Kevin J Simington

HA!, I WAS STRUCK SPEECHLESS, BUT I JUST LOVED THIS BOOK !!! What a boob John was when Quinn and his daughter started to talk the "cool" language that he didn't understand, and I confess, I know some slang. John Targett, is a private investigator and he teaches a free self defense for women. On a steak out, he sees a guy shoot a clerk and run out the store. His training kicks in and suddenly he is all over the news. The guy he tackled is a gang member and now, they are a threat to his daughter's safety. Now John has to devise a plan to keep her safe, and he takes his fight to the gang. A Brilliant BOOK AND A PAGE TURNER THAT LEFT ME LAUGHING AT THE END!… (mais)

Review of eBook

When Cory Wainright tells private investigator John Targett that he does not believe that he is actually himself. It turns out that discrepancies in his birth certificate and his baby health clinic booklet, along with the discovery of a hidden box of baby items have caused him to question his identity.

While he works Cory’s case, John becomes the target of a revenge-seeking, malicious gang. Their increasing attacks force John to take extreme measures to protect his fifteen-year-old daughter, Addie. Since the murder of her mother, Jessie, some five years earlier, he worries that he’s not doing a good enough job as a single parent. But the escalating gang attacks cause John to consider the steps necessary to protect his daughter.

What will John discover about Cory’s strange case? And what about the gang?

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With the narrative firmly focused on John Targett, readers see the unfolding events in this compelling tale from his perspective. With well-defined, realistic characters and a strong plot, the danger is a constant undercurrent as the unfolding story takes readers through the investigations and the gang run-ins.

There’s no stopping to catch a breath; the action here is non-stop and pulls the reader into the story. Humor holds court here; there’s a bit of sarcasm, but the witty repartees between John and Addie are sure to keep readers chuckling . . . it’s one of the highlights in the telling of the tale.

Each of John’s cases is interesting; sometimes the outcome of his investigation into a case seems obvious; other times, it catches the reader unaware. Between the interesting cases and the running banter with Costa in the Beanstalk is priceless. Readers will find all this leads to a stunning denouement they simply won’t see coming. [And, perhaps, another book?]

Highly recommended.… (mais)

How far would you go it you were a PI and your daughter was in danger?

Honestly, I've been trying to cut down on the mystery and thriller reading. They're just a little too real right now. But, when Mr. Simington contacted me for a review, there was just something about the blurb that excited me. Maybe it had to do with his description mentioning "character-driven" and "fascinating characters". Sometimes I find authors' descriptions of their novels to be a bit overblown, but, in this case, I'm glad I went with my instincts because it was spot on! There's a large part of me that's hoping this is the start to a series because I really want to see the characters again.

The Plot: All About One Man

It all starts with John Targett innocently and helpfully making a citizen's arrest after a guy killed a convenience store worker. No big deal, until he finds out the guy he captured was a gang member, and now the gang has him in their sights. But, really, no big deal. John was in the military; he can handle himself and keep his teenage daughter safe.

That doesn't stop a mysterious young woman named Quinn from breaking in and talking him into hiring her as his assistant. She has some serious tech skills, so, sure, he lets her work for him. She comes in useful, too, when a case walks in, the guy asserting he's no who he's supposed to be. Baffling at first, Quinn manages to dig into some classified files and discovers that, yup, he's right.

Meanwhile, the gang is still a threat, but John has a plan. It might be a little dangerous, but John will do anything to protect his family. After all, he's ex-military with a PI license.

There's a lot going on in this book: John PO'ing a gang, a fascinating case about identity, John's typical PI work, and a bit of romance. It all works well together since the focus of the book is John Targett himself. Someone Else's Life beautifully introduces him and then throws the reader straight into his life from page one. The title doesn't make a whole lot of sense until later on, but it's actually a very chillingly perfect title.

With so many threads running through this book, it's easy to say it's too much and there's no focus to it. None of the cases prove to be a real focal point and the gang parts are interspersed in a way that doesn't make them feel like a focal point either. But it does work out brilliantly. This is a fascinating book about one man and the lengths he'll go not just for his clients, but for his family. In the end, it's easy to see every subplot adding another leg to support the real plot, turning it into a well-oiled machine.

