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The Bay Area Quartet #2
We All Fall Down
Hayden Duke is a young man on the fast track. He's just signed on with Marin Design Engineering to work on a very high-level project. But before Hayden started, one of MDE's employee's committed suicide. And he's not the only one. Is it the pressure? Or is there some other connection? Has Hayden Duke just put himself on the fast track to an early death?storytelling.”
— Bookgasm
"I would love this book to be made into a movie.”
— Bestsellersworld.com
"The action becomes fast and furious and one just has to hang on for the ride.”
— Spinetingler Magazine
— Bookgasm
"I would love this book to be made into a movie.”
— Bestsellersworld.com
"The action becomes fast and furious and one just has to hang on for the ride.”
— Spinetingler Magazine
369 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 2008
217 people are currently reading
333 people want to read
About the author
Simon Wood
91 books519 followersSimon 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
February 4, 2011
I loved this book, from start to finish! It is fast paced, suspenseful, and the truest definition of thriller there is! If you haven't acquainted yourself with the great works of this fabulous writer, you are sorely missing out! The plot of this book is so full of twists and turns, and the main characters are so full of depth, and so believable, you will not regret one minute you spend on their journey to the exciting end. If you like the feeling of constantly thinking,how is he going to get out of THIS one, or what could be next, pick up this book...NOW!
January 2, 2014
I don't typically enjoy books where the protagonists are ordinary people fighting international terrorists and winning. This book had that, plus the protagonists continually repeating their mistakes and still getting out alive. However, dozens of other people were killed. I found myself routing for the bad guys.
July 6, 2008
Suicide is something that is difficult for anyone to accept whether you are talking about a suicide of a friend or one that you just read about in the paper. Suicide is a subject that will begin to haunt Hayden Duke. The reader will become immersed in the story of a single suicide beginning at page one and will be fascinated until Hayden finds the secret.
Hayden is a design engineering contractor and is seeking a job with Marin Design Engineering. Hayden is under contract to another company but Shane Fallon, a college friend, has suggested Hayden for a short contract with his employer Marin Design. Hayden would work at home in the evenings for Marin. For Hayden this is an ideal situation. Here is a chance for extra income as well as a chance to reconnect with a friend.
Employees at Marin are still reeling from the death of Sundip Chaudhary, a scientist with Marin. Soon there will be more deaths at Marin.
When another suicide touches close to Hayden he becomes determined to find the answer. Shane’s sister Rebecca joins Hayden in his investigations. Detective Ruben Santiago is prominent in the investigation although Hayden hesitates at sharing all of his information with Santiago.
I would love to see this book made into a movie. I would be first in line to buy a ticket. There is so much more to this story than outlined above but to say anymore would take away from the reader’s urgency to read as fast as possible and try to figure out what is really going on at Marin and what consequences await the employees and executives at this strange corporation.
Simon Wood tells “the story behind the story” on Amazon.com. Check it out.
June 20, 2015
This is another absolutely brilliant book from Simon Wood. Impossible to put down and has suspense in bucketloads all the way through. As is usual with Simon's books this is absolutely believable and has well built characters. Unfortunately I cant think of anything critical to say about it other than it ended:)
August 2, 2008
Simon Wood does it again with another great book. We all fall down is full of excitement and suspense, you feel like your the characters. If you have never read any of Simon's book get off your butts and go to your local bookstore or grocery store and buy it. You won't be disappointed.
September 10, 2011
This book keeps you on the edge of your seat, intense, mystery thriller. Hayden is called into help complete a project by an old friend. He ends up saving the lives of many around him due to this project. Great book.
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November 6, 2011Finally finished it! It was quite good. A good mystery
October 26, 2024
Such a great book!
This is a great book! Very well thought out and executed so well, I burned through it quick. I totally recommend it for anyone looking for a thriller that will not let go of you!
This is a great book! Very well thought out and executed so well, I burned through it quick. I totally recommend it for anyone looking for a thriller that will not let go of you!
August 17, 2014
"Wow, This Thriller Is The Most Awesome I've Read This Year!"
