Great plot to get yourself lost in. This book has everything. A real fast paced thriller. Will get your heart racing on more than one occasion. Very well written. Highly recommend this book

WOW WOW WOW 🤩 Another great addition to an already fantastic series !! The storyline is really unique and so gripping, it’s one of those books where you have just got to read one more chapter!! Brilliant series highly recommended

I couldn’t get into this at all. It was fast-paced, and the plot was relativity good, however, I found the author over explained things and it ruined the suspense for me. Although not for me, I’m sure other will enjoy this book.

Wasn't aware this was the third instalment, a psychological thriller, full of suspense, blood and gore! Fast paced and kept going, a little bit far-fetched and no sense of it being real, good, easy and quick read.

This is the 3rd book of The Ackerman Thrillers.

A serial killer is being chased by his two sons; one son is also a serial killer, and the other a secret department of justice detective with a photographic memory. 
 
Far fetched detective novels, you know the type - with superhuman bad guys and marginally better detectives, are my guilty pleasure.
I enjoyed the story as a whole, and I found the story well-paced... I wanted to find out what happened. I found that for a thriller everything was explained too much, sometimes details were mentioned a couple of times rather than leaving things in suspense .

Overall, an okay fast-paced thriller with some good parts, but not a book I will be rereading.

I Am Pain by Ethan Cross
The Ackerman Thrillers #3

I keep wondering how I have come to actually like a serial killer that has no compunction and even enjoys killing others…often in painful ways…and yet…that is exactly what I find I am doing when it comes to Francis “Frank” Ackerman Jr. He has perpetrated heinous crimes on others but also seems to have had an epiphany and be trying to change his ways…at least a bit. He is the son of a ruthless psychotic killer, the brother of a man that has a dark side but works on the side of right and is often caught in situations that are difficult for him as well as for others. I have no idea where this rather dark gritty sometimes gruesome series will lead but I can’t wait to find out in book four.

What I liked:
* Frank: a serial killer that may be redeemable(?)
* Marcus Williams: Frank’s brother who seems to be questioning much before this book begins. He finds himself in a whole lot of pain for a good portion of this story
* Maggie Carlisle: works with Marcus and is his romantic interest although not much romance was observed in this book. She seems conflicted.
* Stan and Andrew – part of the Shepherd group
* Learning more about Ackerman Sr. and just how twisted he was – also meeting his father who was also interesting and disturbing
* The plot and how it was developed – finding out what the Coercion Killer’s goal and motivation were and who he was
* The taking down of the mercenaries
* The creep factor that left me thinking about how twisted and dark some people are
* Being able to like Frank – a man that should be unlikable
* Wondering how Dylan will turn out
* Knowing that there will be a book four

What I didn’t like:
* Knowing what Ackerman Sr. did to his family and to others
* Realizing and being reminded of the fact that there are people in the world that could be like the bad guys in this book.

Did I enjoy this book? It kept me interested beginning to end – I could not put it down
Would I read more in tis series/ by this author? Definitely

Thank you to NetGalley and Head oof Zeus – Aries for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

I would like to thank Netgalley and Aria & Aries for a review copy of I Am Pain, the third novel to feature Marcus Williams of the shadowy government agency, The Shepherds and serial killer Francis Ackerman jr.

A serial killer known as The Coercion Killer is terrorising Kansas City by kidnapping wives and children and forcing the husband to kill a nominated stranger in return for the lives of his family. Marcus and his team are on the case but he knows that he needs Francis Ackerman’s help in untangling their shared past if he is going to stop this merciless killer.

I thoroughly enjoyed I Am Pain which is the most absorbing novel in the series so far. The novel is on the long side but not much of it is wasted, in fact it is needed to explain Marcus and Ackerman’s backstories and to provide a sophisticated chase plot. It should be noted, however, that this is a violent novel, not only in the physical sense but in sadistic mental manipulation. I found it stomach churning in parts and deeply unsettling in others. I know, I should have been aware of that with plot using one serial killer to catch another, but still, some of the inhumanity caught me off guard.

The novel is told mostly from Marcus and Ackerman’s points of view. This is an interesting juxtaposition, pitting the ostensibly good against the ostensibly evil or nature vs nurture, and offers up a few surprises. I look forward to the next novels to watch this duo and duality evolve.

Lest it be overlooked this novel has an exciting plot with a Machiavellian killer and plenty of action scenes. It moves at a fast clip with developments in every chapter and a fair few surprises to keep any complacent reader on their toes.

I Am Pain is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

Another in the I Am series which I have to admit I am addicted to. Two serial killers in a no holds barred psychological thriller. Plenty of blood and gore and of course Ackerman. I love delving into this author's dark and very twisted mind. The I Am series is one of the best series i have read and can't wait to read more in this gripping and very addictive series.
Thanks to Aria and Aries and Netgalley for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

I Am Pain is the third instalment in the Francis Ackerman Thrillers series, set in and around the United States, specifically Kansas City. Ackerman has become known as the most prolific serial killer in the US and the series details the chase Ackerman’s sibling, Department of Justice Special Agent Marcus Williams, embarks on to locate and bring him to justice. This time, however, he is tasked with locating the Coercion Killer, a murderer whose modus operandi is to abduct happy families and lure them into a sadistic and disturbing game; one that only a sick-minded individual could enjoy. Marcus and his team realise they are dealing with the "instigator", or apprentice, who informs his male victims that they must murder another completely innocent guy. If the killer's directions are followed his kidnapped family are released unharmed. If the blackmailed person refuses, their loved ones are brutally slain and returned in pieces. On the hunt, Marcus receives help from his brother, the serial killer Francis Ackerman Jr. Because he knows who is behind the instigator: his father, Ackerman Sr., aka Thomas White. The one who made him what he is: the absolute epitome of evil.

But not only is this strange form of aid preying on Marcus’s mind, so too is his paranoia that he may also be wicked, given he is obviously cut from the same cloth as both his father and brother. Only by understanding a psychopathic killer's mindset can you really put a stop to the carnage, but it is ”right” to use his mentally disturbed serial killer brother to help locate their equally murderous father? This is a riveting and scintillating read from very early on and the storyline is refreshingly original, even for someone like me who reads hundreds of thrillers a year and is used to some unimaginative plotlines. I loved the interplay between good and evil, right and wrong and the fact that we finally come to understand that not everything is morally black or white, sometimes things, or people, can be best described as morally grey. There is action, taut plotting, twisty surprises and plenty of misdirection to catch you off guard, but the characters are what really make this book what it is: compulsive. They're some of the most fascinating, engaging and multi-layered I've come across. A thoroughly entertaining and thought-provoking page-turner. Highly recommended.