Skin Deep

The Simeon Grist Mysteries, Book 1

By: Timothy Hallinan

Narrated by: Jim Meskimen

The Simeon Grist private-eye novels by 2011 Edgarand Macavity Award nominee Timothy Hallinan have become cult favorites, and here is the one that started it all.

For a fee so big he can't turn it down, Simeon Grist is hired to watchdog the kind of guy he'd usually prefer to throw through the nearest window. Toby Vane is the golden boy of prime-time television, whose gee-whiz smile and chiseled features mask a dark secret that would take the shine off for his millions of adoring female fans: every now and then he beats up a woman, and almost any woman will do. When some of the women around Toby begin to turn up dead, Simeon has to figure out whether he's protecting a murderer - or whether one of Toby's multitude of enemies wants to put him away forever. And when Simeon meets the beautiful Nana, the whole situation becomes very personal very fast.

©1991, 2010 Timothy Hallinan (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Good performance of a slightly above average book

The story itself is rather well crafted. There are some unexpected twists and turns. The author, however, tries too hard to create a stereotypical, cynical, smart-ass detective. At times it gets in the way of the story. The saving grace is an exceptional performance by the narrator. I will seek out other titles by the narrator. I'm done with the author.

Better than many

I’m compelled to leave a review because one of the others seems so harsh. It is what it is. Modern day-ish, first person, hard boiled detective. It is entertaining, droll, and frankly better than many others I have found on Audible. The plot is not that wild but also flows ok. The reading was quite good, with most of the characters’ voices well distinguishable from each other. I’ll read the next one.

Written by a child

This could be the worst writing in the history of the world. The only thing that would make this book ok is if I found out it was written by a mentally challenged 3 year old.