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Wayne's Dead
Jackson Daniels, investigative detective with the Knoxville Police Department, is called to the scene of a murder at a ritzy hotel in Knoxville. A dead man lies on the bed, above his mutilated body the words, Wayne's Dead, have been written. Jackson and his team of detectives ascertain fairly quickly that they are faced with a brutal serial killer who has been on the loose in the Southeast for the past twelve years. Choosing married, middle-aged attorneys as prey, the killer seduces them, murders them, and then mutilates the body afterwards, leaving the same message on the wall above the victims. Frustrated over the lack of evidence found at each scene, Jackson and his team frantically search for their perpetrator, never suspecting that the person they are trying to find has been with them from the start.
- GenresMystery
181 pages, Paperback
First published May 25, 1999
36 people want to read
About the author
Christy Tillery French
27 books64 followersChristy Tillery French aka CC Tillery is co-author with her sister Cyndi Tillery Hodges of the award-winning, best-selling, internationally published Appalachian Journey series (Whistling Woman, Moonfixer, Beloved Woman, Wise Woman, Granny Woman) and the Brown Mountain Lights series (Through the Brown Mountain Lights, Seeking the Brown Mountain Lights, Into the Brown Lights, Chasing the Brown Lights, Chancing the Brown Mountain Lights, Leaving the Brown Mountain Lights, Traversing the Brown Mountain Lights).
Under her own name, Christy's books cross several genres, including psychological suspense, romantic suspense, and romantic comedy/chick lit. Her short story Investigator Incarnate was published in Cats in a Dreamspell and she contributed 5 recipes to Killer Recipes. Proceeds from that book are donated to the American Cancer Society.
Christy's books have been chosen by numerous book clubs across America and received numerous awards. In addition, all of her books have been placed with the McClung Historical Collection of the East Tennessee Historical Center as part of the local and genealogical history of East Tennessee.
The translation rights for Wayne's Dead were sold to Yacom Publishers of Seoul, South Korea and the translation rights for Chasing Demons were sold to Futami Shobo Publishers of Tokyo, Japan. Whistling Woman is internationally published in Germany and France.
French’s award-winning poetry has been published in America and England. She has been recognized in Who's Who in U.S. Writers, Editors & Poets (American Biographical Institute, 2002-present), Who's Who in America (Marquis Who's Who, 2003-present), Who's Who of American Women (Marquis Who's Who 2004-present, Who's Who in Finance and Business (Marquis Who's Who, 2004-present), and Manchester Who's Who, 2006-present.
French formerly served on the Board of Directors of Tennessee Mountain Writers. She formerly served on the Board of the Southeast Mystery Writers of America (SEMWA) Skill Build Committee, representing East Tennessee. In August, 2005, she organized and hosted a skill build in Knoxville, Tennessee, sponsored by SEMWA.
In August, 2006, French was interviewed for the Norwegian magazine, "Magasinet", published by "Dagbladet" in an article by Kjersti Flaa about beauty scams and women's constant search for the right products.. Her article on Genre Fiction vs. Literary Fiction was utilized by the University of Florida in Spring, 2006 as part of the coursework for Crime and Detective Fiction. Her essay on The History of Makeup has been published in the book Exploring Beauty by Joanne Strobert.
French worked as a paralegal until she decided she preferred to be her own boss. In the past, she owned and operated a medical transcription service for psychiatrists and psychologists, a transcription service for court reporters, and freelanced as a paralegal. With her husband, she has co-owned a cartage company, industrial tire service, and most recently, an industrial equipment service and industrial battery service.
Under her own name, Christy's books cross several genres, including psychological suspense, romantic suspense, and romantic comedy/chick lit. Her short story Investigator Incarnate was published in Cats in a Dreamspell and she contributed 5 recipes to Killer Recipes. Proceeds from that book are donated to the American Cancer Society.
Christy's books have been chosen by numerous book clubs across America and received numerous awards. In addition, all of her books have been placed with the McClung Historical Collection of the East Tennessee Historical Center as part of the local and genealogical history of East Tennessee.
The translation rights for Wayne's Dead were sold to Yacom Publishers of Seoul, South Korea and the translation rights for Chasing Demons were sold to Futami Shobo Publishers of Tokyo, Japan. Whistling Woman is internationally published in Germany and France.
French’s award-winning poetry has been published in America and England. She has been recognized in Who's Who in U.S. Writers, Editors & Poets (American Biographical Institute, 2002-present), Who's Who in America (Marquis Who's Who, 2003-present), Who's Who of American Women (Marquis Who's Who 2004-present, Who's Who in Finance and Business (Marquis Who's Who, 2004-present), and Manchester Who's Who, 2006-present.
French formerly served on the Board of Directors of Tennessee Mountain Writers. She formerly served on the Board of the Southeast Mystery Writers of America (SEMWA) Skill Build Committee, representing East Tennessee. In August, 2005, she organized and hosted a skill build in Knoxville, Tennessee, sponsored by SEMWA.
In August, 2006, French was interviewed for the Norwegian magazine, "Magasinet", published by "Dagbladet" in an article by Kjersti Flaa about beauty scams and women's constant search for the right products.. Her article on Genre Fiction vs. Literary Fiction was utilized by the University of Florida in Spring, 2006 as part of the coursework for Crime and Detective Fiction. Her essay on The History of Makeup has been published in the book Exploring Beauty by Joanne Strobert.
