Master Detective John Simon and his android friend Lucas George are back, as the tough, streetwise fifteen year veteran of the Kansas City Police Department with a healthy disdain for the encroachment of modern technology pairs with KCPD Academy's first android graduate. When a string of unusual burglaries leads the to a warehouse of explosives, the partners soon find themselves and their friends in mortal danger as they uncover a plot by domestic terrorist to blow up a major tourist site somewhere in the city. Meanwhile, Lucas struggles for acceptance from those frightened by his superior abilities and skills within the department.
When bodies start piling up, including two of their own, it's a race against the clock to track down and identify the terrorists and stop them before it's too late. With a task force that pulls in the FBI, the ATF, and other Federal agents, a massive search and investigation unfolds and his daughter Emma's best friend's father, a sax player, may hold the key to unraveling it all. But will he talk before it's too late?
An exciting reader praised mix of near future science fiction and procedural thriller that captures the gritty realism of Michael Connelly's Bosch, the humor and action of Lethal Weapon, and follows the classic science fiction tradition of Isaac Asimov's City of Steel, The Sideman is book two in the bestselling John Simon Thrillers, from the editor of the international bestselling phenomenon The Martian by Andy Weir, and the national bestselling author of tales including official entries in The X-Files, Predator, and the Joe Ledger thrillers.
Industry Reviews
“John Simon is every bit as compelling a character as those who inspired him, and in some aspects Schmidt even does them one better. The dialogue is snappy and the descriptions engrossing as he paints a picture of ‘tomorrow’s’ Kansas City. I for one enjoyed the hell out of it!”–Dayton Ward, New York Times bestselling author of 24: Trial by Fire, and Star Trek: In The Name of Honor.
“Lightning in a bottle. Action-packed. Stuffed to overflowing with big ideas. And the coolest damned robot since a certain Goldenrod took centre stage 42 years ago.” – Steven Savile, International bestselling author of Glass Town, Silver, and One Man’s War.
“Bryan Thomas Schmidt’s new book Simon Says is the perfect example of staying true to your genre and ‘dancing with the one that brung you’ while stretching out and adding something fresh and exciting to the typical fare.” — Hank Garner, Author Stories
“I couldn’t put it down–it was like one long action scene that never stopped. Gritty all the way through. With moments of affection, empathy, family dynamics and a relentless pursuit of accurate police procedures, it doesn’t let up!”—Paul Knox, Author of Behind Open Eyes.
