G485 Book Review of Death Never Sleeps by E.J Simon

Name of Book: Death Never Sleeps

Author: E.J Simon

ISBN: 978-0-9912564-0-2

Publisher: Simon/Zef Publishing

Part of a Series: Prequel to Death Logs In

Type of book: New York, illegal business, gambling, wealth, corporation, taking over, family, brotherhood, marriages, relationships, thriller, murders, mysteries, unexpected life

Year it was published: 2013

Summary:

"A story of murder, betrayal and love with twists and turns that as a professional detective even I didn't expect... A Must Read! E.J. Simon is the real deal."

VITO COLUCCI, JR., author of the true crime book, "Rogue Town, A City Under the Stranglehold of Organized Crime"

"This reader white-knuckled her way from start to finish. Simon is a master at the game of suspense. A page-turner at its best that left me begging for more."

JUDITH MARKS-WHITE, author of "Seducing Harry" and "Bachelor Degree"

"DEATH NEVER SLEEPS... will make you ponder the technology suturing our lives. You will also question where life ends, and where death begins."

MARK RUBINSTEIN, author of "Mad Dog House" and "Love Gone Mad"

DO THE DEAD HAVE SMARTPHONES?

The problem with Alex Nicholas is that he won't stay dead.

Alex Nicholas was the consummate Queens bookie: fast cars and even faster women, and friends in all the wrong places. As an illegal sports betting and loan shark king in New York City, Alex was fearless-until the night his luck ran out and someone leveled the silver barrel of an automatic on him and pulled the trigger.

Michael Nicholas was everything his brother Alex was not: a powerful, married straight-arrow corporate CEO living the American Dream. Their two worlds collide when Michael discovers his brother's secret laptop.

As Michael crosses the globe to find his brother's murder, can he avoid his brother's fate? And can the information contained in the laptop help Alex reach out to help Michael-from beyond the grave.

Characters:

The main characters include Michael Nichols, younger brother of Alex who is straight-arrow and did his best not to be involved in Alex's life. Alex is the older brother who always longed to be connected to his brother and is a complete opposite in terms of marriages, businesses and relationships. In the first few chapters he dies, leaving his business to Michael to sort out and deal with people and ex-wives. Alex also seemed to have a thing for blonds with Channel No 5 and surgically enhanced breasts who are best thought of as shallow, manipulative and dangerous. Other memorable characters include Fat and Skinny Lesters who are cousins and are extremely loyal to Alex as well as Alex's friends and wives such as Donna, Greta/Rosemary, and Jennifer Walsh. The characters were definitely memorable and well remembered, which is a positive to the story.

Theme:

The line between death and technology is blurry

Plot:

The story was written in third person narrative from Michael's point of view, although other characters also narrate from time to time, which made it an awkward read, at least for me. The storyline and the concept are unique, at least for me, and I have to say it was a bit reminiscent of Serial Experiments Lain as well as Godfather. For me as well, its a quick and a fast read although in some parts it did seem to drag on a little too long and towards the end it seemed to lose the mystery and the steam.

Author Information:
(From Iread Book Tours)

E.J. Simon was the CEO of GMAC Global Relocation Services (a division of GM) and the Managing Director of Douglas Elliman, the largest real estate company in NY.

He is a consultant to many leading private equity firms and has held senior level positions at prominent financial services companies.

He is a world traveler, food enthusiast and lives in Connecticut.Death Never Sleeps is his first novel. His second novel, Death Logs In, will be available in October 2014. 

Connect with him:  Website  ~  Facebook  ~  Twitter

Opinion:

In a good way, I'm not really sure what to make of the book, for it seemed to be trying to be Godfather as well as Serial Experiments Lain in one, and add some dark comedy into mix then the story exists. The story and mystery are interesting, and I like the philosophical direction its heading to, but I do feel it does need a little work to integrate the concepts better. One slight complaint I do have about the book is why are all the women in there described as blond? I get that Alex might have a thing for blonds, but besides that, every single woman that was noticed was a blond. Few times as well, especially towards the end, I often felt that the story seemed to run out of steam, and I wondered what else might happen? While it did end in a cliffhanger, for me it was reminiscent of a race instead of marathon.

