Serial Killings have been around since the beginning of history and ultimately were not documented until the serial killings of the notorious Jack the Ripper. In the United States, there are an estimated 1,000 serial killers still alive. Of those cases, approximately 40% are unsolved and are labeled as Cold Cases. Cold cases are investigations that have zero leads and are not currently being investigated, therefore they are closed.

The FBI remains the most prevalent among the many groups investigating cold cases. The FBI has many different units that help in solving cold cases as well as active serial cases. These serial cases involve America’s most wanted killers. Often, the units that solve these crimes are specially trained in profiling and criminal analysis for many years before they are put on active cases. What if you were skilled enough to fit in with these professional criminal analysts? What if you were raised to hone those skills rather than taught them early into your career?

Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she can tell you who you are and what you want. But, it is not a skill that she has ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI comes knocking: they have begun a classified program that uses exceptional teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie.

What Cassie does not realize is that there is more at risk than a few unsolved homicides- especially when she is sent to live with a group of teens whose gifts are as unusual as her own. Soon, it becomes clear that no one in the Naturals program is what they seem. And when a new killer strikes, danger looms close. Caught in a lethal game of cat and mouse with a killer, the Naturals will have to use all of their gifts just to survive.

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction

Important Characters:

-Cassandra Hobbes (Main Character)

– Dean Redding, Michael Townsend, Sloane Tavish, & Lia Zhang (The other members of the Naturals program)

-Agent Briggs & Agent Locke (In Charge of the Naturals program)

My review: 5/5: I have read other books by this author, the most notable being The Inheritance Games, and I honestly think this series is the best series that Jennifer Lynn Barnes has ever written. This series has just the right amount of twists and turns that will keep you from ever wanting more.

Author Reviews:

“The Naturals is Criminal Minds for the YA world, and I loved every page.” –New York Times bestselling author Ally Carter

“[A] tightly paced suspense novel that will keep readers up until the wee hours to finish.” –VOYA, starred review

“It’s a stay-up-late-to-finish kind of book, and it doesn’t disappoint.” –Publishers Weekly

About the Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty acclaimed young adult novels, including The Inheritance Games trilogy, Little White Lies, Deadly Little Scandals, The Lovely and the Lost, and The Naturals Series: The Naturals, Killer Instinct, All In, Bad Blood, and the e-novella, Twelve. Jen is also a Fulbright Scholar with advanced psychology, psychiatry, and cognitive science degrees. She received her Ph.D. from Yale University in 2012 and was a professor of psychology and professional writing at the University of Oklahoma for many years.

Why you might want to read this book:

-Interesting main character

-unexpected plot twists

-FBI/ crime solving 

-completed four book series

-dives into the minds of the Most Wanted

What would you do if you were given the chance to step into the minds of others and were able to predict a killer’s next move before they even make it? Will Cassie and her team solve their current case or will they embark on a case that leads them on a twisting path to discovering who they are and what they are willing to do to survive?

My Favorite Quotes-

• “I’m just saying that statistically, a psychopath is more likely to end up as a CEO than a serial killer”

• “Everything you said or did was a data point you put out there in the world”

• “I’m not scared of this place. I’m not afraid to learn how to think like a killer, and i’m not afraid of you”

• “What in the world had I done to attract the attention of the FBI?”

• “When you changed one assumption, you changed everything.”

• “‘If I’m in a social pickle, I like to ask myself, WWJAD?’ I raised an eyebrow, and he explained. ‘What Would Jane Austen Do?’”