The Fourth Monkey by J. D. Barker
🔪 The Fourth Monkey by J.D. Barker — ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨ 4.5 Stars
Dark. Twisted. Addictive. Slightly unhinged. I couldn’t look away.
🚨 SPOILER WARNING 🚨
This is a FULL spoiler review of The Fourth Monkey. I’m spilling it all. If you haven’t read it yet, turn around now and come back later.
⚠️ Trigger Warnings
This book is very graphic and not for the faint of heart. Here’s what you’re walking into:
Graphic torture & mutilation (ears, eyes, tongues removed while victims are alive 😳)
Child kidnapping and endangerment
Domestic abuse
Animal cruelty (including a child killing/dissecting a cat and a puppy being killed)
Bodies decomposed / rats used as torture
Suicide
Terminal illness (cancer)
Grief over a murdered spouse
Captivity & sensory deprivation
Implied sexual assault / exploitation
If you’re sensitive to any of the above, proceed carefully.
📖 Overview: What Is The Fourth Monkey About?
The Fourth Monkey is the first book in the 4MK Thriller series, and it introduces us to Chicago detective Sam Porter, who has been hunting the elusive Four Monkey Killer (4MK) for five years.
4MK’s calling card?
He sends white boxes tied with black string containing a victim’s ear, eyes, and tongue — symbolizing “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.”
Except… he adds a fourth monkey.
Punish the evil.
But here’s the twist: he doesn’t punish the guilty.
He punishes their children.
Yeah. Let that sink in.
When a man throws himself in front of a bus — apparently 4MK — the case should be over.
It’s not.
Not even close.
😳 The Hook — And What Had Me Obsessed
The book opens with a body splattered in front of a bus.
In his pocket?
A signature white box.
I was LOCKED IN immediately. 🔥
The pacing early on is electric. There’s dark humor, sharp dialogue, and the team dynamic feels authentic. I genuinely laughed out loud more than once (which is wild for a serial killer novel).
Then comes the diary.
And that’s when things get deeply unsettling.
🧠 The Plot — Fully Spoiled & Explained
The Setup
The bus victim is believed to be 4MK. On his body:
A white box with a human ear
A pocket watch stopped at 3:14
A dry-cleaner receipt
Oversized expensive shoes
75 cents for a parking meter
A diary detailing his disturbing childhood
The ear belongs to Emory Connors, a secret illegitimate daughter of wealthy developer Arthur Talbot.
And Emory is missing.
Emory’s Captivity 😰
Emory wakes up naked, handcuffed to a gurney in total darkness. Her ear is gone. She’s blasted with loud music. She hallucinates her dead mother. She breaks her wrist trying to escape.
It’s claustrophobic and brutal.
Meanwhile, Sam Porter reads the killer’s diary, which describes:
Killing and dissecting a cat as a child
Violent fantasies
His parents torturing and murdering their neighbor
Criminal financial conspiracies
His mother manipulating everyone
The diary slowly reveals generational violence and long-term revenge brewing beneath the surface.
The Big Investigation Turns
Here’s where things get clever.
The bus victim is NOT 4MK. He was a dying man with terminal stomach cancer who was paid to pose as the killer and commit suicide to protect his nephew’s college future.
The killer manipulated:
The nephew (Tyler)
The crime scene
Fake CSI credentials
Even the task force itself
“CSI tech” Paul Watson?
Fake identity.
He’s actually Anson Bishop.
And he’s very much alive.
The Real Motive 💥
Here’s the genius layer:
Arthur Talbot isn’t just a random rich guy.
He ran a massive fraud scheme.
Emory’s mother (Lisa Carter) was part of a long-term revenge plot tied to Talbot’s crimes.
Bishop — the diary narrator — grew up in a house soaked in violence and corruption. His entire childhood was manipulation, torture, and criminal conspiracy.
His “Four Monkey” philosophy?
Punish the guilty by destroying what they love.
Except…
He punishes their children.
This is where I struggle morally.
Would truly corrupt criminals even care if their estranged kids are harmed? In some cases? Maybe. In others? I’m not convinced. It feels like vengeance misdirected at the innocent.
But narratively? It’s chilling.
🔥 The Ending (Fully Explained)
Porter deciphers the clues:
3:14 = 314 West Belmont
75 cents = parking meter location
Dry cleaner = hidden evidence
He finds the construction site.
Inside:
Arthur Talbot has already had his eyes and tongue removed
The body parts scattered along the stairwell belong to Talbot — not Emory
Bishop pushes Talbot down an elevator shaft
Bishop escapes through tunnels (of course he does 🙄)
Emory is found alive in another shaft, barely surviving.
And then…
Porter returns home.
On his bed?
A white box.
Inside?
The ear of the man accused of killing Porter’s wife.
Bishop is still out there.
And now he’s watching Porter.
Cue chills.
🤔 Did It Drag?
A little.
The middle portion slows down with investigative details and diary segments that stretch a bit too long. I felt the pacing dip compared to the explosive beginning.
But did I put the book down?
Absolutely not.
I flew through the second half because I HAD to know who 4MK really was.
And yes — he was one of my suspects. I love when that happens. 😏
🧩 Themes That Worked
Generational trauma
Manipulation & identity
Corruption of wealth and power
Vigilante justice
Narrative misdirection
The layered structure — police investigation + captivity POV + diary — is ambitious and mostly executed well.
⭐ Final Thoughts
Was it perfect? No.
Was it disturbing? Very.
Was I completely addicted? Also yes.
The moral logic of the killer is flawed, but the psychological execution is fascinating. And the ending sets up the sequel in a way that makes it impossible not to continue.
This is dark thriller done right.
4.5 stars. 🔥
📚 If You Liked This, Try:
The Whisper Man by Alex North
The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchison
The Bone Collector by Jeffrey Deaver
I Am Watching You by Teresa Driscoll
The Snowman by Jo Nesbo
Would I recommend this to everyone?
No.
Would I recommend it to my fellow thriller junkies who enjoy morally messy serial killer mind games?
Absolutely. 😈
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