French worked as a paralegal until she decided she preferred to be her own boss. In the past, she owned and operated a medical transcription service for psychiatrists and psychologists, a transcription service for court reporters, and freelanced as a paralegal. With her husband, she has co-owned a cartage company, industrial tire service, and most recently, an industrial equipment service and industrial battery service.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 23, 2007
This was an excellent murder-mystery! There were enough turns and twists to keep my interest--and keep me wondering. I like the size of this paperback. It's bigger than normal size paperback, short chapters, and 181 pages. There was no wasted...information. No lengthy descriptions. Starts right off and goes. Nice!
January 13, 2011
I thought this was a great thriller. Different than everything else out there...
March 11, 2018
Wayne's Dead is an ok thriller.
The premise of this book is that there is a serial killer that target successful lawyers in town. Knoxville if i'm not mistaken.
It takes a couple of turns, but right from the bat its rather easy to identify who did it and what is their deal. For a moment I hoped the author had thrown a curve and *SPOILER* Gil is not the culprit. But she is, and you can see it from a mile away. The author provides a couple more possible suspects, but immediately alibis them out.
So this book is not about the mystery of who did it or why. Its more about if she is going to get caught or is she going to escape, change her name, flee from town.
My favorite part of this book was the procedural police work we get to see from the cops point of view. That is not to say it does not have some downsides on that end. The Marvin character is a black cop that for some reason has to have all the stereotypical qualities only someone from another race has to pin in one of his characters. He is singled out as the one person on the force that "does not look like a cop" and "does not talk like a cop". It may be that way back in 2002 there were no black policemen in Tennessee, but I highly doubt it.
At the end of it, I liked the feel of the book but I had some moments were everything was too obvious and I kept hoping a twist from the author. There was no bog reveal at the end, unless you did not picked up the multiple personalities explanations very early on the book.
The premise of this book is that there is a serial killer that target successful lawyers in town. Knoxville if i'm not mistaken.
It takes a couple of turns, but right from the bat its rather easy to identify who did it and what is their deal. For a moment I hoped the author had thrown a curve and *SPOILER* Gil is not the culprit. But she is, and you can see it from a mile away. The author provides a couple more possible suspects, but immediately alibis them out.
So this book is not about the mystery of who did it or why. Its more about if she is going to get caught or is she going to escape, change her name, flee from town.
My favorite part of this book was the procedural police work we get to see from the cops point of view. That is not to say it does not have some downsides on that end. The Marvin character is a black cop that for some reason has to have all the stereotypical qualities only someone from another race has to pin in one of his characters. He is singled out as the one person on the force that "does not look like a cop" and "does not talk like a cop". It may be that way back in 2002 there were no black policemen in Tennessee, but I highly doubt it.
At the end of it, I liked the feel of the book but I had some moments were everything was too obvious and I kept hoping a twist from the author. There was no bog reveal at the end, unless you did not picked up the multiple personalities explanations very early on the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 17, 2021
Amazing quick read. Will definitely pull you in from the begining. The ending was my favorite part really draws you in makes you want to finish the book while at the same time dreading it.
October 15, 2019
Dreadful. Picked this up in a free bin at a Thrift Store to read on the plane. I should have left it there and brought a magazine instead.
September 21, 2012
This has got to be one of the most exciting, refreshing, and interesting books I've read in a long while. At only 181 pages, it's not a very long read, but author Christy Tillery French packs quite a lot in those few pages.
Mixed with a very intriguing plot, extremely interesting and believable characters, and enticing situations, fused with some of the most refreshing and realist dialogue I've read in ages, this is one heck of an intense read. And it's a very "visual" read. I could so easily picture this as a movie; and hopefully it will be someday!
Ok, sure, as some reviewers have pointed out, the culprit is kind of given away early in the novel, but that in my opinion only helps build more of an edge, and builds to a crescendo of suspense. Plus, even though you may guess who it is (and be correct), there are still plenty of red herrings and suspects to keep you second guessing all the way until the very end.
This reminds me of very early Mary Higgins Clark, mainly her first three novels, fused with some of the best of Hitchcock, with a hint of "Basic Instinct" and some De Palma erotic thrillers like "Dressed to Kill" all rolled into one.
Very well written, very well plotted, very rich characterization, and very biting satiric scenarios and dialogue that constantly has the reader switching from humor to suspense from one minute to the next.
I highly recommend this! :>)
Randall Brooks
(author, "The Two Worlds of the Mind")
Mixed with a very intriguing plot, extremely interesting and believable characters, and enticing situations, fused with some of the most refreshing and realist dialogue I've read in ages, this is one heck of an intense read. And it's a very "visual" read. I could so easily picture this as a movie; and hopefully it will be someday!
Ok, sure, as some reviewers have pointed out, the culprit is kind of given away early in the novel, but that in my opinion only helps build more of an edge, and builds to a crescendo of suspense. Plus, even though you may guess who it is (and be correct), there are still plenty of red herrings and suspects to keep you second guessing all the way until the very end.
This reminds me of very early Mary Higgins Clark, mainly her first three novels, fused with some of the best of Hitchcock, with a hint of "Basic Instinct" and some De Palma erotic thrillers like "Dressed to Kill" all rolled into one.
Very well written, very well plotted, very rich characterization, and very biting satiric scenarios and dialogue that constantly has the reader switching from humor to suspense from one minute to the next.
I highly recommend this! :>)
Randall Brooks
(author, "The Two Worlds of the Mind")
February 14, 2010
one of the worst books ever!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews