Dead Case

By: Christopher Zaleski

Narrated by: John Dunleavy

Length: 12 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

Plagued with the talent of seeing the ghosts of murder victims, Wayne Ballard is on a hunt to find the vigilante responsible.

Wayne wasn’t sure if it was a gift or misfortune being able to see ghosts. It wouldn’t be so bad if the apparitions didn’t appear to look the way they did when they died. There were some that were headless while others may have been missing extremities or suffered from a fatal gunshot wound to the chest. Sometimes it felt so unreal he thought maybe he was losing his mind, letting his imagination run wild. He probably would’ve thought madness was setting in on him if it weren’t for the fact that these ghosts showed him things.

They showed him the clues needed to help him move on to the next step of his investigation. They wanted to help him bring down the one responsible for the current murder spree. Every incident brings him deeper into the mind of the killer. So deep he dreams of the ghosts. He dreams of every murder taking place. In his mind he can see the dark shadow of someone killing all of the victims.

The shadow is ruthless. It slays without any regrets and appears to be enjoying every gory detail of his massacre. It’s only when the dark stranger shows up at his house that Wayne knows it’s only a matter of time until this killer gets to him.

Wayne runs out of spare time, spending all of it chasing down the killer. He neglects his wife, constantly leaving notes for her, telling her he’s sorry for everything. The notes back and forth last up until he finds out a horrible truth that sends him closer to the edge of his sanity. There isn’t much more he can handle before falling off the deep end.

Wayne is teamed up with his new partner, Gus, and head FBI investigator Agent Sanderson. Together the three hope to find enough clues to find and take down the vigilante. The only hard part of the investigation for Wayne is keeping his gift of seeing ghosts from those around him. It becomes nearly impossible to do when his relationship with Agent Sanderson takes an unsuspected turn. If she finds out would she be able to keep his secret?

After one twist to the next, Wayne discovers a darker side of himself. There is bottled up hate and anger about everything that has happened to him. Vengeful tendencies overshadow his thoughts. Revenge sets in his mind to the point of no control. Blackout after blackout leads him to whom he thinks is the murderer. Is it his long time friend and ex-partner Paul Peterson or maybe someone even closer than that. It’s not until the final shot is fired that Wayne truly understands the meaning of the ghosts and all of his bad dreams.

©2018 Christopher Zaleski (P)2019 Christopher Zaleski/John Dunleavy

Solid mystery-thriller!

Wayne Ballard is a detective struggling with the realization that he is seeing ghosts. These ghosts seem to be helping him with the latest rash of vicious murders by pointing out clues to the murderer. Why is this happening to Wayne now? There have been a number of pedophile and human trafficking crimes making an appearance, which is unusual for their small city. Wayne’s ex-partner Paul is full of anger over these crimes and wants to take justice into his own hands by eliminating the criminals. Paul’s anger is contagious. Wayne finds himself overworked, losing touch with his wife and home life, in working to solve these ongoing murders. Is Wayne just stressed out with his job or is he slowly losing his mind? Wayne hasn’t seen his wife in several days as they pass each other every morning and night given their conflicting heavy job schedules. Poor Wayne seems to be getting more scatter-brained as time goes on. He’s making mistakes at his job; his daughter and co-workers are concerned. The FBI is called in to help. The murder cases continue to rise with no solid leads in sight. Is Wayne’s ex-partner Paul the vigilante committing the murders? The pressure and strain are wearing on Wayne. Eventually, several issues will come to a head and Wayne will be confronted with much more than a few ghosts. Will these murder cases be solved? Is Wayne losing his mind? This solid mystery-thriller is full of twists and turns to keep you guessing right up to the very end. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Awesome story!

