Simon Said by Sarah R. Shaber (2011-04-15)

I have lived in the Raleigh - Chapel Hill area for 5 years now and it was so much fun reading about the area. I thought the book was well written and I really liked the characters. I read this on the kindle but am going to buy the next books now that they are rereleased!

This book is exactly what I have been searching for in these times of rather brutal thrillers which are very popular in my country. As I have mentioned they are too brutal for my taste, full of massacres and pools of blood. Simon Said is the evidence that wonderful mystery can be written, that the plot can be captive, clever and witty without these attributes. Even that the sleuth can be interesting without being drunk with cigarette hanging from his mouth. The story itself is conveniently paced, so you can absorb the subtleties.. as I adore detective stories with little something more, I really have enjoyed the insight to the life of universities, professors, and archeology.
Wonderful for rainy/snowy days by the fireplace, with cup of tea steaming in your hand...won't scare you to death but will hold you till the last page!

This was the first of the Simon Shaw Murder Mysteries I read and it won't be the last. The characters are interesting and as you read you are drawn into the plot rapidly. Once you have started the book it will be difficult to put it down. The twists are most unexpected.

I like the professor--he is an interesting character, and I love the college campus setting.
I think that Simon is part historian, part forensic specialist.
Edge of the seat at times, really kept me interested throughout.
Anybody that likes history, mystery and suspense would like this book.

I have read three Simon Shaw myesteries and this one is as good as the first two. I
have found it to be very interesting and it holds my courisity chapter to chapter.
I would recommend this book for a good reading choice.

Shame on the publisher for very poor job of conversion to ebook.

I feel sorry for the author because this is a pretty decent book but the lack of proof reading and editing of the ebook version has taken much of the enjoyment out of the reading.

A year date at the end of a sentence is simply replaced with a blank - such as "this happened in 1926." becomes "this happened in ." I have found this to be the case in quite a number of recent ebook conversions, authors proof read your books after they are converted and complain to your publisher. I think this is happening during the page number removal process. It is just plain sloppiness that there is no proof reading or fixing this. We the book buyers should demand our money back, if this would be the case in a hard back book, the book store would have to take a return. This really destroys the value of the ebook and can hurt this industry if it does not improve.

I for one will start asking for my money back at the store, I hope they take this seriously.

I was really taken by this mystery because my son lives in Raleigh which is the setting for the book. The main character is a likeable and vulnerable college professor. This book is a good afternoon read--won't win any literary prizes or stretch your mind but it is entertaining and reasonably well written. I will read more of this series.

Shaber does a nice job creating a mystery puzzle. I thoroughly enjoyed the murder mystery of the past while murder attempts are going on in the present. It was an intriguing change of pace for me. With all of the suspense it is nice to have a little clean romance going on as well. I would recommend reading this book.

Good story, just several places that were boring to get through. It was a lovely clean book, i.e. no solicitous sex, language, gore. The mystery was fun. I would recommend it for a quick read. Very easy to put down and pick up later after a break and know where you were. I love the historical aspect of it.

Good story and ok characters. Writing ok. My main criticism is the obvious errors and unfinished sentences. This book needs an editor and a proof reader. Disappointing to pay for a book and have so many errors that are there just due to sloppiness.

I felt sorry for Simon for all the times something went wrong and he ended up hurt. I felt like he was hurt a little too much. I did not understand how he got out of the cistern at the end. He was humble. I liked that. It was good to read about a police officer who cares about cases and puts forth the extra effort.

I just love all the Simon books, I actually purchased this book and read it via my kindle and then bought the paperback version of the book as a gift for someone else because I enjoy these books so much. All of the Simon books have great story line and really keep your interest.

The story was just okay. A lot of stupid information was given in detail (who cares if they turned around in a driveway, went down three more streets before getting on a freeway? Anyone?) But the most frustrating part is the gross negligence in proofreading. Information missing, illogical information (the guns were made from 1965 to 1935) is just insulting. I will make a note of this author too and avoid all further books of hers besides this professor Simon whose constant food nausea was just plain gross.

I read this series years ago as library books and enjoyed them so much I went out and bought the one book they were missing and donated it to the library after I read it to complete the series on their shelves.

Yes, there are formatting problems but I really didn't mind them even if they were a bit disconcerting—the story still hung together and I enjoyed it. I'm sure Sarah Shaber got the rights back St. Martins Press and decided to self publish... more power to her! And thank you for making them available again!

I love Professor Simon Shaw, he's a gentle soul and this is a gentle mystery with some lovely twists and turns. It's set in the mid 1990's North Carolina before the rush of cell phones and internet and it shows. It's not a shoot 'em up, car chase kind of mystery. It's a gentle, thinking mystery! I thoroughly enjoyed this series the first time I read it and now I get to enjoy all of them again!

I am guilty of rounding up here, Three stars seemed harsh for what was a likable, if predictable, cozy.I found the main characters pleasant and engaging,the setting well-described and well-presented, but the mysteries not very mysterious. I read mysteries for enjoyment, not to match wits with the protagonist. a history professor. However, I felt that the author a bit heavy-handed with the clues, to the point that I was pages and even chapters ahead of the professor in deciding whodunit.
I did not see the formatting errors an earlier reviewer noted, so I presume they have been fixed in the current edition.

