You're Dead

by Chris Knopf

Organizational psychologist Dr. Waters is a happily solitary guy with a few deep attachments, including to his boss Paresh Rajput, the owner of a thriving hi-tech aerospace company. Until something really bad happens to CEO Rajput, which throws Waters into a lunatic swirl of murderous stalkers, corporate intrigue, amorous female executives and crafty cops who see the inscrutable psychologist as murder suspect #1.

Waters is hardly defenseless. A weight-lifter and former wrestler, ace poker player and master student of human nature, he takes it all on with surprising strength and determination. If they only knew. As with the connivers surrounding him, Waters has his own secrets. Autistic as a child, he lives with the consequences some blessings, others a curse. And a love affair that's hidden even more deeply, or so he thinks.

You're Dead is a mystery/thriller, an adventure story, though in the context of the present zeitgeist the financial stakes of hi-tech ascendancy and flourishing commerce, corporate and personal venality, manipulations by the rich and powerful men and women and the ugly presence of base criminality that crackles around the fringes. It's about troubled and troubling minds, and institutions that struggle to assert relevance, but also how one man, single-minded and apart, can disrupt what the lead detective on the case calls, "Their clever-clever ways."

Every writer has their themes and pre-occupations. For Knopf, it's the intricacies of the mind, the most complex organism in the universe. The aberrations, as well as the indefinable "normal". You're Dead is an action-filled examination of what happens when minds of all kinds collide.

Genres: Thriller, Audiobook, Mystery, Fiction

288 pages, Hardcover

First published December 21, 2018

Reviews

[Kari · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

You're Dead was a random library pick and one I went into knowing very little about. I did end up enjoying the book. It involves Dr. Waters who is a psychologist who finds his boss murdered in his own apartment. Naturally, he becomes the prime suspect. The only thing he can do is to find out what really happened and clear his name.

The best part of this book was Waters. He is mildly autistic and, from an early age, has learned to read and mimic social cues from others so that he can fit in. He is a weight lifter, former wrestler and actually kind of an all around nice guy. I enjoyed my time following him as he put the pieces together to solve the mystery of who killed his boss. I think this is a stand alone book, but he is someone I would love to read more about. I won't talk plot too much. There are some good twists. In fact, the whole solution is fairly convoluted and I never would have been able to guess it on my own. So, the book gets bonus points for that. If you are looking for something a bit out of the norm, I highly recommend picking this one up.

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Waters (“You can call me Waters. Everyone else does”) is the obvious innocent suspect in Chris Knopf’s novel, You’re Dead. He’s not dead, but his boss very clearly is. And the evidence, such as it is, keeps mounting as if Waters had truly killed his friend.

Waters specializes in analyzing personalities, specifically the personalities of people his boss might employ. He’s good at his job. Maybe that’s because he’s good at analyzing himself—an autistic child, grown up to successful adult. He always knows what he’s doing and why. He’s always honest, even when he’s acting against the law. And his questions are always what you wish you’d thought to ask. But he still keeps secrets, and one deep secret will drive him to find out the truth of more than what happened to his boss.

You’re Dead is a novel of losses analyzed and resolved, and of gains put to good use. It’s a tale of honest police work limited by time and finance; of good people, kindness and crime; of clever analysis, and the innocence of a child’s drawing—“usually… the manifestation of helpless, uncontrollable love.” Ultimately it’s a novel of love—lost, found, betrayed, and hoped for… the well-analyzed love of a man whose real emotions are as foreign a land as the picture on the fridge. When the picture comes down at the end, the reader longs for more just as surely as the protagonist does.

A fascinating mystery, made more fascinating by its plotting and characters, You’re Dead is highly recommended.

Disclosure: I was given a preview edition and I offer my honest review.