Okay. I loved the story! I'm dropping one star in narration because of weird sounds and long pauses that made me check to make sure my ear buds were still connected (seriously, I listened to this at work, so I need to keep it connected.) I'm pleasantly surprised the plot deviated the way it did. I really thought it was going to end an entirely different way. Kudos to the author for imagination and ingenuity. The narration was mostly good. I liked the cadence and tones of the actor's voice. The production quality was just okay. I'm not sure of the weird szjszjhszjh noises at the end of more than one chapter. if those were intentional, I apologize, but they were not enjoyable. If they were because I had a device malfunction, more than once, then I hope someone down-votes this review, so I can go back and re-evaluate. All-in-all, I really enjoyed the story, and I hope both author and narrator benefit from this review. They were both pretty great, and I hope to read and hear more from them in the future!

Danger and excitement

The storyline is vivid and exciting. It has all the elements that I love in a story danger, excitement, a little humor, phenomenon, and twist and turns. I love the narrator he brought the story alive. I was kept in the edge of my seat until the end. I have one word for this book phenomenal.

Repetitive inner dialogue

This book felt very repetitive in its dialogue and in the ghostly experiences (dreams) of the main character. Conversations were also repetitive. Too much asking “ Are you ok?”. I figured out two major themes of the plot before they were revealed. The plot twist at the end was somewhat of a surprise, but the delivery, provided as a dream realization, was bland.

Good story

A good detective thriller with a creepy twist
The visions Wayne has gave the story a great paranormal feel and a ending that tied everything together nicely
Overall a entertaining story and good narration worth checking out
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review

Great story!

I enjoyed this one quite a bit. A kind of psychological horror-thriller. The pace steadily increases, and things get pretty dark. Good plot twists along the way, and a pretty heavy one later on makes for a satisfying conclusion. Would be a good movie. Highly recommended!

Very good story

This is an awesome tale that keeps you guessing throughout. Very well written with an excellent narrator.

excitment, danger and a touch of romance

I thought this had a good plot, nice story but a little to much filler, repeating things. There is excitement, just as you think you have the plot worked out the author gives you a twist that keeps you guessing. I had the issue with Wayne wife worked out but couldn’t decide the outcome. The Vigilante is keeping Wayne busy with the killings he is doing. I have to say I was cheering him on even when I thought I should have been cheering on the police to take him down. It is funny how the mind works, how it takes over, keeping things from us that we can’t deal with or wish to forget. My heart went out to Wayne he has been though so much and looks like he will be dealing with more issues before the end comes.

I thought the narrator did a wonderful job, I felt his character voices fit the character. He gives emotion when it is needed, he truly made me feel what each character was going through. His character voices were nice, you know who was talking and what they were feeling. He gives just the right amount of tone to make you feel the excitement, danger, thrills, and hurt along with the pain. The sound effects were great as well as the music fitting the scene. It wasn’t to loud, it faded as it should and wasn’t over powering. I loved the clicking of the computer mouse, these things really bought the story to life and making you feel like you were there. There were no repeating of words, no volume changes, just a smooth listen that I really enjoyed.

I thought at times the author could have done a little less repeating of wording and still made it as powerful. I felt this took away from the story but still was a very enjoyable listen with a story line that keeps you guessing and pulling you in. I was sure I had the Vigilante ID worked out but then the twist would come keeping me guessing but I never gave up and stuck to my thoughts. The author gives you a very serious issue that really grabs you soul but can still add a little humor to the story. You do not forget the impact of the plot but it makes it feel more real. I really enjoy the story, at times my mind wondered but the author always pulled me back.

Didn't See That Coming

A crime/ghost story with some erotic scenes to keep things interesting. The performer has a distinct dialect that take a little while to get used to. Take a brief listen before your purchase. All in all, a decent performance and story.

I was provided this audio book in return for my unbiased review.

Lots of Twists

Wayne a detective is trying to solve murders of some sick children molesters, he has to work side by side with the FBI. The people that assist Wayne with the cases are of the seemingly ghostly side. Wayne does not know how to cope with all that is happening around him, while falling for the FBI agent. The twists along the way make the story fun.