Title: Someone Else’s Life
Author: Kevin J. Simington
Publisher: Self-published
Publication Date: July 11, 2020
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
A brilliantly crafted story of a struggling private detective and the cases he works. Much more than a simple detective story, this is a complex portrayal of a good man who is ultimately pushed to extraordinary limits.
A mysterious case of identity switching turns deadly when struggling private investigator, John Targett, becomes involved. As John seeks to unravel one mystery, he is also forced to deal with an escalating menace when he becomes the target of a vicious gang whose path he has crossed. As the twin plots intertwine and the threats escalate, John is forced to take extreme measures to protect his daughter and fight for his own life. Plagued by his own demons and trying to raise his daughter alone, this is a beautifully crafted story of the lengths to which one man will go to protect those he loves. At times tender, filled with sparkling wit and peppered with edge-of-your-seat action, this is a multi-facetted mystery that will satisfy on many levels.
Why This Book
Someone Else’s Life is actually quite a fun mystery/thriller read, mostly because Targett has such a fun and sarcastic voice. Following him on his case of swapped identities, and as he tries really, really hard to protect his teen daughter, was really fun. There are some nice plot twists and some unexpected romance and partnership thrown into his life. Watching things be a bit upended for him was great, especially since he hardly seemed to take much as seriously as he should. It’s his case, though, that needs to be paid attention to.
There’s something both unexpected and what should be expected about the end to this book. It’s startling and really sent a chill down my spine. It follows perfectly from Targett’s case, but is also such a surprise. I loved that I absolutely wasn’t expecting it, but my favorite part of it was just how perfectly it capped this book. Sadly, it leaves me wanting a second book and, as far as I can tell, it doesn’t look like there will be one.
Reviews
My review: “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”
Julie Haiselden gave this 4 stars, saying “I feel overall the structure hangs together like a collection of short encounters in the life of our main character. On the plus side, the book is engaging and the humour alone makes it a very easy read and I fully appreciated the amount of research the author has brought to every element of the overall tale”
Purchase Links
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Check out all the other books featured this month on The Curated Bookshelf.
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