Audiobook Review: The Sixth Wicked Child by J.D. Barker
The Sixth Wicked Child
Series: 4MK #3
Author: J.D. Barker
Narrators:
Edoardo Ballerini
Graham Winton
Published: August 27, 2019
Audiobook: 14 hours 29 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: August 17-29, 2026
Jessica’s Rating: 4.5 stars
Book Description:
In the riveting conclusion of the 4MK trilogy, NY Times Bestseller Barker takes the thriller to an entirely new level. Don’t miss a single word of the series James Patterson called “ingenious.”
Hear No Evil
For Detective Sam Porter, the words “Father, forgive me” conjure memories long forgotten; a past intentionally buried. For Anson Bishop, these three words connect a childhood to the present as he unleashes a truth concealed for decades.
See No Evil
Found written on cardboard near each body, these words link multiple victims to a single killer—discovered within minutes of each other in both Chicago and South Carolina—clearly connected yet separated by impossible miles.
Speak No Evil
Chicago Metro and the FBI find themselves caught in chaos—a hospital on lockdown, a rogue officer, and corruption at the highest levels. When Anson Bishop, the prime suspect in the notorious 4MK serial murders turns himself in, he reveals a story completely unexpected, one that not only upends the current investigation, but one that will change the lives of all involved.
Do No Evil
With unrelenting tension and pulse-pounding suspense, the past unravels at breakneck speed as the truth behind the Four Monkey Killer’s motive is finally revealed in this masterfully crafted finale.
Jessica’s Review:
The conclusion to the #4MK trilogy! I was excited to finally read this! And I had planned to once I found out that Barker has a prequel trilogy coming out, the first in that series is out on September 22nd! I listened to all three in the trilogy back-to-back and it was one long and crazy adventure! The Anson Bishop/ Sam Porter combination is up there with Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling! I have only ever seen those movies, and must put the Silence of the Lambs books on my TBR to read.
At times The Sixth Wicked Child was very long winded and did drag on. There was a lot going on as the whole series has been that way, the direction just really wasn’t working for me. It just seemed like some could have been cut. BUT the final twists redeemed the book for me and I went for 4 stars to 4.5! Although I had some issues the ending was very satisfying for me and this series is definitely worth a read if you enjoy novels about serial killers. Just remember this series does get graphic!
I also enjoyed how all three books in the trilogy were brought together for the conclusion. Another thing to keep in mind with this novel: Do not believe ANYONE! I really was not sure where Barker was heading in this conclusion.
I am so glad we had both Edoardo Ballerini and Graham Winton narrate for the trilogy. Having a different narrator would not have worked for me. Their voices truly are these characters. And with the series coming to film/television soon in the future I cannot wait to see these characters brought to life! I just wonder who will be cast as Bishop and Porter!
Many thanks to JD. Barker and his publisher Hampton Creek Press for sending me paperback copies of this trilogy! I am starting The First Scarlet Door now!
Audiobook Review: The Fifth to Die by J.D. Barker
The Fifth to Die
Series: 4MK #2
Author: J.D. Barker
Narrators:
Edoardo Ballerini
Graham Winton
Published: July 10, 2018
Audiobook: 15 hours 7 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: August 5-16, 2026
Jessica’s Rating: 4.5 stars
Book Description:
Detective Porter and the team have been pulled from the hunt for Anson Bishop, the Four Monkey Killer, by the feds. When the body of a young girl is found beneath the frozen waters of Jackson Park Lagoon, she is quickly identified as Ella Reynolds, missing three weeks. But how did she get there? The lagoon froze months earlier. More baffling? She’s found wearing the clothes of another girl, missing less than two days.
While the detectives of Chicago Metro try to make sense of the quickly developing case, Porter secretly continues his pursuit of 4MK, knowing the best way to find Bishop is to track down his mother. When the captain finds out about Porter’s activities, he’s suspended, leaving his partners, Clair and Nash, to continue the search for the new killer alone.
Obsessed with catching Bishop, Porter follows a single grainy photograph from Chicago to the streets of New Orleans and stumbles into a world darker than he could have possibly imagined, where he quickly realizes that the only place more frightening than the mind of a serial killer is the mind of the mother from which he came.
