Payne & Jones
The Payne & Jones series is a collection of books written by Chris Kuzneski, an American author. The series follows the adventures of Jonathon Payne and David "D.J." Jones, former members of the MANIACs—an elite Special Forces unit in the U.S. military. Although the main characters are ex-soldiers, the novels are not “military” thrillers. The Payne & Jones series has loose ties with Chris Kuzneski's other series, The Hunters.
Books
- The Plantation
- Sign of the Cross
- Sword of God
- The Lost Throne
- The Prophecy
- The Secret Crown
- The Death Relic
- The Einstein Pursuit
Recurring characters
Jonathon Payne, a retired Special Forces officer and former commander of the MANIACs. Payne is CEO of Payne Industries, a hi-tech company. He was introduced in The Plantation and has appeared in every entry of the series thus far.
David "D.J." Jones, Payne’s former second-in-command with the MANIACs. Best friends with Payne, he operates a detective agency out of the Payne Industries building in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Jones was introduced in The Plantation and has appeared in every entry of the series thus far.
Nick Dial, director of the [...] division of Interpol. Dial was introduced in Sign of the Cross and made a brief appearance in Sword of God. His character was featured in Kuzneski’s thriller, The Lost Throne. His character played a large role in Kuzneski's eighth entry in the series, The Einstein Pursuit.
Petr Ulster, historian and curator of the Ulster Archives in Küsendorf, Switzerland.
Randy Raskin, a computer researcher at the Pentagon. He can access classified information that would otherwise be unavailable to Payne and Jones. The character is based on a real-life person, a college friend of Kuzneski’s from the University of Pittsburgh. Raskin was introduced in Sign of the Cross and has appeared in every entry of the series thus far.
MANIACs, an elite Special Forces team composed of the best soldiers in the United States military. The term MANIACs is an acronym for Marines Army Navy Intelligence Air Force and Coast Guard.