Killer Instinct (The Naturals, 2)

A chilling copycat killer has the Naturals in his crosshairs in this exhilarating crime thriller from Jennifer Lynn Barnes, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Inheritance Games.

Seventeen-year-old Cassie Hobbes has a gift for profiling people. Her talent has landed her a spot in an elite FBI program for teens with innate crime-solving abilities, and into some harrowing situations. After barely escaping a confrontation with an unbalanced killer obsessed with her mother's murder, Cassie hopes she and the rest of the team can stick to solving cold cases from a distance.

But when victims of a brutal new serial killer start turning up, the Naturals are pulled into an active case that strikes too close to home: the killer is a perfect copycat of Dean's incarcerated father-a man he'd do anything to forget. Forced deeper into a murderer's psyche than ever before, will the Naturals be able to outsmart the enigmatic killer's brutal mind games before this copycat twists them into his web for good?

With her trademark wit, brilliant plotting, and twists that no one will see coming, Jennifer Lynn Barnes will keep you on the edge of your seats (and looking over your shoulders) as you race through the pages of this thrilling novel.

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Published May 2, 2023

384 pages

Average rating: 8.43

56 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

Lauralee🧚‍♀️
Mar 25, 2025
10/10 stars
I will always love this series. Finally receiving the relationship of Dean and Cassie. This book was a wild ride and I loved everything about it. The things mentioned that made you think about what was not said. I love this book, the ending will always have me, I love Michael, but not for Cassie.
Abbey1
Feb 17, 2025
10/10 stars
The last 20 pages stressed me out
coraline12
Jan 06, 2025
8/10 stars
dean is everything to me
BookBabe09
Dec 30, 2024
10/10 stars
Just edging me closer to the fbi 🤣🙃
Barbara ~
Dec 11, 2024
8/10 stars
If you love Criminal Minds, you will really get addicted to this series. Adrenaline rush as the teens in this program called, The Naturals, race against time to stop another copy-cat killer. This time, the UNSUB is copying Daniel Redding. "Take them. Free them. Track them. Kill them."

As the bodies pile up, so does everyone's tempers. How is this UNSUB always one step ahead of them? How could Dean get answers from his father and not get pulled into Daniel's mind games?

What I enjoy is, while there is a love triangle, it was played in the background and not overtaking the murders. Each of the members of the Naturals, Cassie, Dean, Lia, Michael, and Slone, all take turns on shining as we learn more about them and their natural abilities. Told in Cassie's point of view, she is a profiler and can share with us, the killer's mind and what the rest of the team are going through.

Plot: 4/5
Characters: 5/5
Pacing: 4/5
Writing: 4/5
Enjoyment: 5/5

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