Simon Said

In the opening chapter Simon, considered an expert on the Bloodworth Mansion, is called to help identify a corpse of a woman which has been found in an archeological excavation site on the Bloodworth Estate. The corpse has a bullet hole in the back of her head and a .41 caliber bullet inside the skull and has been buried for over fifty years. The careful way in which it has been placed for burial leads Simon and David Morgan, the archaeolgist, to believe that she was placed there by someone who knew her.

Simon immediately realizes that the corpse is Anne Bloodworth who disappeared seventy years ago in 1926 at the age of 19. Because of his intmate knowledge of the history of the estate, a police detective and police attorney ask Simon to help make a positive identification. If the corpse is not identified at the time of autopsy, she would become a Jane Doe and no further identification would be sought. Simon, of course, comes up with the proper papers in the nick of time and Anne Bloodworth is given a proper burial in the family plot.

Simon becomes obsessed with determining the identity of the murderer. He follows every lead he can uncover and makes a few enemies along the way. Someone tampers with his car, causing it to crash into a stone wall. Another, more serious attempt is made on his life when someone breaks into his house and puts all of the medication he has been given for pain and sleep after the accident into his bottle of Coke.

I was riveted to this book and although I had certain suspicions as to the evil doer, it was not until the last few pages that I became suspicious of the true culprit of the attacks on Simon and the solution was quite a surprise.

This is a book which I highly recommend. It was a delightful, witty, academic murder mystery.

Simon Said
A Simon Shaw Mystery
by Sarah R. Shaber
ISBN 0-312-96555-9

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