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You Killed Wesley Payne Sean Beaudoin Books

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You Killed Wesley Payne Sean Beaudoin Books

The thing that strikes me the most about YOU KILLED WESLEY PAYNE is how plausible its incredulous world seems. Media-saturated, attention-deficit teens could easily be on a path to create the type of exaggerated clique structure that exists at Salt River High...actually, for all I know, being two decades removed from high school, maybe this teenage socioeconomic structure already does exist.

Beaudoin creates a complex, believable world and then places his intelligent and likable protagonist square in the middle of it to find the murderer of high school student Wesley Payne. Deciphering the clique structure becomes private dick Dalton Rev's first and biggest challenge, and it isn't easy with all the backstabbing and shifting loyalties that occur throughout the story. Beaudoin deftly weaves an engaging and satisfying plot that appeals to readers of all ages.

Highly recommended.


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You Killed Wesley Payne Sean Beaudoin Books Reviews

I can't stop laughing when I read Sean Beaudoin's writing - it's a constant snark-fest of spot-on entertainment. And "You Killed Wesley Payne" is the best by far. Fun, funny, smart, smirk-worthy, interesting - you name it - this book's got it. I wouldn't be surprised if YKWP is Beaudoin's big break, catapulting him to an entirely different level as an author, writer. Congratulations.
The novel takes place in a high school torn apart by rival cliques, as private detective Dalton Rev rolls in on a scooter to solve the murder of a popular senior. The language is whip-smart, filled with clever slang and often lovely language, but is always at a brisk, no-nonsense pace. Dalton is a teenaged writer who has to make money as a detective to support his family, and he has a tough exterior but is just an average kid trying to navigate a cutthroat world.

There are so many minor characters with conflicting motivations and plot twists that I found myself having to stop and think at times, and I wish some of the characters (including love interest Macy) and motivations were fleshed out more, but above all it's a satisfying book with an endearing protagonist. Highly recommended.
It has been many years since I visited the waters of Young Adult fiction. On the recommendation of a friend, I dipped my toe back in with Sean Beaudoin's "You Killed Wesley Payne," and Good Lord, am I glad I did.

YKWP walks the fine line of being smart without a tedious disaffected and jaded overtone. It is funny in a realistic and intelligent way, and the plot moves both quickly and unpredictably, which makes it a bullet train of a read. The characters fall into over-the-top exaggerations of high school stereotypes, but each one has depth and sincerity that make them both fun and believable. Dalton Rev, the detective protagonist, is sharp-witted and well-schooled in the areas of literature and music, yet Beaudoin encases him in all the awkward insecurities that plague the average high schooler, making him intensely likable. His boyish fascination with fictional detective Lex Cole is a hilarious theme running throughout the story (and the titles of the Lex Cole book series are comic triumphs in and of themselves).

Picture a high school that is the intersection of the movies "Heathers" and "Escape from New York." The students run the school with a mixture of violence, unwritten rules and little governance from adults or the faculty. Everyone is running some kind of racket- even some bandages from the school nurse will require the greasing of the RN's palm. Guns, while temporarily banned, raise no eyebrows, and a team of masked snipers ("the Lee Harvies"), keep the peace from the school roof. Jocks ("Balls") align against Rockers, as a bloodthirsty battle for school supremacy unfolds with a host of sub-cliques pushing the action forward in a blur of sharp dialogue and hairpin plot twists.

As the title implies, the death of Wesley Payne, a popular student, is the underlying mystery, inviting the arrival of Dalton Rev, who is far closer to Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character from the movie "Brick," than he is to Encyclopedia Brown. Navigating through the tight-knit cliques, would be girlfriends, law enforcement, and a decidedly unprincipled Principal, Rev runs into beatings, dead ends, deceptions and mysterious clues from anonymous helpers.

The ending is fantastic- well told, believable, and full of a few twists that I did not see coming. Brilliantly, Beaudoin continues to reveal some additional mysteries with a one-two punch that will leave the reader smiling, satisfied, and eagerly awaiting Rev's next case.

I could not put this down.
About half way through I said to myself, "This book is the demon spawn of Lord of the Flies and A Clockwork Orange." That's a compliment.

Other reviews have covered what's great about it, so I won't go over the same territory.

I'll only say that it's wickedly funny and very smart.
What I like about Sean Beaudoin's writing is that he'll write so very many smart things in very subtle ways. If you're not paying attention, you'll miss half the fun. Of course, you can read this book straight through for the story, which is an hilarious take on high school noir, but you get twice what you paid for if you are capable of thought. You'll want to use your natural thought-making talent to notice Beaudoin's creative use of language, or the depth at which Beaudoin buries literary happenings to be discovered. In You Killed Wesley Payne, he'll take an ordinary ol' noir moment, such as someone getting kicked in the gut while they're down, and add a tiny little detail that turns it into something fresh and literarily clever. Usually, Beaudoin puts his cleverness to use in the service of being funny. Occasionally, he'll add a touching moment just to remind the reader that there are other feelings besides "laugh."

Bonus You Killed Wesley Payne doesn't end with the story. There's a glossary packed with humorous political commentary, an index describing the various intricacies of each high school clique in the book, a collection of writing samples from the main character's application to Harvard, and more!
The thing that strikes me the most about YOU KILLED WESLEY PAYNE is how plausible its incredulous world seems. Media-saturated, attention-deficit teens could easily be on a path to create the type of exaggerated clique structure that exists at Salt River High...actually, for all I know, being two decades removed from high school, maybe this teenage socioeconomic structure already does exist.

Beaudoin creates a complex, believable world and then places his intelligent and likable protagonist square in the middle of it to find the murderer of high school student Wesley Payne. Deciphering the clique structure becomes private dick Dalton Rev's first and biggest challenge, and it isn't easy with all the backstabbing and shifting loyalties that occur throughout the story. Beaudoin deftly weaves an engaging and satisfying plot that appeals to readers of all ages.

Highly recommended.