Simon Says by Bryan Thomas Schmidt (John Simon, book 1)

Author: Bryan Thomas Schmidt
Series:
John Simon Thrillers
Cover Artist: Kent Holloway/A.R. Crebs
Released: October 2019
Publisher: Boralis Books
ISBN: 9781622257508
Hardcover/Paperback/ebook
$25.99/$15.99/$4.99

Buy:
Amazon logo
B&N logo
indiebound-logo
goodreads-logo2

For a sneak peek of the first 3 chapters, click here.

For notification when this and other John Simon books release, sign up here.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Master Detective John Simon is a tough, streetwise seventeen year veteran of the Kansas City Police Department with a healthy disdain for the encroachment of modern technology into his workplace. When his partner is kidnapped after a routine stakeout by thugs with seeming ties to connected, wealthy art dealer Benjamin Ashman, he’s determined to find the truth, but the only witness is a humanoid android named Lucas George. Reluctantly, he takes Lucas along as he begins to investigate and soon finds himself depending more and more on the very technology he so distrusts. Meanwhile, Simon’s precocious teenage daughter begins to teach Lucas how to sound more like a cop using dialogue from famous cop movies. If only he’d use them in the appropriate context.

As the two men dig in deeper, they find themselves and every witness they touch faced with danger from assassins as they begin to uncover a conspiracy that may stretch from the heights of the KCPD itself to South America and beyond. Can they identify the guilty before it’s too late without getting themselves killed in the process?

This exciting new mix of near future science fiction and procedural thriller captures the gritty realism of Michael Connelly’s Bosch, the humor and action of Lethal Weapon, and follows the classic science fiction tradition of Isaac Asimov’s City of Steel. From the editor of the international bestselling phenomenon The Martian by Andy Weir, and the national bestselling author of tales including official entries in The X-Files, Predator, and the Joe Ledger thrillers, comes this action-packed first entry in an exciting new series.

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING

“Action packed with vivid characters, Bryan Thomas Schmidt’s SIMON SAYS will keep you on the edge of your seat with suspense, while touching your heart and making you laugh at the same time. A great start to a great new series.” — Jeremy Robinson, International Bestselling Author of Infinite and Alter

“SIMON SAYS is packed with action, snarky humor, action, great characters, and even more action! A dynamic read, cover to cover.” — Jonathan Maberry, New York Timesbestselling author of the Joe Ledger thrillers

“SIMON SAYS takes me back to the mystery shows and buddy cop movies of my youth, like Rockford Files or 48 Hours but with a modern gritty edge—and an android!”—Martin L. Shoemaker, author of Today I Am Carey

Reviews

“Fans of Robocop or Asimov’s robots series might like this, as will those who simply like a good police drama. Schmidt did ride-alongs with the local police force, and it shows in the level of fascinating detail. It’s a great mystery that makes use of–but does not bore you with–scifi and police story tropes. A good, solid, story. RECOMMENDED” — Abyss & Apex, October 2019

This is a detective story fan’s detective story
Do not buy this book thinking that you will read it at night to relax before bed. Your sleep will be disrupted and you suddenly discover that it is 0200 on a work night. The realism of the language and familiarity with the location made me feel that I was experiencing a snapshot of my future.

The interplay between Artificial Intelligence and humanity always intrigues me. I wondered if this book told a human/robot buddy cop story like the some of my favorite robot novels. It wasn’t. This is a unique story that will rile the reader up and provoke hours of speculation.

I liked this enough to purchase a Kindle copy in addition to my paperback.