I believe this is the first book I've read written by a fantastic author, Simon Wood. It has driven me to want to read all his books. In this story, it opens with four street-wise kids high-jacking a BMW 530. The skilled thief, a kid called Vee8, is at the wheel, Donkey in the passenger seat, and D.J. and Trey in the rear seats. Vee8 has been stealing cars for the past four years, he's 18 years old, and has swiped over 300 autos in the San Francisco Bay Area and has never been caught. As they try to get to coastal Highway 1, a Civic failed to yield at an intersection. The two vehicles bounce off each other, but are still driveable, and Vee8 takes off after the Civic, and catches up to him at Stinson Beach. The driver is walking into the surf...to end his life. Hayden Duke has built up a solid reputation as a design-engineering contractor. He's been hired on to start a big job at Marin Design Engineering (MDE). His former college classmate, Shane Fallon, has recommended Hayden for his new job and will be working on the same project. As Hayden and Shane enter MDE with CEO Trevor Bellis, Hayden notices a picture of Sundip Chaudhary, the man who had just committed suicide at Stinson Beach. He is surprised to learn the good scientist had also been working at MDS, on a highly confidential project. Before starting his job, Hayden is encouraged to sign a nondisclosure agreement to maintain the project's security. Hayden has the urge to walk away as something is getting a little too serious; but the work is easy and the pay excellent. Yet, the document was threatening... as he signs it. This is a non-stop drama I'd love to see on the big screen. It's exciting and intoxicating; I could not put it down. Simon Wood is an exemplary author and the novel is excellently edited, easy to read. If you like high action mystery thrillers, you'll love this one! Highly recommend!
I believe this is the first book I've read written by a fantastic author, Simon Wood. It has driven me to want to read all his books. In this story, it opens with four street-wise kids high-jacking a BMW 530. The skilled thief, a kid called Vee8, is at the wheel, Donkey in the passenger seat, and D.J. and Trey in the rear seats. Vee8 has been stealing cars for the past four years, he's 18 years old, and has swiped over 300 autos in the San Francisco Bay Area and has never been caught. As they try to get to coastal Highway 1, a Civic failed to yield at an intersection. The two vehicles bounce off each other, but are still driveable, and Vee8 takes off after the Civic, and catches up to him at Stinson Beach. The driver is walking into the surf...to end his life. Hayden Duke has built up a solid reputation as a design-engineering contractor. He's been hired on to start a big job at Marin Design Engineering (MDE). His former college classmate, Shane Fallon, has recommended Hayden for his new job and will be working on the same project. As Hayden and Shane enter MDE with CEO Trevor Bellis, Hayden notices a picture of Sundip Chaudhary, the man who had just committed suicide at Stinson Beach. He is surprised to learn the good scientist had also been working at MDS, on a highly confidential project. Before starting his job, Hayden is encouraged to sign a nondisclosure agreement to maintain the project's security. Hayden has the urge to walk away as something is getting a little too serious; but the work is easy and the pay excellent. Yet, the document was threatening... as he signs it. This is a non-stop drama I'd love to see on the big screen. It's exciting and intoxicating; I could not put it down. Simon Wood is an exemplary author and the novel is excellently edited, easy to read. If you like high action mystery thrillers, you'll love this one! Highly recommend!
November 11, 2012
One innocent meaning of the term 'terminated' has to do with losing one's job; as we all know, there is another more ominous one. Those two very different definitions become intertwined as a workplace decision becomes life-threatening in this fast-paced tale of suspense by Simon Wood, who has already shown that he is a master of the genre.
Gwen Farris could have had no idea that her critical performance evaluation of Stephen Tarbell would have the effect it did. Not that poor evaluations are ever expected to be gracefully received, but no one could have predicted the potentially lethal fallout from this one.
Employed by a pharmaceutical company for the last eighteen months, six months ago Gwen was promoted to the position of Manager of Quality Assurance, a promotion Tarbell believes should have been his. Now, his very job may hang in the balance. Not satisfied with threatening Gwen with a knife if she doesn't change the report in his favor, Tarbell determines to take apart Gwen's life as she knows it, and perhaps take her life, literally, as well.
Gwen, happily married and with an adorable three-year-old daughter she adores, has faced mortal danger before. She was the survivor of a violent crime fifteen years prior, the man who kidnapped and attacked her [leaving her for dead] coming up for parole as the tale opens, which only adds to the feeling of vulnerability which threatens to undo Gwen.
