A review by nerfherder86
You Killed Wesley Payne by Sean Beaudoin

4.0

Great mystery, likeable main character, and funny one-liners, as well as plot twists and red herrings abound in this spoof of hardboiled detective novels/film noir. 17 tear old Dalton is a private detective, and he's been hired by a student at Salt River High to find out who killed her brother and hung him from the goalposts on the football field. Dalton is beyond joining any of the cliques at the school, but he's totally in tune to them, giving each its own clever nickname (there's even a chart listing them all, from the "Sis Boom Bahs" (cheerleaders) to the "Crowdarounds" (hangerson who love to watch but not get involved) to "The Balls" (the jocks). Dalton gets beat up and betrayed, falls for the wrong girl, and generally has a tough time of it, but perseveres throughout--after all, he's got his own Private Dick Handbook to see him through the toughest case. This was my favorite part of the book, how his thoughts were relayed as hilarious "Private Dick Handbook Rules"--like, "Rule #42: Never be ashamed to take the back door like a thief, hide in the woods like a coward, and let heroes explain bail to their own parents." Great book!