Dirty Sally

Rating:
Summary: A Dazzling Debut Novel
Review: After reading the first few pages, I found myself so engrossed by this story that I couldn't stop reading - I literally couldn't put this book down. Michael Simon captures the parlance of the old-style gum shoe - and this, his debut novel, is sure to become a noir classic. I kept thinking this book would make a great Hollywood movie - suspenseful plot, interesting characters and extremely well-written. Hopefully this will be the first of many more books by this fantastic new author.

Rating:
Summary: Shades of Ellroy
Review: From the opening the author shows his skill. He creates a world and draws the reader in. Though the villain is a little Bondish, the joy of a polished work is enough. Looking forward to more.

Rating:
Summary: Thriller packed with edge-of-your-seat action
Review: Gritty, coarse, rough; ideal descriptions for this debut thriller by a former actor/disc jockey/cab driver/probation officer, to mention only a few of Michael Simon's many careers. Now he can add successful writer to the list.

Sgt. Dan Reles, New Yorker by birth --- and nature --- is striving to assimilate well into life in Austin, Texas. But his current focus is dealing with the recent death of his partner, Joey, and his disturbingly inappropriate feelings for Joey's widow. She has become nearly an obsession, an obsession so blatant that it has earned him sneers and crude comments from fellow officers. He knows that if he doesn't shape up soon, he may be out of a job. Unfortunately, he doesn't have a lot of friends on the APD, being not only a bit of a loner but definitely not a team player when it comes to dirty cops.

On a scorching September evening, Reles catches the call for a possible suicide. But it smells funny to him. A fellow committing suicide by jumping in front of a bus right after a rushed breakfast at a taco stand? While on the scene, searching for body parts to complete the badly mangled corpse, Reles spies a bonafide homicide victim, no doubt about it. Regrettably, more parts are missing from this torso than the bus victim. The missing parts start showing up on the doorsteps of some of Austin's leading citizens, and the police start wondering why. What's their connection? The Austin PD is convinced that, as soon as they can identify the victim --- if they ever locate the hands or the head --- they might have a shot at figuring out motive and finding a suspect. But when the crucial parts surface, they trigger more questions than answers.

Meanwhile, Reles has a nasty run-in with an officer who harbors a dangerous loathing for him. A bad situation deteriorates, and Reles finds himself scheduled before a review board. Bringing the killer to justice is the only thing that will keep him on the force, but his dead partner keeps sidetracking him --- as does his dead partner's widow. Things don't look too good for Sgt. Reles. Then, making himself even more unpopular, he decides to investigate the suspicious suicide as a murder too.

DIRTY SALLY is packed with edge-of-your-seat action. Michael Simon adroitly grips you by the throat and doesn't let go. This book will keep you up all night.

--- Reviewed by Kate Ayers

Rating:
Summary: terrific gritty tale
Review: In 1988 in Austin, Texas, homicide detective Dan Reles feels his world is collapsing with the "Ultimate Sacrifice" death of his partner Joey Velez in the line of duty that makes him feel angry and all alone. The transplanted New York Jew also recently lost his spouse who left him. The Austin PD brass becomes concerned with Dan's violent behavior that could be a chip off the old block amplified by his recent losses; they place him under departmental evaluation.

Reles sees an opportunity to atone for his overly zealous performance when he is assigned to investigate the torso of a prostitute found in a nearby ravine. A macabre twist occurs as her other body parts have been forwarded to prominent men in Austin. As he begins his inquiries into the sleazier side of the state capital, a bus hits a U of T student that only Reles believes might be connected to the homicide he already is investigating.

The investigation is terrific as fans see the underbelly of Austin through the eyes of a wounded cop already down twice. Dan is a fabulous cop struggling with demons, loss of loved ones, and a rage that will not let go as he makes this urban noir work. Though the climax has a body count that only undertakers will appreciate, this gritty tale will lead to Republican Party denials and trashing of author Michael Simon.

Harriet Klausner


Rating:
Summary: Wow
Review: This is a full-on page turner, and has all the elements of a hot series: cool Austin location, the perfect outsider's outsider--Yankee and Jewish Reles, Texas political subterfuge, and a perfect noir sensibility. I tore through this book. I tried hard to take nibbles of the story so that I wouldn't finish it so fast, but I just couldn't stop reading. Whoever this Simon guy is, I'm buying his next book. No, make that: whatever he writes, I'm buying it.