The suspense continues to mount, and just when the reader feels the worst of Gwen's ordeal might be behind her, the author manages one twist after another to keep the pages turning. Another winner for Simon Wood, and it is recommended.
Gwen Farris could have had no idea that her critical performance evaluation of Stephen Tarbell would have the effect it did. Not that poor evaluations are ever expected to be gracefully received, but no one could have predicted the potentially lethal fallout from this one.
Employed by a pharmaceutical company for the last eighteen months, six months ago Gwen was promoted to the position of Manager of Quality Assurance, a promotion Tarbell believes should have been his. Now, his very job may hang in the balance. Not satisfied with threatening Gwen with a knife if she doesn't change the report in his favor, Tarbell determines to take apart Gwen's life as she knows it, and perhaps take her life, literally, as well.
Gwen, happily married and with an adorable three-year-old daughter she adores, has faced mortal danger before. She was the survivor of a violent crime fifteen years prior, the man who kidnapped and attacked her [leaving her for dead] coming up for parole as the tale opens, which only adds to the feeling of vulnerability which threatens to undo Gwen.
The suspense continues to mount, and just when the reader feels the worst of Gwen's ordeal might be behind her, the author manages one twist after another to keep the pages turning. Another winner for Simon Wood, and it is recommended.
June 8, 2009
Hayden Duke picks up a dream contracting job from his old college room-mate Shane. Unfortunately, Marin Design Engineering is engaged in a sinister project, that leads Shane to commit suicide - an act followed by a fatal arson attack on the company headquarters which leaves Duke the only living employee. Teaming up with Rebecca, Shane’s sister and a sympathetic cop, Santiago, Duke must discover what’s behind the project before he gets killed. With a striking opening (car thieves and a suicide-by-drowning), this book picks up an excellent pace and carries it right through to the final pages, keeping the reader involved with great characters and nifty plot twists. The relationship between Duke and Rebecca builds naturally, as does their more combative link with Santiago. Lockhart, the chief baddie, remains something of an enigma - which works well for his character - and his gun-for-hire, Beckerman, is almost a likeable character, even though he’s often behind most of the dirty work seen. The set pieces - the opening, the suicides and the Fuller sequences especially - are all well done, as is the incident at the BART station. I’ve never read Simon Wood before, but I’ll definitely be on the look-out for his others books - I thoroughly enjoyed this and would highly recommend it.
December 31, 2012
We All Fall Down, by Simon Wood, a-minus, Narrated by James Langton, Produced by Brilliance Audio, downloaded from audible.com.
Hayden Duke takes a short-term job as an engineer writing plans for a device. It’s a friend offered by a former buddy from college. He’s a little squeamish because the friend tells him that the job exists because the previous employee committed suicide. Then, about a week later, his friend sends him an email with an attachment. He says not to open the attachment but to save it. When he calls his friend to find out what’s going on, his friend sounds crazy, so he goes to see him. He finds his friend tearing up his apartment saying he knows they’ve “planted bugs”. He follows his friend to a bridge, where his friend, before he can get close enough to stop him, hangs himself off the bridge. His friend and the other employee both used the words that they were sorry for what they’d done. Hayden starts trying to find out what his friend was involved in and finds himself along with his friend’s sister, in a fight for their lives. It appears that the plan design was for a terrible device, but what was it? A fast-paced thriller keeping you on the edge of your seat. Quite good.
Hayden Duke takes a short-term job as an engineer writing plans for a device. It’s a friend offered by a former buddy from college. He’s a little squeamish because the friend tells him that the job exists because the previous employee committed suicide. Then, about a week later, his friend sends him an email with an attachment. He says not to open the attachment but to save it. When he calls his friend to find out what’s going on, his friend sounds crazy, so he goes to see him. He finds his friend tearing up his apartment saying he knows they’ve “planted bugs”. He follows his friend to a bridge, where his friend, before he can get close enough to stop him, hangs himself off the bridge. His friend and the other employee both used the words that they were sorry for what they’d done. Hayden starts trying to find out what his friend was involved in and finds himself along with his friend’s sister, in a fight for their lives. It appears that the plan design was for a terrible device, but what was it? A fast-paced thriller keeping you on the edge of your seat. Quite good.