This is for iRead Book Tours

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This tour is fully booked:

Nov 17 - Coffee Books & Art - books spotlighted / guest post / giveaway
Nov 18 - allthingsbookie - review of Death Logs In
Nov 18 - Roughseasinthemed - review of Death Never Sleeps
Nov 19 - A Soccer Mom's Book Blog - review of Death Logs In / giveaway
Nov 19 - Pinky's Favorite Reads - book spotlight
Nov 20 - Nighttime Reading Center - review of Death Never Sleeps
Nov 20 - 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, &, Sissy, Too! - review of Death Never Sleeps
Nov 21 -  Deal Sharing Aunt - review of Death Never Sleeps / guest post / giveaway
Nov 24 - Confessions of A Reader - book spotlight / giveaway
Nov 24 - Cici's Theories - review of Death Never Sleeps - guest post
Nov 25 - Jane Reads - review of Death Never Sleeps
Nov 26 - Roughseasinthemed - review of Death Logs In
Nov 26 - Celticlady's Reviews - book spotlight
Nov 26 - Blissful Book Reviews - review of Death Never Sleeps / guest post
Nov 27 - Nighttime Reading Center - review of Death Logs In / giveaway
Nov 27 - Life as Leels - review of Death Never Sleeps
Nov 28 - Beauty in Ruins - guest post
Dec 2 - Being Tillys Mummy - review of Death Logs In / author interview / giveaway
Dec 2 - Being Tillys Mummy - author interview / giveaway
Dec 3 - 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, &, Sissy, Too! - review of Death Logs In
Dec 3 - Jane Reads - review of Death Logs In / giveaway
Dec 3 - Cheryl's Book Nook - review of Death Logs In / author interview / giveaway
Dec 4 - Deal Sharing Aunt - review of Death Logs In - author interview / giveaway
Dec 4 - Cici's Theories - review of Death Logs In - author interview / giveaway
Dec 2 - Svetlana's Reads and Views - review of Death Never Sleeps
Dec 5 - Omnimystery News - author interview
Dec 5 - Life as Leels - review of Death Logs In / giveaway
Dec 8 - fuonlyknew - review of Death Never Sleeps
Dec 8 - A Blue Million Books - author interview / giveaway
Dec 9 - Blissful Book Reviews - review of Death Logs In / giveaway
Dec 10 - Brooke Blogs - review of Death Never Sleeps / guest post
Dec 10 - Dalene's Book Reviews - review of Death Never Sleeps / guest post
Dec 11 - Omnimystery News - guest post
Dec 11 - fuonlyknew - review of Death Logs In / giveaway
Dec 11 - Little Whimsy Books - review of Death Never Sleeps / guest post
Dec 11 - The Book Review - review of Death Never Sleeps
Dec 11 - A Book Geek - review of Death Logs In
Dec 11 - Brooke Blogs - review of Death Logs In / giveaway
Dec 12 - Svetlana's Reads and Views - review of Death Logs In
Dec 12 - The Discerning Reader - review of Death Never Sleeps and Death Logs In / giveaway
Dec 12 - JessicaCassidy.com - review of Death Logs In / guest post / giveaway
Dec 12 - The Book Review - review of Death Logs In  / giveaway
Dec 12 - Dalene's Book Reviews - review of Death Logs In / giveaway
Dec 12 - Little Whimsy Books - review of Death Logs In / author interview / giveaway
TBD - Everything Distils Into Reading - review Death Never Sleeps
TBD - Everything Distils into Reading - review of Death Logs In
TBD - The Reading Life - review of Death Never Sleeps / guest post
TBD - The Reading Life - review of Death Logs In - author interview

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)