Mad Notions: A True Tale of Murder and Mayhem

by John Lawrence Reynolds

"Twenty years ago, if you had the right connections in this town you could kill most anybody you wanted and get away with it." - Del Smith Sevierville, Tennessee and its neighboring communities-Pigeon... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1552630927
• ISBN13: 9781552630921
• Release Date: May 2000
• Publisher: Key Porter Books
• Length: 271 Pages
• Weight: 1.23 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 1.0" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

Mad Notions

I was watching an episode of a true crime program when a familiar name rang in my ears. Kelly Lovera. I was sad and shocked to learn of his murder. I went to school with him. Junior High School, which was called Middle School, and High School as well. I ordered this book which was very well written and breezed right through it. I thought it really captured what I remembered of Kelly, and what I remember about Kelly is I sat next to him in the seventh grade. He went steady with the girl who had the prettiest handwriting in school. He was friendly and had a beautiful smile. Most girls had a crush on him, and I was no acception. I played in the band with him for a while though he continued to play through High School, while I persued other interests. He was no quitter. I just wanted to share what I remembered about him and to say the book Mad Notions was so well written I would recomend it to anyone who wants to read about the unthinkable actions of a cruel, selfish woman.

A must read, incredible detailed facts.

A great book! I could not put it down. The author did an amazing job of research on this book and made it unfold like a mystery novel. I would love to read any updates he has on this story. I feel like I personally know all of the people in the book. We have visited the Gatlinburg/ Sevier county area several times since I was a kid. We still vacation there at least a couple of times a year. I can't wait to visit there again this fall. It will seem a little spooky being there again where all these events took place.

Mad Notions

We have a home in the Smokies so we were familiar with many of the locations mentioned and had heard of the trial. Even if you are not familiar with the actual events, it's a great read!

Terrific telling of a horrific murder

"Every man is wise when attacked by a mad dog; fewer when pursued by a mad woman. Only the wisest survive when attacked by a mad notion." --Robertson Davies It's unfortunate that, so far, the only people that seem to be reading this book are ones who either knew--or are related to--the people involved (myself included). I say this is unfortunate because John Lawrence Reynolds has written a terrific narrative that deserves to be read by anyone with interest in the true crime genre. His relative closeness to the proceedings--his friend is Brett Rae's father and Reynolds was lucky in getting some of the relatives to help him out with the facts--makes for an engrossing insider's view of one of the worst scandals in East Tennessee's history. Mad Notions could be the best first-person true crime book since Ann Rule's The Stranger Beside Me. Alicia Shayne Good was adopted into a life of affluence when her mother left a volatile relationship with Shayne's father and married local banker Brent Mills from Sevier County, Tennessee. Shayne Mills was popular, intelligent, beautiful (the winner of a Junior Miss competition), and had the best of everything. Soon, however, events (starting with the suspicious death of Mills) conspired to take away Shayne's privilege, beginning her downward spiral. Poor Kelly Lovera, it seems, simply got in her way. A smart small-town boy who was making good, Kelly had just become a lecturer at the local Pellissippi College in Knoxville when Shayne began plotting his death. But she couldn't do it alone, so she began attempting to manipulate her many lovers into assisting her. Unfortunately for Brett Rae, he was in love with Shayne and would do anything she asked. And so November, 1994, found Kelly Lovera dead in his black Jeep on the side of an embankment. What happened exactly is unknown, due to the conflicting reports of those involved, but Reynolds paints a clear portrait of the before and after, while also showing the effects of how a brutal murder in this small town community was not that odd an occurrence, given the area's history of cover-ups. It's not hard to begin making judgments on behavior after the fact--and to sympathize with those we consider unjustly wronged--but one must remember that this is all after Reynolds has done all the work for us. 20/20 hindsight. Reynolds uses his award-winning mystery-writing skills (he has won two Arthur Ellis Awards for his books The Man Who Murdered God and Gypsy Sins) to present the events occurring in Mad Notions in a logical progression that ties everything together, presenting it in an easily understandable progression that leads to great reading. He displays remarkable restraint and doesn't go for the obvious sensationalist tack that often tarnishes otherwise good writing in this genre. There is a fascinating story here that doesn't need any assistance and Reynolds lets its own fast-paced, suspenseful nature take the fore. His first-person narration makes the reading that much

Close to Home

Mr. Reynolds keeps you right there to the end. Even if I was not from Sevier County, I couldn't put this book down. The Rae family moved in across the street from me in the 80's. I quickly became friends with Lana, Brett's sister. They were a very nice family and I enjoyed spending time with them. This book gave me a better understanding of one of the most tragic stories my hometown has ever known, possibly since the tragic "Tattoo Eddie" murders. I will read this authors other books and would love to talk with him!