Tuesday Book Review: “Simple Witness”

Book reviews are a great way for self-publishing authors to gain exposure. After all, how can someone buy your book if he or she doesn’t know it exists? Paired with other elements of your book promotion strategy, requesting reviews is a great way to get people talking about what you’ve written.

When we read good reviews, we definitely like to share them. It gives the author a few (permanent) moments of fame and allows us to let the community know about a great book. Here’s this week’s book review:

Simple Witness

by Bob Siqveland

Publisher: Outskirts Press

ISBN: 9781478751588

Synopsis*:

Harold Bartz, aka Bandit, has a low IQ which contrasts sharply with his delusions of grandeur. He flees Minneapolis after witnessing a murder. Once in Las Vegas, rather than hiding, he starts cooking up schemes. His pals, Banger and Diggs, soon join him. Bandit has company in Vegas: Yuri Vostov and Nikki Kerlenko, two Russian hit men sent by the sadistic Jethro Plack. A shady telemarketer, Plack separates guileless customers from their money. His company is in Minnesota, but he oversees Internet swindles from a hidden office in London. Plack’s scam, Fortune Fate Lottery, gains the attention of Sean O’Dell, a St. Paul police lieutenant. O’Dell is investigating the explosion of Internet crime and its elderly victims. “C. J.” Johannson, a Minneapolis cop, is assigned a suicide case. Lana Winton’s death however, doesn’t fit the profile of a suicide. C.J. begins gathering clues that lead him to Plack’s office in St. Paul. Plack’s elaborate scheme has evaded detection thus far. Working against him this time however, is his own man, hacker extraordinaire Tommy Ling, who becomes uncomfortable with the idea of destroying the lives of innocent victims. Ling hatches a plan to scam the scammers and become the Robin Hood Hacker. When Bandit finally comes forward, C. J. can go after Plack for murder and O’Dell can foil Plack’s Internet scheme in London. With Plack behind bars, the Robin Hood Hacker makes headlines while Bandit and his pals stumble into a surprise in Vegas.

 * courtesy of Amazon.com

Featured Review:

Harold Bartz is not your usual guy. He has a low IQ, but he is not exactly dumb. When Harold accidentally witnesses a murder, Jethro Plack, the dangerous mob boss, sends some equally dangerous hit men to end his life. Instead of running for the hills, he starts to make plans, starting a chain reaction that makes things worse. Will Harold be able to save his own life? Or will the mob guys get him and end his plans once and for all?

Simple Witness by Bob Siqveland has many characters and all of them bring something different to the story. With nine main characters, the story should have been confusing and irritating. I was so sure that I would put the novel down after I read the first ten chapters, but my heart was telling me to give this novel a chance. Now, I am so glad that I listened to my heart. The story is phenomenal. It is like reading a movie, the thrill, the mystery and the action of the novel was so real that I could almost feel it happening right around me.

Bob Siqveland wrote such vivid descriptions and imagery that I felt could almost taste the action and the feelings of the characters. Each and every character felt real. The novel is not long and the chapters are short, but the reader does not feel left out. Everything you need to know is there and you do not even have to concentrate really hard to find it. There is a charm in the novel and the way it was written. The dialogues were perfect and somewhat complex.

By the time the reader reaches the fifth chapter, he is invested beyond belief. I was taken away by the story and I forgot where I was. This is perfection and one of the best novels I have read so far this year. There is nothing faulty or even questionable. Superb writing skills, best characters and amazing story line! Five stars for a job well done!

– reviewed by Rabia Tanveer for Readers’ Favorite

 Other Reviewers Are Saying …

Bob Siqveland may not have been a sprinter, but a marathon runner he certainly wasn’t either. This tale starts out at a reasonable pace, and then picks up and up and up until you are racing to the end in a frenzy. Couple that with a cast of goofball characters that draw you into their world, everything from the diabolically evil villain Jethro Plack to the angelically stupid Bandit, and you’ve got a recipe for success. With some chapters as short as one and a half to two pages in length it is amazing how the author packs so much detail into such a small space, and leaves you racing from one chapter to the next in anticipation. This is a wild ride, a great read, and just plain a lot of fun.In a world of such cruel uncertainty as ours, it is good to read a tale where the villain gets his just deserts, the good guy gets the girl, and the clueless actually get a break. But I won’t give away the ending, you’ll just have to read it for yourself, something I highly recommend you do. Page turner, plot twists galore, scenes from stodgy old London all the way to the warm streets of Las Vegas, Simple Witness has it all. A good book I can heartily recommend.

– Amazon Reviewer Amazon Customer

This was an awesome story! I’m not sure where to begin about what I liked best about the book itself so I’ll just start with the writing. Mr. Siqveland is a very intelligent writer. I loved the wide variety of vocabulary in this entire story, he uses many terms that I don’t see often in books.

His writing style was very interesting when he introduces and describes characters and events. I felt like I was watching a movie that Guy Ritchie wrote and directed because Mr. Siqveland’s writing in very similar to how Guy Ritchie tells his stories in his movies. For example, some of the chapters are really short, like two pages short, which is fine because it’s just another part of the story that we as readers are catching up on or we are learning something new. There are many characters involved that are all involved in the plot. Each chapter is the point of view of first person from a different character. In the book, I would read about one character and then the next chapter would be from a character in a different environment who I haven’t heard from since 5 chapters ago. This reminded me of Guy Ritchie’s character jumping in his movies when he switches up his scenes. The banter, wit and charm of the dialogue was entertaining. The way Mr. Siqveland writes the funny banter between characters is very similar to how Guy Ritchie wrote Snatch and Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels; it was sharp and poignant.

Normally I don’t like many references to other works of any kind in books but Mr. Siqveland did a nice job on intertwining references and philosophies in this book. It wasn’t over done and it added to the thoughts and feelings to the story.

Besides all of that, the plot was fantastic! There is quite a lot that happens with various characters. I won’t give anything away. The description might look a little confusing with all the characters and descriptions but the book itself is wonderfully written and flows well so it’s not so confusing.

All the characters were very well developed. I felt like I knew all the characters well and I enjoyed them all. I liked that every character in this story had their own agenda going on while there were so many others involved. Every character was unique from one another and brought something different to the story.

Overall, I would highly recommend this story to anyone that wants to read a very smart interesting thriller. Or if you’re a fan of the movies Snatch or Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels; give this book a chance, I’m sure you’ll like it!

I would like to thank Mr. Siqveland for sharing his work with me, it was a pleasure.

– Amazon Reviewer Protozoan

Book Trailer

 

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Self Publishing Advisor