Home › Fiction › The First Scarlet Door

The First Scarlet Door

by J. D. Barker

Before the Four Monkey Killer

Regular price $22.65 USD
Regular price $37.75 USD Sale price $22.65 USD
Save 40%

Hardcover New

Delivery to your door
In stock·Dispatches in 1–2 business days
Standard shipping* from $4.35
Standard shipping transit* 5–8 business days after dispatch

Faster options are available.

Rates and delivery estimates depend on your destination and item quantity. Estimates are informational only; the final shipping method and rate are selected at checkout.

Secure checkout
American Express Apple Pay DiscoverGoogle Pay Mastercard PayPalVisa
30-day eligible returns Returns & refunds policy

AlbakiReads Editorial

Before the Four Monkey Killer

Set in Charleston in 1999, this prequel centers on fifteen-year-old Anson Bishop, whose upbringing taught him to see murder as a means of survival. After his home burns and his mother disappears, Anson is drawn into a search for missing young people on the city’s margins. The book frames his effort to protect those he cares about as a confrontation with both an outside threat and the possibility of becoming dangerous himself. As the first of three prequels to the 4MK series, it traces an early chapter in the figure’s history while establishing survival, violence, and the shaping of a killer as its central concerns.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in suspense fiction with a coming-of-age element and a young central character.
  • Those following the 4MK series who want a prequel set before its events.
  • Readers drawn to stories involving missing and vulnerable young people, family influence, and violence.

Themes

Survival and violenceFamily influenceVulnerable young peopleThe making of a killer

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

In the first of three prequels to New York Times bestselling author J.D. Barker's wildly popular 4MK series...

Before he was known as the Four Monkey Killer, he was just a boy trying to survive.

Charleston, 1999. Fifteen-year-old Anson Bishop didn't mean to kill--not the first time, anyway. Raised by parents who taught him that murder was simply survival, Anson thought he'd escaped his dark past when his home burned and his mother vanished with stolen mob money.

He was wrong.

Someone is hunting Charleston's forgotten children--the runaways, the addicts, the ones no one will miss. When the few people Anson has come to care about vanish into the night, he discovers a truth more horrifying than anything his parents taught him: there are monsters in the world far worse than the one he sees in the mirror.

Behind a door the color of spilled blood waits a killer who has perfected his craft over two decades. To save his friends, Anson must walk through that scarlet door and face a monster. But in doing so, he may become something more dangerous than what awaits him on the other side.

Some doors, once opened, can never be closed.

Discover where it all began in the first of three prequels to New York Times bestselling author J.D. Barker's wildly popular 4MK series.
Shipping & returnsShipping options, delivery timing, and our return policy.

In-stock items normally dispatch within 1–2 business days. The ZIP-code estimator on this page is informational only; the final shipping method, price, and availability are confirmed at checkout for your full order.

For the initial delivery estimate we use these transit windows after dispatch: Standard 5–8 business days, Expedited 2–4 business days, and Priority 1–2 business days. Holiday delays are not included.

Eligible items can be returned within 30 days in accordance with our return policy.

Customer reviews