The Naturals (The Naturals, #1)
by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Now this was a book that got me excited to partake in a series again! From start to finish the book immediately draws you in with its main character Cass and her prolific ability to profile people, sometimes with just a glance coupled with her non-nonsense personality and witty persona I was quickly pulled into her world and wanted to see how far she would take her abilities.
I’ll be honest as I started my read, I was still a bit convinced that this was going to be about superpowered teens, and in a way it is, but with the Naturals being naturally gifted at things like profiling, emotions, lying, and deception its basically the same as them having “superpowers”
Like I said from the beginning you’re pulled into the world of Cass and the nitty gritty life she lives as someone obsessed with catching their mother’s murderer she gets scouted by the FBI to partake in a secret program that trains these “naturals” to hunt down serial killers.
The novel quickly switches back and forth from the main characters POV to the killers POV and boy does this book not shy away from the darker tones and tries to put us in the shoes of the killer, but simultaneous Cass is learning how to properly think like a serial killer to catch a serial killer and that’s not even the kicker! While going through training an active serial killer is on the loose in D.C. (Dupont Circle link up lol), Cass realizes that this specific killer is a copycat mirroring the murder of her deceased mother as the killer relives that one murder over and over and over again…..Now personally tied to the case, Cass is determined to catch the killer and bring justice to their mothers cold case, or at the very least stop more murders from happening.
Filled with twists and turns, the book is honestly a very fast and short read, but never fear it is a series so there’s definitely more to learn and see about our favorite Naturals. I’m personally excited to see where the rest of this series goes and how things develop for Cass personally.
4.5/5 stars, almost a perfect read truly I really enjoyed it.
Favorite Quotes:
“You could tell more about a stranger by seeing their house than you ever would by inviting them to yours.”
“Ninety percent of all serial killers are male.” Sloane announced her presence, then walked up to join us. “Seventy-six percent are American, with a substantial percentage of serial murders concentrated in California, Texas, New York, and Illinois. The vast majority of serial killers are Caucasian, and over eighty-nine percent of victims of serial crimes are Caucasian as well.”
smiles,
fablouis