A review by judyward
Simon Said by Sarah R. Shaber

3.0

Tenured history professor Simon Shaw teaches at small, private Kenan College in Raleigh, North Carolina. He has published an award winning book , is newly divorced, and is fighting depression and anxiety. Dr. Shaw is also an expert on the history of Bloodworth House which is owned by the college and when one of his faculty friends unearths a body during an archeological dig in one of the outbuildings behind Bloodworth House, Shaw is called to the scene. He realizes that the body has probably been buried for over 70 years and he decides that he needs to find out what happened and why. There were several aspects of this book that I really enjoyed. First, I live a little more than an hour away from Raleigh and love the city. I particularly like books where I am familiar with the setting and reading this was like taking a trip down to Raleigh and visiting some of my favorite locations. Also, after working as a college instructor for over 30 years, the descriptions of college politics and the tensions that can exist among faculty members in a department over teaching schedules, committee appointments, office space, etc. were very familiar. However, a major disappointment was the end of the book. While the plot was building in an enjoyable way through the first 90% of the book, the ending seemed rushed and out of character with the rest of the plot. Even even with that, this was a very enjoyable read.