The Characters: Completely Natural

Someone Else's Life is told from John's perspective. He has a unique and hilariously sarcastic voice that adds humor, levity, and a strong component to his character. His answers to law enforcement officials were also tinged with the perfect amounts of sarcasm and wit, every word he says carefully balanced between truth and lie. Until it comes to his personal life, which is a bit of a mess since his wife was murdered five years ago and he now finds himself alone with a fifteen-year-old daughter who speaks in a, seemingly, foreign language. He manages to keep things together and his wits about him in an incredibly mature and responsible way, until it comes to Claire, the beautiful doctor who helps sew him up. Then he's just adorably clueless, but it just adds another layer to this guarded, dutiful, protective, well-meaning man.

The best part of the characters was that they each had a specific role and place. Not only did they feel like real people, but they also added something to John's character without feeling like that was their only role. Their interactions with him and each other were fun, lifelike, and spoke to generational differences in a really fun way. It was natural and completely believable and made sense when characters vanished for a while. They way the characters come and go feels a lot like the way life moves. On certain days, one is more likely to see someone. That's how the characters here behaved, and it only helped make the story feel more lifelike.

The Setting: Northern California

Most of Someone Else's Life takes place in Northern California, in Santa Clara county. Part of it also takes place in a little town in Mexico. The seedier parts of both locations are focused on since there a decent amount of gang activity in the book, but, outside of that, it felt suburban with "yummy mommies" at soccer games and the mention of Claire moving away from the down town area.

John's office is in a mixed use area as he and his daughter live above his office space. He also rents out an adjacent space to a coffee shop owner with whom he has a delightful relationship. It proves to be both advantageous and dangerous, adding an interesting edge to the story as business, daily living, and frequent threats are thrown into one place. In general, though, the focus was not on describing the setting, but on using it as the background for the story, giving it roots and providing information about John and the people around him.

Overall: Perfection

Between a plethora of fun, interesting, and dangerous cases; the pursuit of a personal cause; and fun well-developed characters, Someone Else's Life delivers on every front. It's delightful, witty, dangerous, and thought-provoking. It asks the question of what if your life wasn't supposed to be yours in a most chilling way. The danger level is high throughout the novel, constantly raising the stakes and potentially making the reader breathless as events unfold. It's thrilling, and absolutely ends on the best possible note.

My Reaction

I've been trying to cut down on mysteries and thrillers lately, but something about Someone Else's Life just pulled at me, and I'm so glad I read it! It's fast-paced with a lot going on, but it's all centered around John, who was amusingly sarcastic, had the perfect comebacks, was charmingly confused about the "language" his daughter and assistant speak, and adorably out at sea when it came to romance. I did feel the romance moved a little too fast, but John and Claire were just too cute together. I adored this book, though there were odd words and phases that are decidedly more British than American that kept throwing me off. Still, I'd even go as far as saying I think John Targett is my newest character crush, and I'd really, really like to see him again. The whole book seems to be swimming in so many subplots it's a little difficult to figure out what it's centered around, but keep going and the pay off is so worth it. I mean, that end was just perfection and tied it all together so well.

Thank you to the author, Kevin J. Simington, for a free e-copy. All opinions expressed are my own.… (mais)

Earth has been destroyed by religious zealots and the last of humanity takes to the stars, only to discover their battle for survival has only just begun.

Some months ago, I was fortunate to be able to review Someone Else’s Life by Kevin J. Simington. I adored it, and the author was kind enough to offer The Stars That Beckon, so I’m thrilled to be able to provide a review of the first in his sci-fi StarPath Series. Even though science fiction hardly ever agrees with me, something about it keeps calling me. Usually, the science is completely over my head, but it was actually incredibly accessible to me in this novel, and it really helped me enjoy it.

The Plot: Easy to Digest Science
It’s an ordinary day on future Earth for Zac Perryman, a history professor, when he’s unceremoniously escorted to a research and leisure facility, Luna City, on the moon. There, he learns his wife is missing, not long before explosions rock the Kepler Station above Earth and Earth itself.

With Earth nearly destroyed and the population decimated and in even graver danger, the survivors on the moon turn to Genesis, an incredibly advanced starship, to take them to a new home. But a power struggle between the head of the research facility, Dr.Wisecroft, and the captain of the ship begins,and promises to have long lasting effects.

