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Julia Derek
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Born Evil: A dark psychological thriller with a killer twist Kindle Edition

by Julia Derek (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.0 out of 5 stars 2,774 ratings
WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU FOUND OUT YOUR CHILD IS A PSYCHOPATH?

One night when Jennifer Hanson returns home, she catches her 12-year-old son Shane stabbing their cat to death. Thankfully, he doesn't see her. Having long known Shane has a brain with psychopathic tendencies, her worst fears may be confirmed. Ever since he accidentally shot his father to death at age six, she has done everything she can to ensure Shane doesn't become a full-blown psychopath. He has behaved normally up until now. Have her efforts been in vain? She can tell he's changing, becoming increasingly dangerous, but she can't stomach putting him in a psych ward. But then she finds pics of a dead girl in his phone, a girl everyone thought had died accidentally...

NOTE: BORN EVIL is a stand-alone psychological thriller with no sex and little violence.
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  1. Book 1 of 3
    Evil
  2. Print length
    280 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Accessibility
    Learn more
  5. Publication date
    17 Feb. 2018
  6. File size
    1.7 MB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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There are 3 books in this series.
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B079WMT3M8
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Adrenaline Books
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ 17 Feb. 2018
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.7 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 280 pages
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Book 1 of 3 ‏ : ‎ Evil
  • Customer reviews:
    4.0 out of 5 stars 2,774 ratings

About the author

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Julia Derek

Julia Derek

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Julia Derek grew up in Sweden but always knew she was meant to live in America, more specifically, in New York City. A lover of mystery, thrillers and suspense, she has been writing stories for as long as she can remember. When she doesn't write or read, she spends her time whipping people into shape as a fitness trainer. She's the author several dozen books, including THE SIDNEY STONE THRILLERS, THE BORN EVIL TRILOGY, and THE CHILD TRILOGY.

Julia loves to hear from her readers. You can find her on Facebook and TikTok or by visiting her website JuliaDerekBooks dot com.

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
2,774 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers enjoy the book's brilliant twist and find it a good page turner. The writing style receives positive feedback, with one customer describing it as gripping.

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41 customers mention ‘Twist’32 positive9 negative

Customers praise the book's brilliant twist and engaging plot, with one customer noting it's a fast-paced psychological thriller.

"...Well written me planned beautifully. A very different story to what I expected. I will certainly read more of this author's work." Read more

"...What I will say is that the story took an unexpected turn and had me hooked through out...." Read more

"...This story does have an ending, although it will continue into the next book, which has gone into my wishlist a bit sharpish !!..." Read more

"Omg what a disturbing book 😮. A proper who dunnit storyline. Born Evil, Shane is the epitome of a psychopath...." Read more

34 customers mention ‘Readability’34 positive0 negative

Customers find the book highly readable, describing it as a fantastic and engaging page-turner.

"An excellent book. Well written me planned beautifully. A very different story to what I expected. I will certainly read more of this author's work." Read more

"...Born Evil is a definite page turner of a read with some shocks and surprises along the way...." Read more

"...A decent enough book to while away a few hours though." Read more

"...A very good read, I couldn't put it down and wanted to know how it was going to end...." Read more

18 customers mention ‘Writing style’13 positive5 negative

Customers find the book well written and readable, with one customer describing the writing as gripping.

"An excellent book. Well written me planned beautifully. A very different story to what I expected. I will certainly read more of this author's work." Read more

"...It was written in a differing way, too, not one chapter per narrator as many authors do but half the book with one and half the other...." Read more

"...Not the best written book ever but enough to keep me hooked enough to have read it in one day." Read more

"...The writing in this book is done brilliantly. So many twists and turns I just had no idea who was the psycho and who wasn't...." Read more

Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • dixy
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 September 2022
    Verified Purchase
    An excellent book. Well written me planned beautifully. A very different story to what I expected. I will certainly read more of this author's work.
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  • Sarah H.
    4.0 out of 5 stars A dark and disturbing read of which fans of this genre will no doubt enjoy.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 June 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Born Evil is the first book in a trilogy featuring Jennifer and her son Shane. There are plenty of things as a parent that would be our worst nightmare and your son being a psychopath has got to be way up there. How do you deal with it? It's one of those scenarios that until it happens to you I really couldn't hazard a guess.

