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I don’t want to kill you is the third book of Dan Well’s John Cleaver series. After John kills the demon in Mr Monster, he calls another one, called Nobody, on its cell and declares he is going to kill it, too. In the following weeks, John waits for Nobody who, he is sure, is going to come for him. Eagerly awaiting the hunt, John has problems keeping Mr Monster contained. But before long, the killings starts again! John starts investigating together with his fellow student Marci who is intrigued by John and approaches him after Brooke distances herself.
The book is, of course, similar in style to its predecessors. It is a worthy finale with a great ending1 John progresses a lot in terms of emotions and social skills, mostly because of his attachment to “his” girls.
In fact, he has come a long way since book one. There, he emphasises with the demon, understands its need to kill and almost regrets stopping it. He still feels connected to the demon in book two but is revolted by its actual deeds. Now, by the end of book three, he wants to stop the demon at all cost. Also, he has come from wanting to kill but making himself not to not wanting to kill but forcing himself to do what is necessary.
It is a good thing Wells ends this format after three books; the (quite simple, if ingenious) concept is not really suitable for a longer series, especially as long as so much about the demons’ origin is left in the dark. From where John stands now, I can see a more complex format work, maybe dealing with an adult John who hunts demons for the FBI. What about it, Mr Wells?
- At first I thought John should sacrifice himself to fulfill his arc, but I like it better this way. It gives John a nice forward momentum. ↩
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