Hot Seat

Aidy Westlake #2

by Simon Wood

“Think of Dick Francis’ early thrillers, but with a lot more horsepower” Kirkus Reviews on Did Not Finish - Things are looking good for Aidy Westlake. He’s Pit Lane magazine’s Young Driver of the Year, which has earned him a drive in the European Saloon Car Championship. But his good fortune ends at a race car show when he discovers Jason Gates, a mechanic from a rival team, with his throat cut. The murder sets off a disturbing chain reaction – someone is breaking the rules in the ranks of saloon car racing, on and off the track.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, British Literature

240 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2012

About the author

Simon Wood is a California transplant from England. He's an ex-competitive racecar driver, a licensed pilot and an occasional private investigator. He shares his world with his American wife, Julie. Their lives are dominated by a longhaired dachshund and five cats. In the last ten years, he's had over 150 stories and articles published. His stories have been included in “Best of” anthologies and he's a frequent contributor to Writer’s Digest. He's the Anthony Award winner and a Crime Writers Dagger Award finalist. He's the author of Working Stiffs, Accidents Waiting to Happen, Paying the Piper, Terminated, We All Fall Down, Deceptive Practices, The Fall Guy, Hot Seat and Did Not Finish. His latest thriller is, Saving Grace. He also writes horror under the pen name of Simon Janus. Those titles include The Scrubs and Road Rash.

Reviews

[Karin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aidy Westlake, 21, has just landed a new racing gig and is a driver of the year, when he comes across a dying man who has been murdered (because he dies). Even though he calls 999 (this is in England, after all), he is a suspect, but pretty soon he has more than one person asking him to investigate this murder and various and sundry other things, which is a bit baffling to him. The blurb says it better, but suffice it to say that it is quite the mystery thriller type book with a bit more going on than I like but that other readers often like--it certainly keeps you on the edge of your seat.

[Polly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simon Wood’s Hot Seat (Aidy Westlake, #2) definitely delivered what was promised, Dick Francis with more horsepower! The mystery involving murder, loan sharks, rival racing teams and drug running revved up and hurtled through to an exciting finish which kept me reading into the early hours. I’m not a motor racing fan, hence the 4 star rating, but it was interesting to read about the various factors and intrigues which added to the plot. I’ll go back and read #1 in the series and possibly more. Good characters, conflict, suspense and resolution!

[Nancy Silk · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Fast Paced Suspenseful Story"

In this exciting, fast-paced mystery, Aidy Westlake has moved up to the European Saloon Car Championship. His new boss is Richard "Rags" Ragsdale, and his new teammate is Kurt Haulk. He and his team are being interviewed; Aidy is waiting his turn at center stage and is very uncomfortable. Being a speaker is NOT his forte. Aidy will be driving a Honda Accord and he has been recognized as "Pit Lane Magazine's Young Driver of the Year." The day ended with a team dinner at 10 p.m. As he's headed back to his car, he notices the massive Ragged Racing transport. He approaches it and runs his hand over the side of the truck with his name printed on the surface. He suddenly hears choking sounds and heels scraping coming from under the rear of the truck. A man lays there kicking but can't get up. There's a gurgling sound. Aidy sees the man clutching his throat ... which has been sliced. He tries to stop the flow of blood, yells for someone to call emergency, but when they arrive the man is dead. He is Jason Gates as identified by Detective Inspector Joan Huston while Aidy is being questioned at the police station. Aidy now wonders if the killer had been watching him. The thought sends shivers up his spine. As Aidy is heading home from the police station, he gets a flat tire. A man in a BMW stops and offers him help. But ... instead an electrical jolt from a stun gun against Aidy's stomach puts him on the ground. He's being kidnapped by the murdered victim's brother, Andrew Gates. Andrew has a mission he demands Aidy to complete: find the murderer of his brother Jason. This is a fast paced story, with many twists and turns. I found it amazing that a 21 year old young man could face all the shocking events in this story. Well written, mostly in the British style, but still fast and compelling.

[AmyKatherine1974 · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Hot Seat we find that Aidy has graduated from Formula Fords to the European Saloon Car Championship series after winning Pit Lane Magazine's Promising Driver of the Year. As Aidy is leaving his pre-season media introduction (in my head I likened it to the Daytona Speedweeks Media Day- only less of a circus), he walks by his team hauler and stops for a second to look at it. A real team race hauler with his name on the side- he was finally going somewhere. It was there that Aidy discovers a man laying near his new team's transporter bleeding profusely from the neck. Aidy tries to save the man, whom he did not know, but his efforts are futile. Aidy soon finds himself in a police station under suspicion of murder and later finds out that the dead man was Jason Gates, a mechanic for a rival Saloon team.

The plot of Hot Seat did not disappoint. Aidy is greatly disturbed witnessing Jason Gate's death firsthand as any normal person would be. Aidy is coerced by Gate's somewhat shady brother Andrew to find out who murdered Jason, but Aidy is also driven to see it through for himself. Another story with major plot twists, it was easy to find myself incredibly engaged in Hot Seat, which made for a very quick read. I especially enjoyed the character development of Steve, Aidy's grandfather, as the story progressed all the way through the very end of this book. While Aidy is still very much the central hero of the story- the development of Steve brings new layers to his relationship with Aidy, and I think Aidy's relationship and views of his grandfather which enriches both the characters and the book as a whole.

I am a race fan (NASCAR is my main series but I follow others somewhat as well) and a reader of mystery/thriller so this book was right up my alley!

[Books 'n' All Promotions · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 2nd book in the Aidy Westlake series and again is focussed around motor racing. These books don't quite hit the mark for me but I cant really put my finger on why but think it is possibly because I am not a fan of Motor Racing so it still earns the 5 stars.

I love Simon's books they are all fast paced and full of suspense you just have to keep turning the pages. Aidy and his grandfather and the ever faithful Dylan keep getting caught up in crimes that have nothing to do with them. They are all likeable characters trying to live in a cruel and corrupt world. I recommend this to any Thriller lovers.

[Dan Beaver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simon continues to deliver a quality story, and his passion for the sport of auto racing bleeds through the character development. Whether you like the genre or the sport, this is well worth your time.

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Auto racing can be quite fun to watch and it is equally fun to read about. I enjoyed the racing aspect of the book even as the mystery portion was a bit over the top. It just seemed a tad far-fetched the sheer amount of people who were trying to use or sabotage Aidy.

[Robi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book.

It was a good story. Kind of predictable though. I had a hunch who the killer was dispute several other viable suspects.

[Tina Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good!

I am not into racing cars at all, but this series is really good. I almost think too much is packed into each story, but other than that, I really liked them.

[Tien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aidy Westlake is following his dreams and his father's footsteps. He got a drive in the European Saloon Car Championship and everything is looking in tip top shape. That is until he found himself at a crime scene where an ex-team member had just had his throat cut. Things just snow-balled from there with conspiracies to mud his good name, loan sharks, heavies, drugs, police and custom officers. Can Aidy dig himself back out or is this the end to his dreams?

I like this novel much better than the first book. I have to admit that I have to stop myself snickering at how things were just going from bad to worse for Aidy and never seemed to end but at the end of it all, this was a very thrilling suspenseful novel - the perfect distraction after a long day being at home...