    A mother's instinct is to protect her child at all costs of which is what Jennifer finds herself doing. She is living life on edge, not knowing what her young son is capable off. Shane on the outside is like any other kid. With it just being him and his mum, you can see that he is close to Jennifer which makes what Jennifer knows even harder to live with.

    It's hard to say to much more without giving any spoilers away. What I will say is that the story took an unexpected turn and had me hooked through out.

    Born Evil is a definite page turner of a read with some shocks and surprises along the way. A dark and disturbing read of which fans of this genre will no doubt enjoy.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Lynda Kelly
    5.0 out of 5 stars Looking Forward To Book 2
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 August 2019
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    Now this is a very twisty (and twisted) tale and I really liked the dual narration. It was written in a differing way, too, not one chapter per narrator as many authors do but half the book with one and half the other. I enjoyed the way it was done, learning things from both sides. I despaired of Jennifer, always excusing her psycho kid !! She really had my blood-pressure raised at times. I just wondered how deluded a parent could be, though I only have dogs, so I can only comment as an outsider as such.
    There were a couple of instances where I thought it may have become a little farfetched, especially when Jennifer was lying to a friend (who had a daughter called Zelda) about something then told her that she must mean another Zelda........like there would be dozens of them around !! A 14 year old girl goes missing at one stage, too, yet we're to believe nobody noticed till the following morning !
    This story does have an ending, although it will continue into the next book, which has gone into my wishlist a bit sharpish !! There were some issues with apostrophes, then missing commas out.....she seems to particularly dislike using them, but needs to as they can make her sentences make way better sense. For example, '"Ah, there you are at last," he said, beaming pleased' or "I laughed that seemed so ridiculous."
    She did also mention she had "begun to write on a screenplay" and again with "I missed not writing on a screenplay" which, in both instances, is awful English !! I would use tick, tock as opposed to tic, toc as well but that was it for errors I'd spotted. The cover on this one is very eye-catching, too.
    I look forward to seeing how things progress in the second book.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Pat
    3.0 out of 5 stars Strange narrative
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 June 2018
    Verified Purchase
    The book was an easy read but it became somewhat annoying when the first-person narrative changed to the 13-year-old boy; it which was written as though an adult was speaking. For example, and without spoiling any of the story, the boy was wondering why the police hadn’t progressed very far in their investigation, given that they must have had access to information about a doctor’s patients. The boy decided that when he got that information he’d ‘work that angle’. Really? There were numerous other expressions, to say nothing of complex sentences, that were simply not 13-year-old-speak.

    A decent enough book to while away a few hours though.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Tina
    5.0 out of 5 stars 😮
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 March 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Omg what a disturbing book 😮. A proper who dunnit storyline.
    Born Evil, Shane is the epitome of a psychopath. His first murder was his father when he was six. His mother covered it up by stating it was an accident. After all her little boy can't be a murderer and a psychopath. He's only six? At twelve she sees him stabbing the family cat to death. Then to her horror sees photos of a dead girl on her sons mobile phone. What is a mother to do?
    Shane for as long as he can remember has lived in fear. First from his father, his abusive father. He loved his father except when his father hurt him physically, abusively. He didn't mean to shoot his father, he thought the gun was a toy. His mother in a rage slapped him, a lot after that. There was something wrong with his mother. He loved his mother though.
    On the run after a therapist his mother confided in is murdered and Shane is Prime suspect his mother will do anything to keep him safe. But what is her ultimate plan when she confided in Shane she was the one who did the killing to protect him yet again. She won't allow her little boy go to prison. After all it's not his fault he's a psychopath.
    But who's the real psychopath in this story?

    The writing in this book is done brilliantly. So many twists and turns I just had no idea who was the psycho and who wasn't. So good I just had to buy the next in the series immediately.