Jessica’s Review:
J.D. Barker is back with the second 4MK novel The Fifth to Die. Fifth picks up four months after the ending of Fourth and this time we have more gruesome deaths, multiple storylines, multiple povs (which you know by now that I love!), and even better: multiple bad guys! And an addition which could be just as frightening as 4MK himself: None other than Bishop’s mother! We really can see how the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree with her added to the mix. We learn more about Porter in Fifth and he is determined to find Bishop’s mother. He actually goes rogue with this determination. We have two police storylines, one for each killer.
There is a lot going on in this novel and it is just as fast paced as Fourth and you just wonder HOW did some of these things with the missing girls happen when it doesn’t seem plausible? But yet these things DID in fact happen. Yes, we do get answers.
This new killer is just as frightening and messed up as Bishop. They are fabulous villains, but I always enjoy the villains! It makes you wonder just what does that say about me? I thank my dad for not restricting my reading as a teen (unlike my tv and movie viewings) and as a 14, 15, and 16-year-old I was reading Stephen King. Of course my love of thrillers started with the Fear Street books by RL Stine when I was younger. I am on the tail end of Gen X, and this is just how we grew up and we would not change it for anything!
This was my second reading of Fifth and this time I listened to the audiobook. Both Edoardo Ballerini and Graham Winton return as narrators and once more they are superb! I am happy to share that they narrate the final book in this trilogy! And speaking of the final book, Fifth ends in a cliffhanger, but readers are fortunate now to not have to wait for the final in this trilogy.
Many thanks to JD. Barker and his publisher for sending me paperback copies of this trilogy!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
ALC Review: Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney
Beautiful Ugly
Author: Alice Feeney
Narrators:
Richard Armitage
Tuppence Middleton
To Be Published: January 14, 2025
Audiobook: 9 hours 19 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: December 26, 2024- January 3, 2025
Jessica’s Rating: 4.5 stars
Book Description:
Author Grady Green is having the worst best day of his life.
Grady calls his wife to share some exciting news as she is driving home. He hears Abby slam on the brakes, get out of the car, then nothing. When he eventually finds her car by the cliff edge the headlights are on, the driver door is open, her phone is still there… but his wife has disappeared.
A year later, Grady is still overcome with grief and desperate to know what happened to Abby. He can’t sleep, and he can’t write, so he travels to a tiny Scottish island to try to get his life back on track. Then he sees the impossible – a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife.
Wives think their husbands will change but they don’t.
Husbands think their wives won’t change but they do.
Jessica’s Review:
I have only read a couple of Alice Feeney’s books, but she is all over my TBR, and with listening to Beautiful Ugly, I really need to try and get her books moved up higher on my list. I was granted an ALC (advanced listening copy) from the publisher and also had an opportunity to read Beautiful Ugly with a physical book via my Book of the Month subscription.
I was glad I had access to a physical copy: There is a map included of the Isle of Amberly which is where Grady goes. I did reference the map as I listened to the audio. Another reason I was delighted to have a physical copy was towards the end of the book something is mentioned. I can’t say what as it could be a spoiler, but I did what was mentioned and I squealed as my reaction! Being able to do this added so much more to the book for me and added a half star to my rating!
Beautiful Ugly has two things to it that I really enjoy and one that can be hit or miss: dual narrators, dual timelines, and the unreliable narrator. With unlikeable characters (other than the dog), a missing wife, and the dual narrators being both Grady and Abby, at about 24% of the way in I texted some friends and said “I’m listening to a book and if it goes Gone Girl, I’m going to be pissed!” I am sure I am not the only reader to think this. We have a dog in this book and I was worried that something would happen to Columbo, as he was a main character along with Grady. Reader and animal lover, fear not: Columbo is fine!
The audiobook has two narrators and they both did a fabulous job. They performed really well with these unlikeable characters. There are also sound effects throughout the narration which enhanced the audiobook. The sounds effects consist of static of the handheld radios, the ocean, and some light music throughout the novel.
I did start this book at the end of 2024 and ended it in 2025, and I hope this is a great sign of the books I will be reading/ listening to this year!
I wasn’t entirely happy with ultimate motives that are uncovered, but dang the final twists were something! I really hope this becomes a mini-series for tv and it sticks with the book, that would be quite a thriller to watch! I won’t say if Beautiful Ugly went the Gone Girl route or not as it would be a spoiler alert. Just read or listen to this book yourself to find out! Many thanks to the publisher for granting me an alc to listen to and review.
Pre-Order Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
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