[Taveri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a riveting read. It was about an autistic spectrum individual who learned to read people through their "tells" and became so good at he became employed at a Casino and then in the private sector. It only took two days to read 300 pages; I was engaged for about the first four fifths and then I could see the twists coming - perhaps the author providing 'tells' for the reader to pick up on. I didn't care for the extremism of some characters - the bad were all bad and seemed to lack any redeeming characteristics. It would have made the plot more challenging not slotting people. The item that bothered me most was, although I could buy an autistic spectrum learning to read people so well he made a living from it, I couldn't see that person being an adept liar. His lying was important to the story line and he did it with ease. Think Temple Grandin or John Elder Robison (author of "Look me in the Eye") and try to imagine them lying convincingly or even lying. I have a friend with Asperger's Syndrome and he tells me it is possible (but perhaps he was telling me a fib ;) so maybe I was sleep reading through that part of the book that explained how the main character became skilled beyond figuring people out.

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one starts immediately with the crime and goes uphill from there. Organizational psychologist and one-time diagnosed autistic Waters ("no title, no first name, just 'Waters'") comes home to find his boss' bodyless head on his bedroom floor. At first Suspect #1, Waters sets out to discover who killed his boss and why, weaving a path through beautiful women, ruthless tycoons, and jealous Significant Others. The little background we get on Waters reveals a man who, with the aid of his brother's determination, rises above and conquers his autism. The mystery of his brother's disappearance/death also leaves the door open for another novel if the author chooses, and if he does, it should be as overwhelming as this one.

You're Dead is a story reminiscent of the old crime noir novels of Chandler and Hammett, with plenty of twists and turns, deaths and betrayals, and beautiful but deadly female, brought together in a totally unexpected finale. This one misses being a complete "hardboiled detective novel' only because the protagonist isn't a detective by trade.


This novel was supplied by the publisher and no remuneration was involved in the writing of this review.

[Tom Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Waters discovers the bodiless head of his boss when he goes home. He becomes the first suspect, and decides he needs to find the real killer before he’s arrested for the murder. The case becomes a fantastical investigation, as only the author can pen them, and would have been a first rate detective novel.

The publisher went me a book for an honest review. I’ve never cared for the author’s dialogue, but his fiction is certainly topnotch, if not a little beyond belief, but that’s why we read - to escape reality for a few hours in an action-packed mystery with beautiful women and hard men. Highly recommended.

[Astrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 This was a rather enjoyable read. Fairly quick, never boring. An interesting character in Waters, and also some of the other characters. A tad predictable, I thought, but it was still out of the ordinary. Don't want to give away the plot. Looks like this might be the beginning of a series, there needs to be at least a follow-up.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This standalone Chris Knopf psychological murder mystery has all the elements I have come to love . Quirky characters who are smart but have a sense of humor, fast pace and colorful dialogue with twists that surprise. A well written, fun read!

I became a fan a few years ago when I entered a Dan's Papers essay contest and Chris was the featured speaker. He got my attention and I then read his Sam Acquillo Hamptons murder series, and Jackie Swaitkowski Hamptons murder series. What fun!

[Jkane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and I found the protagonist to be an interesting guy. He had a different background and a different point of view, with a different way to look at things. The protagonist was definitely not your typical cop or private eye, or assassin. It was a fresh take. I thought the novel dragged a bit in the middle, but it was still interesting. The mystery wrapped itself up nicely, bringing full closure to the questions posed in the book.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the main character's voice: a very high-functioning Autistic man who got his doctorate in psychology because he became so good at reading others (without ever really quite becoming a neuro-typical). He's not a cop, but he has a skill set uniquely qualifying him to outwit a sadistic killer out to first frame him for the murder of his boss, then kill him outright.

[Ricki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked this new character from Chris Knopf, something unusual

[Rick Molitor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book as I have many of his books. It was a good fast paced thriller. It was a quite complex mystery with an interesting group of characters.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this; it'd be a 3.5 if that were an option.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

First Chris Knopf book I've read, I believe. Really enjoyed the writing, the story line, the characters.

[Missy · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 Stars (Good)

[Cathy Nunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Chris Knopf. This is a stand alone that ends like a series?