Simon Said

By Sarah R Shaber

      UK readers get a chance to read the first in the series of novels about the crime-solving exploits of Professor Simon Shaw. The college’s youngest professor (and a Pulitzer Prize winner) has had a tough time, with his wife leaving him, and he has been suffering from depression. A colleague is out to get him, and it seems as though he needs something to take his mind off his worries. The diversion comes from an unexpected source: an archaeological dig at Colonial Bloodworth House in the grounds of Kenan College yields a dead body. Although this has been there for decades, the gunshot wounds and hasty burial point to murder, but on a case this cold, who is going to bother to find out whodunit? Suddenly Simon has a new interest in his life--but only if he can stay alive long enough to solve it.

    Although at times I wanted to shake the maudlin little professor and insist that he count his many blessings, this is an enjoyable page-turner for a first novel. College politics vie with police procedures for attention, and there are some fine descriptions of modern life in a small Southern town. It isn’t even all serious; I think my favorite parts were the satirical descriptions of an awful--but highly convincing--hospital. I didn’t even guess it all, although for true whodunit status the next novel ought to have a bit more of a teaser. If you like cozies, this one is for you.