A main character with a strong sense of Southern pride and an interesting insight into the divide that still exists between the North and the South in the US. One of the things that intrigued me was how one of the teachers was teaching a version of the Civil War that insists slavery was not the real catalyst for the war. The Kindle version has a few minor formatting glitches, but nothing that disrupts the flow of the story. The main character is dealing with depression and learning to find his own voice. In the midst of all that he wants, no he needs to find out what happened to that young girl whose body has turned up after being missing for over 50 years. Simon isn't your typical detective type, the writer has created a person who is vulnerable and weak at times, but that endears him more to the reader. I found the text slightly stilted in places, but enjoyed the mystery and the read.

Simon is a history professor at a small North Carolina college who gets caught up in the long-ago murder of a young woman on campus. His investigation into who murdered her is fascinating.
The text has an annoying number of typos as well as strange symbols here and there - too bad in such a clever story.

Very solid entertainment. More cerebral than physical, but there are some physical moments. I totally enjoyed the research of a cold case and the interesting characters. If you're looking for stress intensity, this is not your book. If like old-fashioned mystery, then this could be for you.

I am guilty of rounding up here, Three stars seemed harsh for what was a likable, if predictable, cozy.I found the main characters pleasant and engaging,the setting well-described and well-presented, but the mysteries not very mysterious. I read mysteries for enjoyment, not to match wits with the protagonist. a history professor. However, I felt that the author a bit heavy-handed with the clues, to the point that I was pages and even chapters ahead of the professor in deciding whodunit.
I did not see the formatting errors an earlier reviewer noted, so I presume they have been fixed in the current edition.

A main character with a strong sense of Southern pride and an interesting insight into the divide that still exists between the North and the South in the US. One of the things that intrigued me was how one of the teachers was teaching a version of the Civil War that insists slavery was not the real catalyst for the war. The Kindle version has a few minor formatting glitches, but nothing that disrupts the flow of the story. The main character is dealing with depression and learning to find his own voice. In the midst of all that he wants, no he needs to find out what happened to that young girl whose body has turned up after being missing for over 50 years. Simon isn't your typical detective type, the writer has created a person who is vulnerable and weak at times, but that endears him more to the reader. I found the text slightly stilted in places, but enjoyed the mystery and the read.

Simon is a history professor at a small North Carolina college who gets caught up in the long-ago murder of a young woman on campus. His investigation into who murdered her is fascinating.
The text has an annoying number of typos as well as strange symbols here and there - too bad in such a clever story.

Very solid entertainment. More cerebral than physical, but there are some physical moments. I totally enjoyed the research of a cold case and the interesting characters. If you're looking for stress intensity, this is not your book. If like old-fashioned mystery, then this could be for you.

Winning the Malice Domestic/St. Martin's Press contest for best first novel brought mystery lovers a special new amateur sleuth in Professor Simon Shaw. A whiz kid professor in a small Raleigh NC college, Simon is drawn into his new part-time career when a buried body is found at a dig near the historic Bloodworth House on campus. Simon realizes the body must be that of the heiress to the Bloodworth fortune, Anne, who disappeared about 70 years prior.

Simon is totally endearing, and the rest of the cast of characters are well drawn. People who know Raleigh will know exactly where every scene is located. And mystery lovers will be delighted to find a delightful traditional series!

I read the first chapter and immediately went to borrow any others. I'm really enjoying this series. The mysteries are very good. I do love the characters. They seem more real than most in other mysteries. The thing I appreciate most is the way the author handles the Civil War and racism in the south. I don't need lectures about rights and wrongs. I don't want apologies for loving the south. The author does a great job of debating the issues within the dialog and presenting things as they were and are. The history of the area is fascinating. I am so glad that I found this series.

Just finished reading all five of the books in this series. Gobbled them down and was amazed at the amount of research that the author did to make them so believable and interesting! Can't wait to start her other series. I learned so many interesting things while being entertained by the story. Going to download her other books NOW!

...and this one did...I always love finding good, well written mystery-type books from which I can learn a little history, etc. It's not heavy with all that testosterone shoot'em up of other books, but has smooth character development and an interesting plot, reminding me a tiny bit of some Agathas of the past....and I have only reached chapter 4!!!...A book has to 'grab me' from the beginning; I hate trite dialogue, etc., and mainly love a good literary style and good prose with good English usage appropriate to the character. I think this is the 'beginning of a beautiful friendship' with Ms Saber's Professor Shaw!

I originally read this book when it was published, but I thoroughly enjoyed rereading. I had forgotten the main character, Simon, and all his quirky ways. The characters are delightful, especially all the college professors. Simon stands in a different world with his Coke addiction. The mystery revolves around a rather dated corpse discovered on the college grounds, and then a coroner decides that the death is by murder. Simon prods along with his mental and physical worries, but finds the conclusion in the end. The novel is sound and a cozy mystery, with few graphic details. Plus, an added bonus is learning about history.

Simon Shaw is a star history professor at Kenan College in Raleigh, NC. When a colleague doing an archaelogical dig at a historic home discovers a woman's body, Simon is intrigued. Could she be the heiress who ws thought to have disappeared? Simon must overcome attempts on his life, faculty infighting, and indifference on the part of the police to engage them in solving the mystery.

Shaber's slight volume is fun and not too demanding. She introduces a nice cast of quickly sketched characters who we can safely bet will reappear in sequels. Simon himself is a quirky and attractive character, enough so that I'll keep my eyes open for subsequent volumes, although not enough so to send me on a frantic search for them.