Initial Thoughts
I am still trying to figure out what I think about this book. There were things that I really liked about the story and I was very eager to find out who was really behind the murders, both in the past and the present. The story ended rather abruptly leaving me without the answers that I had been hoping to find. I listened to the audiobook and thought that the narrators did a great job with this story.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Full review to be posted soon.

This book was a bit frustrating, at times I loved it for being very smart and inventive but it just didn't work for me overall.

An interesting read.

Two sets of parents are murdered while their children are asleep nearby. and Rusty, the adopted son of one couple, is convicted of the murders. Years later he is cleared of the crime, impacting the life of the surviving children including his brother Dustin, now a psychologist, Rusty was convicted in part because of Dustin’s testimony against him.. What really happened all those years ago?

The main characters are well-developed, and I found it an enjoyable read. Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Ill Will by Don Chaon has a captivating premise and a frustrating, chaotic delivery. Dustin Tillman is now a psychologist, but in the 80s he was a you child whose were murdered. The culprit? Dustin's adopted older brother Rusty. And Dustin just learned that Rusty is being released from prison after serving his 30 year sentence. What does each person know about that night? And what is going on in Dustin's present day life? It's convoluted, frightening, and I might have liked it.. I'm not quite sure.

Unfortunately had a hard time reading this. The time line jumped around so much that I was left more confused than interested in reading it. I ended up throwing in the towel with this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine bokks for a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! murder murder everywhere. As bizarre and morbid as this book was I really enjoyed it! A bit of horror mixed in with mystery all wound up with a psychological thriller. I am way behind on reading this one and am pleasantly surprised at how good this was.

Overall this a murder mystery. The first murder being our MC's . Dustin's parents and Aunt and Uncle . His foster brother is arrested and jailed for the murders but by the end of the book you are questioning who done it! The other murders weaved throughout the book are the serial murders which occur on unique dates. Again our MC and a friend are intrigued by these murders which they are connecting together.

This murder mystery is a story told in past and present leading up to the exciting and nail biting ending. I was sucked in and am glad to have gotten around to this one. I will check out more books by Dan Chaon for sure.

This is weird and I can't get into it. It jumps back and forth in time. Characters that have normal, orderly lives in one time are messed up and unrecognizable in the future, or vice versa. The contemporary college-boy murders seem interesting, but that storyline is a footnote to the maybe-satanic maybe-murder of a family-- which is pretty full of abuse and quasi-incest. It's certainly distasteful and reading feels like a chore. Not recommended.

This was a good thriller, with unexpected turns. Atmospheric with good character development, a book which will make me search out the author's other works.

This was a middle-of-the-road read for me. While I liked a lot of aspects, there were some things I disliked, and overall, I just didn't feel strongly enough about the book to really warrant adding an in-depth review to the blog.

I didn't love this book. I felt like it was all over the place and wasn't very interesting. I was hoping it'd get better, but it didn't.

This book sounded, by the synopsis, like my kind of novel. But the style clashed with what I was expecting, more modern/college required reading style than an actual thriller. The back and forth of the perspective got too confusing after a while and by the time I finished I didn’t know what it was I read or why.

***Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review***
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Ill Will by Dan Chaon is a book that has me wondering just what other reviewers of this story got out of it that totally passed me by. I had almost put it down and walked away from it about four times, but when I read the other reviews on Goodreads, I was convinced it must get better.

It didn't.

This one was a huge time vacuum that could have been better spent on other tales.

It is a pass.

This was a thrilling read indeed. Chain always manages to catch the attention of his readers immediately. This story was so full of twists and turns—the perfect noir thriller.

I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review.

Honestly, I did not finish this novel. I was super excited for this novel because it sounded like a good story line and then just from the beginning I was skeptical. I did not like the writing style with the very short chapters and just stopping as that story is getting going in the chapter and then it would just stop...and the next chapter would move onto a different bit of the story that does NOT compliment the chapter you were just reading. So that was the issue to begin with that I was annoyed with. The book seemed to start to getting more interesting as the chapters began getting more detailed and then (SPOILER ALERT!!!) the novel began describing child sexual abuse between the main character and an older sibling and I was just kind of done. I have no interest in continuing this novel after I hit that bit. I am sure it could be good and interesting, however, I feel like that was a bit too much for me and certainly way to close to my real job as a social worker and dealing with people with trauma.

It wasn't a bad book per say but I don't quite know how to review this book honestly. It was at places and moments very well written and at others incredibly choppy. Put me off to be fair with you.

Not my favorite from Dan Chaon. I felt it was very poorly written. I think the author was trying to be creative but many of the chapters ended in the middle of the sentence. I didn't think it made the text at all suspenseful. Would not recommend.

This book wasn’t for me. I decided not to review it on my site or any of the major retailers/Goodreads.

I have enjoyed everything this author has brought out. Super talented and this story was another edge of your seat tale that I greatly enjoyed.

This was my first read by Dan Chaon and I have to say that I was completely surprised. I really think that this one is going to be a really good seller for Dan Chaon and I am anxious to see what we get next from him!

Dustin is a psychologist in his 40s that lives in suburban Cleveland. Dustin has just learned that his adopted brother, Rusty, that has been in jail for the murder of his parents, an aunt and uncle is about to get out.

Dustin goes about his work with his patients and they end up getting him engaged in several cases that are all drownings involving college boys. These cases strike Dustin as odd and he begins to wonder if they could have a serial killer on their hands. Dustin becomes obsessed with trying to figure out the cases and even ends up putting his family in danger as well.

This read will keep you turning the pages for sure. I am glad that I gave this one a chance and look forward to more from Dan Chaon.

I had a bit of a tough time with this one. I liked the premise- a 40 something psychologist is trying to move on from the tragedy that struck his family years ago when he hears that his convicted killer step brother is being released from prison- but I found the writing convoluted and the characters to be just too unlikable. The Satanic worship was an interesting angle, and I do think it's reminiscent of the 80s, but other than that it didn't do anything to move the plot along. The writing was interesting and he used some unique techniques to tell the story, but in the end it didnt grip me and I found myself drifting out of interest in the story.