March 10, 2010
This is a true thriller, a suspenseful, fast-paced, action-filled tale with earthshaking consequences at stake. The story involves a young man, Hayden Duke, who has hired on as a contractor for a government project at Marin Design Engineering; some mysterious apparent suicides of some of the firm's employees; a disastrous, fatal arson fire at MDE headquarters; and the efforts of Hayden and Rebecca, sister of one of the purported suicides, to find out exactly what's behind all these deaths and to thwart whatever possibly world-endangering scientific deviltry is going on.
Hayden and Rebecca are likable, if rather naive, characters that I cared about. They had quite a few TSTL (Too Stupid To Live) and NTB (Not Too Bright) moments, enough to make me fear for their lives. But it all certainly did make for an enthralling, entertaining read and a thrilling climax. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good thriller with a strong, complex plot, lots of twists and turns, and excellent characters, good and bad.
Hayden and Rebecca are likable, if rather naive, characters that I cared about. They had quite a few TSTL (Too Stupid To Live) and NTB (Not Too Bright) moments, enough to make me fear for their lives. But it all certainly did make for an enthralling, entertaining read and a thrilling climax. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good thriller with a strong, complex plot, lots of twists and turns, and excellent characters, good and bad.
August 30, 2008
This was an engaging, thought provoking book. Plus I really liked it! ;-) It made me start looking at all the things I see in the paper in a whole different light. Yikes! I read this pretty much in one sitting. Well, I stayed up all night. It was scary enough to be right out of today's news, and realistic enough that you know it's probably happened somewhere, somehow. I recommend this to anyone that wants a fast moving story with a lot of tension in it. It's great!
P.S. Besides, the author is a very funny man, and a nice guy.
P.S. Besides, the author is a very funny man, and a nice guy.
September 15, 2011
This book was amazing! From the very first page with the car chase that ends up in a suicide until the very end, you're constantly guessing at who the culprit is that's killing all the employees of the company. This book is full of excitement. The only reason I didn't give it five stars was because it dragged on for a short while about two thirds through. Other than that, this is the best book I've ever stumbled into.
April 27, 2010
This is an excellent read, my favorite Simon Woods novel. Action packed, nailbiter and edge of the seat until the last page. Maybe I have not read enough of his books to figure out how things go, at this point I am amazed at the outcome. He throws in some dynamic twist and turns. I am going to read all of his books.
September 15, 2016
A good read, but slightly protracted
This was an engaging story pretty much from the start. The book kept me reading, but I think it went on a bit too long. I know about "when it rains, it pours ", but these characters and this author abused that phrase.
This was an engaging story pretty much from the start. The book kept me reading, but I think it went on a bit too long. I know about "when it rains, it pours ", but these characters and this author abused that phrase.
July 1, 2020
Edge of your seat, fingernail gripping, breath holding - need I say more? Did not realize it was a part of a series - may need to look into it! Liked the story because I could figure out some of what was going to go on, but still, not enough that it didn't surprise me.
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April 19, 2009I LOVE Simon Wood. When you read the end of his books you slap your head and go, "what did I miss?"
May 21, 2017
Sürükleyici temposu ile 2 günde bitirdiğim nadir romanlardan...
July 9, 2011
What a fun read! So many twists and turns, and plenty of action!
February 14, 2012
Good read....I'm anxious to read another one of his books.
August 10, 2011
Sweaty palms, edge of my seat thriller. Great story!
January 29, 2012
exciting, thrilling, "what next" sort of book but I was a little disappointed in what I believe to be an unrealistic ending.....
April 7, 2012
easy and fun read
August 9, 2012
It's Simon so it is bloody good. I don't read short stories very often but these really worth my time.
July 3, 2013
Quick read, good plot, well written.
July 16, 2014
Great Book
I thought this was a great book. It was suspenseful and had a great plot. I am presently trying to read all books by this author.
I thought this was a great book. It was suspenseful and had a great plot. I am presently trying to read all books by this author.
January 27, 2015
Simon made me a character in this book. I'm thrilled that he did this.
June 9, 2015
Dream side job
Want the extra money with a side job and then it turns your life upside down. Be careful what you wish for!
Want the extra money with a side job and then it turns your life upside down. Be careful what you wish for!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews