but for me it wasn't a great read

It was okay. I didn’t actually like the main character so it was hard for me to stay focused with it. For others it may be a great read, it just wasn’t for me.

I will read ANYTHING that J.D. Barker writes! This one is dark, tense and full of suspense and nail biting scenes. Jena Campbell, a detective for the local police department, was responsible for putting away a notorious serial killer five years ago. But when the governor’s son, Jack, is abducted and the ransom is the freedom of Leviticus, Jena has no choice but to ask for this incarcerated and deranged madman’s help before it’s too late to save Jack. This story definitely has Silence of the Lamb vibes and probably shouldn’t be read at night due to the descriptive serial killer activity. This is pretty scary! Thank you Netgalley, Hampton Creek Press and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be available for purchase on November 26, 2024