Review of 'Simon Says' by Bryan Thomas Schmidt

Simon SaysA buddy cop story with a twist.
The year is 2029 and not much has changed in the future except for now there’s androids that look and act like people. But not in a scary, take over the world way. Rather they blend in and have jobs like everyone else.
Enter John Simon. An experienced cop who follows a tip with his partner to bust a crime ring. That’s when things go south and the bullets start flying. In the middle of this, he meets a security guard named Lucas and his life will never be the same. He just doesn’t know it yet.
During the investigation, Simon suffers a terrible tragedy. He goes on a crusade to find the person responsible and Lucas comes along to assist in the investigation.
Lucas starts out as an innocent personality until Simon's daughter, Emma suggests that he watch cop shows and cop movies. From then on Lucas becomes a one-line machine with a string of movie and TV references. It's an entertaining and humorous break from the seriousness of the murder and corruption case they are following.
The story itself is straight-up cop story. Bad guy does bad stuff, cops have to track him down.
The interactions and budding friendship between Simon and Lucas are what makes this story special.
I liked Lucas and his movie quoting antics. He reminded me of Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation only less innocent.
Warning, adult language. There was barely a chapter where someone wasn’t launching an f-bomb. Usually, it was Simon.
Throughout the story, the author kept eluding to a deeper, larger story but never paid off. Maybe it was a setup for the next book.
I look forward to reading the next book, 'The Sideman', once I get my 'to be read' list under control.
If you like buddy cop movies or futuristic movies like ‘I robot’ you’ll like Simon says.