Simon Said

by Sarah R. Shaber

• ISBN10: 1933523654
• ISBN13: 9781933523651
• Publish Date: 15 April 2011 (first published 1 April 1997)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Bella Rosa Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 220
• Language: English

Reviews

[Mystereity Reviews]

The first book in the Simon Said series, and I liked to so much that I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series. The first part of the book had too much detail in some parts and not enough in other parts. The author spent a lot of time detailing the setting, every character's appearance and history, etc. But just a few pages later, the protagonist went home, turned on the shower and opened a can of Coke. It took me a few sentences before I realized the guy was actually in the shower drinking the can of pop. I chalk it up to one of those things where the actions of a character are clear in the author's mind and didn't translate well to the reader. But it's a relatively minor deficiency. Minor spoiler: I was also a little confused about the relationship between Anna, Adam and the father. I wasn't sure if it was just kissing cousins or what until later in the book when it was explained that Adam was Anna's cousin.

Bigger spoiler: The whole subplot of the main character's depression was a little cloying after awhile, in large part because it wasn't set up well enough. All we're told is that he's hung up on his wife who walked out on him. There was little or nothing to hang some sympathy on, so after a while all I could think about was this guy needed to get laid. Seriously, get over it already. But the whole depression thing was rehashed over and over and over and it got really tiring after awhile.

While the conclusion was fairly predictable (figured out both plots well before the end) I still enjoyed following the story to its conclusion. One of the better books I've read this year, I really enjoyed it.