Dead Reckoning

By: Caitlin Rother

Narrated by: Julie McKay

Happy and retired, Tom and Jackie Hawks lived a charmed life in sunny Southern California. They were delighted when former child star Skylar Deleon and his pregnant wife, Jennifer, offered cash to purchase their 55-foot yacht, the Well Deserved.

But a trial voyage turned into a nightmare. Out at sea, the Hawkses begged for their lives as they were forced to sign everything over to Skylar. In return, they were tied to the ship's anchor and thrown overboard - alive.

Skylar and Jennifer's twisted story became even more shocking when Skylar's unusual sexual motivations were revealed in court. After killing a man while out of jail on work furlough, he reportedly tried to hire hits from prison on four witnesses, including his father. For this former child actor, the answer to "Where are they now?" is death row.

©2011 Caitlin Rother (P)2016 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Well researched and a quick, engrossing read, this should be popular with true crime readers, especially the Ann Rule crowd." (Library Journal)

True Crime At It's Finest

Caitlin Rother does it again! It's definitely an easy listen, the narrator makes you feel like your listening to one of those true crime shows but the story is just amazing in itself & beautifully written. Ms. Rother makes you feel as if you are the lead detective trying to piece together what happen to the missing couple and brings you right into the victims family making you feel as if you are apart of this story. She leaves no question unanswered and brings you a story that will stick with you for years. If you are a true fan of true crime I highly recommend this book.

too long and drawn out

I did enjoy the book, but it was too repetative and drawn out. I think the story could have been done in half the time.

Very good presentation

This is a haunting crime. The story was told well. I would recommend it. To anyone who reads true crime books.

Good but does drag

Any additional comments?

It is a good listen, but because it repeats the case for multiple defendants it is, as others have said a little repetitive. The narrator is very good. Well worth a listen

Excellent Storytelling

A gripping and sad tale. The author does a great job in providing a detailed back story for all parties in the book w flash forwards. I will be purchasing another book from Caitlin.

Fantastic book I cannot put it down

This book was so good I am listening to it a second time as there are probably some parts that I missed or could not put together
I think the author is very good this is the second book cover as I've liked

Great Narration

I loved the narration of this book. The story was intense, and hard to believe people can do this to one another.

Slow!

Slow paced and draggy which was helped along by the narrator. This story will make the very bottom of my true crime list, the first of which I could barely finish without fast forwarding.

Disappointing

Lots of miss pronunciation and factual errors, might have been better with a different narrator.

Disappointed

For me, this was one of those rare cases where story as presented on true crime tv shows was better than the book.
The story itself was shocking but that wasn’t enough to save the book because of the author’s writing style, which was just kind of fact based and failed to give life to the characters.
The narrator was even worse, in my opinion. As mentioned by other reviewers (they aren’t wrong) the narrator’s delivery was robotic, even hypnotic and monotonous.
After all, we are talking about a shocking murder - but the narrator’s tone is mostly flat while at times it sounds inappropriately a little too upbeat, like a game show host describing a prize. It’s unexpected and unsettling.
There is another book written about this crime, but I didn’t buy it because it’s not as recent. That book might be a better choice.