Their new home, finally reached after spending over 3000 years unable to escape the pull of a rogue black hole, though, has them full of questions. Devoid of life, but appearing perfectly untouched and technologically advanced, the survivors end up in two camps, one who follows Zac and his friends and one that follows Dr. Wisecroft, who also hates Zac. But it’s just the beginning as they learn about their new home that holds more than food and shelter.

I too often lament that science fiction is too far over my head for me to properly enjoy it, though I’ll go to it over and over again. But The Stars That Beckon was such a delightful sci-fi read because it actually made sense! Well, it made more sense that all the other sci-fi I’ve read. Some of it was still a little too far afield for me, but the science actually made sense and felt completely plausible to me. It was explained in easy enough terms without feeling like it was dumbed down. I loved being able to sit back and enjoy the story.

The story wasn’t quite as exceptional and polished as Someone Else’s Life as it was more tell than show and the beginning was definitely more action-packed and exciting that the rest of the book, but it was still enjoyable. I also felt myself forgiving the quick gloss over events in between larger plot points and all the tell to make up for it since this is one massive story and reading a thousand pages just to get through the first book isn’t really something many readers want to invest in. I loved that the story was so massive and held so many things to find and figure out. There were so many threads all woven around a group of survivors learning how to re-create a functioning society. A little disappointing in execution, but the story is brilliant and the end leaves off with more questions and more adventures. There’s a tantalizing pull to the story that the tell parts actually help with as they often provide tidbits of information I desperately want to know more about. Like the end. I was completely not expecting the end.

The Characters: A Rather Unique Group
The main characters of The Stars That Beckon were incredibly fun with unique personalities that somehow meshed really well. I loved that they were all given their own histories and let the circumstances they found themselves in and the relationships they ended up forming guide their development.

Zac, Kit, Martinez, Keo, Jasmine, and Melody form the bedrock of both the book and the survivors as a whole. The story focuses on them and the various important roles they fulfill as they make the new world their home. It was lovely to see them come together in the face of disaster and loss and form a really tight-knit group. They felt like a family, and I loved how they all rallied around orphaned Melody, creating a home, warmth, and love for her to thrive in. They were all so much fun, serious and humorous in turns, though I adored Keo’s perpetual laidbackness and loved watching Martinez’s serious exterior crack. I also loved the emotional depth between them. Being some of the only human survivors, they are inherently dependent on each other, especially to perpetuate the human race. I did feel some of the relationships came out of the blue and others felt a little too rushed, but I also understood it and their necessity.

The Setting: A New World
Earth of the future as portrayed in The Stars That Beckon is one I hope never to have to see. It’s feels toxic and tainted and the zealous religious group, the Caliphate, at the heart of the destruction doesn’t help matters. It was fascinating to read how society had evolved between now and then, and also maybe hit a little too close to reality at times, but I’d really rather not be alive if that happens.

I was a little disappointed at not being able to explore Genesis more. It’s construction was fascinating and I really enjoyed the ships’s AI, but the characters spent most of their time either in cryogenic sleep or disembarked on their new planet. I always fear I’ll never understand how, exactly, starships might function, but Simington did an amazing job of not overwhelming the reader with needless details and instead just putting it into action.

The new world was fascinating. Similar to Earth, it felt familiar and alien at the same time. There’s a history to it and still more to be uncovered about it, but what is presented makes me think of a barren paradise. It seems perfect, almost too perfect, but it becomes home. I liked that there was plenty to explore as well as untold dangers lurking around. Watching the survivors learn to survive and make it home was fascinating. Sometimes I did wish it would be a little more action-packed, a little more like the beginning of the book, but I also liked how idyllic it felt and really enjoyed reading about how the survivors made it habitable for them. I also loved the pinpricks of something sinister I got the further I read and the more I learned.

Overall: A Well-Balanced Sci-Fi Novel
The Stars That Beckon is a fun science fiction read that manages to make the science understandable and seem perfectly logical. After an action-packed beginning, the rest almosts feels lackluster, but learning how the survivors survive and thrive was fascinating in it’s own way. The characters were fun and humorous in turns with streaks of seriousness that helped move things along. The settings were fresh and varied. Overall, a well-balanced book that presents an intriguing story, and start to the series, alongside fun characters, The Stars That Beckon is an accessible sci-fi book that perfectly balances the science and the fun.

Thank you to the author, Kevin J. Simington, for a review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.… (mais)