Body Scissors

Dan Reles #2

by Michael Simon

Investigating the botched assassination attempt of a rising black community leader, New York-born Austin homicide detective Dan Reles is unexpectedly taken off the case and placed in pursuit of an influential drug dealer who has endangered several affluent college students. By the author of Dirty Sally. 25,000 first printing.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery

288 pages, Hardcover

First published August 18, 2005

About the author

Born in Levittown, Long Island, the birthplace of mass-produced housing, Michael Simon is a former actor, playwright, and Texas probation officer. He has taught at Brooklyn College and New York University.

In 2004, Viking published his first novel, Dirty Sally, which introduced the half-Jewish, New York Mafia-born Texas homicide detective Dan Reles. Dirty Sally was lauded by The Chicago Tribune as "A bloody and intriguing delight for noir aficionados." The Seattle Times called it "the finest crime-novel debut since Dennis Lehane's A Drink Before the War in 1994." It was named one of the Top Ten Thrillers and Mysteries of the Year by Amazon.com.

In 2005, the second book in Simon's Texas series, Body Scissors, was published, also to critical acclaim. The Rocky Mountain News called it, "Fast paced and suspenseful from start to finish."

Viking signed on for two more Dan Reles thrillers, Little Faith (2006) and The Last Jew Standing (2007).

To date, Simon's works have appeared in Swedish, French, Italian, Japanese, and on audio tape.

He lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Diane]

It was a pretty good detective story.

[Kyle]

An attempt to insert political ideas, but otherwise, an average suspense thriller.

[Chloe]

I have read his two Dan Reles books. The second was far better than the first - but the plots have far too many people in them to keep track. The stories are very good - but he needs to pare down his characters. They are hard to enjoy without a guide to who is who. I look forward to his next because his second was better than his first. He’s new - so he needs to be encouraged. Go for it Michael. A day later - it wasn’t dark as much as confusing. Thinking it over - he needs to parse down his characters. And I am not enchanted by Texas at all. So this makes it difficult. Still I would read another to see how he has honed his story.

[Joanne]

Started listening. Didn't finish. It felt VERY dark to me.

[Bettie]

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