Jack's Boys

by John Katzenbach

First published 2024

Two teenagers discover Jack's Special Place, a hidden chat room where five serial killers communicate using the code names Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, and Easy. These murderers model themselves after Jack the Ripper, sharing their crimes and taunting police worldwide through encrypted messages. When the young couple accidentally stumbles into their private space and mocks them, the killers explode with rage. They decide to hunt down the teenagers and teach them a deadly lesson. The boy's grandparents become targets too. His grandmother works as an ICU nurse. His grandfather, a former college admissions counselor, hides his own violent past as an ex-Marine and Vietnam veteran still scarred by war. As the five killers step out of the shadows to strike, this unlikely group of young and old must find a way to survive. They can try to expose the murderers or fight back directly, but time runs short as the killers close in.

Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, thriller

Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful

Tropes: cat-and-mouse, unlikely-heroes

540 pages · Hardcover · Blackstone Publishing, Inc.

Content warnings: murder, violence

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