    *warning* some describing scenes of child sexual abuse.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Donna Cawthra
    4.0 out of 5 stars Wow
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 June 2018
    Verified Purchase
    The story uses two narratives- mother and son. Wasn't sure how this would work but once my head was in sink the easier it became to grasp. A very good read, I couldn't put it down and wanted to know how it was going to end. The story it had me thinking one way then changed it many times as it neared the conclusion. The Love of a mother can be deceiving, a frightening thought to have.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Jo McKenna
    5.0 out of 5 stars ... book in the the trilogy and by far the best. I have read the second and n o ...
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 June 2018
    Verified Purchase
    This is the first book in the the trilogy and by far the best. I have read the second and n o w on the third. The second lets itself down by introducing some aspects of storyline which are stretching reality. This one however is a good read with some good twists. Now on the third book in series but won't be getting a fourth if one does get published. Worth reading this as a stand alone book though.
    One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Swaru
    1.0 out of 5 stars Disturbing
    Reviewed in India on 11 March 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Sick,disturbing book..... Definitely not going to read this author again. Wonder how this book got so many good reviews. Deleting from my kindle.
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  • Jennineavril
    5.0 out of 5 stars Scary
    Reviewed in Australia on 6 June 2018
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    OMG a scary book and i had to get the follow up to see what the ending was.
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  • Kim couch
    5.0 out of 5 stars Born Evil was an incredible reading experience.
    Reviewed in Canada on 7 February 2023
    Verified Purchase
    The characters had me intrigued from the start of the book right to the end. I couldn't put it down. It really doesn't need anything else said except, READ IT!
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  • Camille
    5.0 out of 5 stars KILLER NOVEL!
    Reviewed in the United States on 1 June 2018
    Verified Purchase
    *****SPOILER ALERT*****
    I didn’t like this novel in the beginning. It seemed like the author,, through main character Jennifer Hanson was TELLING us the plot of the novel rather than SHOWING us. In fact, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to finish reading it. Until I got to about 30%. Then the story took off and I was hooked!
    In the beginning the reader feels so sorry for Jennifer, concluding her psychopathetic son purposely killed his father Peter (Jennifer’s husband). Jennifer believes her son Shane killed Peter on purpose, but she tells the police it was an accident. After all Shane is just 6 years old. Jennifer tells the reader her son possesses the brain of a psychopath as determined by a PET scan, but this knowledge is kept secret from all the characters except for Jennifer & Peter. Not even Shane knows about his “abnormal” brain. I was immersed in the novel’s charactes, plot & conflict; reading between the lines in order to analyze Shane & his true intentions. At around 70% through the story, the author brings in chapters from Shane’s POV. As the reader grows to know him, the reader’s head is turned inside out, and a character inversion emerges. BAM! I felt like I was hit on the head by a 2”X4”! Just like that the purpose & intent of this novel twists radically! This was one heck of an awesome read!
    Ms. Derek is a wonderful author and, although I’ve never read her novels until now, I plan on reading the second “evil” book in this series.
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  • booklover
    4.0 out of 5 stars A Psychopath In The Making?
    Reviewed in the United States on 28 March 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Jennifer Hanson is a single mom to her son Shane, who is twelve. She's single because Shane killed his father, her husband. He took the gun from his father's closet and shot him while he was sleeping. Jennifer swears up and down it was an accident .. he was only 6 years old. But was he old enough to actually kill ... or is he a psychopath in the making?

    A few years later, when a friend's young daughter is found at the bottom of a ravine, everyone assumed it was an accident. She was known to wander around watching the different birds. Later, Jennifer found pictures on her son's camera ... pictures of the dead girl, after she had fallen. When questioned, he said he had found her but was afraid to say anything because they might think he had something to do with it.

    And when his therapist is found murdered in his home, Jennifer knows it's time to protect her son.

    The twists and turns in this book kept up a dizzying speed from the very first page. I understand a mother's love for her child, but to witness such distressing things and believe whatever story she is told, should have been anything but acceptable.

    But don't be fooled .... can you believe everything / anything you just read? It's very well written with characters that are a bit unique. It's a dark tale, a sad story.
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