Simple

Richard Christie Mystery #6

by Kathleen George

"If anyone's writing better police thrillers than George, I don't know who it is."

—Entertainment Weekly

Nominated for an Edgar Award for Best Novel for The Odds, Kathleen George has received raves from all corners for her Pittsburgh-set police procedural series. Now, in Simple, series detective Colleen Greer is back in this stunning.

Cassie Price is thrilled when she's hired to work at one of Pittsburgh's most prestigious law firms. Young, pretty, and from a sheltered background, Cassie's new life as an adult now includes meeting rich and powerful people, and she may even be having a mysterious affair. But when her lifeless body is discovered, the police are stumped. Suspicion falls on a neighborhood handyman, but Detective Colleen Greer and her boss, Commander Richard Christie, are not sure. The detectives discover that what seem like the easiest cases are actually the most complicated.

With fantastic series characters and a compelling story, Kathleen George again proves herself to be a master of the police procedural in Simple.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

336 pages, Hardcover

First published August 21, 2012

About the author

Kathleen Elizabeth George (born July 7, 1943) is an American professor and writer best known for her series of crime novels set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

She was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania and educated at the University of Pittsburgh: B.A. (summa cum laude), 1964, M.A. (theatre), 1966, Ph.D. (theatre), 1975, M.F.A. (creative writing), 1988. She teaches theatre arts at the University of Pittsburgh and fiction writing at the Chatham University Low-Residency MFA Program in Creative Writing.

She is married to the writer Hilary Masters, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University. They reside in Pittsburgh.

Reviews

[Paul Pessolano · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Simple” by Kathleen George, published by Minotaur Books.

Category : Mystery/Thriller

I can’t recall too many mystery/thriller books that take place in Pittsburgh, Pa., however this is the location for “Simple” and the other books written by Kathleen George. George’s books are not so much about “who dun it” but rather a look into police procedures.

A young girl, who is pursuing a law degree at the University of Pittsburgh, is found dead. The person who found her, a young handy man who did work for her, becomes a prime suspect in the murder. Although he confesses and it looks like an open and shut case, the police in trying to put things together find that he may not be the murderer.

The young girl, Cassie Price, was an intern at a law firm run by the influential and moneyed Connolly family. Mike Connolly, a son, has a very good chance of entering political life due to his enormous popularity and the good deeds he has done throughout the community. Mike does have a few skeletons in his closet, the major one being an affinity for women outside his marriage.

The people backing him for the senate find that he has been seeing Cassie Price and know that if this becomes known it will end his political career.

The police, upon further investigation, start seeing clues that may link his political managers to Cassie’s murder.

A good story and a good read. “Simple” is one of those rare books that you can recommend to just about anyone, Mom, Grandma, or a Teen, and not have to worry about language or sexual content.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Cassie Price, a young & beautiful paralegal, is found murdered in her Pittsburgh home, all signs point to Cal Hathaway as the killer. He is the neighborhood handyman, worked on Cassie's house and found her body. This should be case closed for Detective Christie & his team. But, when details emerge about Cassie's affair with Mike Connelly, a married lawyer at her firm who is pondering a run for governor, they realize that there is more to this case than meets the eye. The reader finds out early on who the killer is, so that is not what keeps you hooked. The enjoyment of this police procedural comes from the fully-realized characters and suspenseful plotting. We are along for the ride while the detectives dig up new evidence, come to eye-opening conclusions and stakeout suspects. Fans of George will recognize Detectives Christie, Greer, Dolan and Potocki from her previous novels and first-time George readers will want to go back and learn more.

[George · Rating 2 out of 5]

#6 in the detective Commander Richard Christie mystery series set in Pittsburg, PA. A woman paralegal with a law firm whose member is an up and coming politician in the running for state governor is found murdered. The detectives assigned the case quickly focus on a handyman who appears simple and he is charged with the murder. Christie has mixed feelings about this and leads the investigation which starts to uncover more information and complexities.

It is good mystery with you knowing from the start who the murderer is. The story is the police investigation into it under Christie's leadership and the uncovering of what actually happened which is different from the initial simple solution. I rated it low because I found the constantly shifting points of view as the story jumps back and forth between various characters as the story progresses as well as providing more details regarding the personal lives of various characters.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy Kathleen George's novels, following the characters through my hometown of Pittsburgh, the police eventually catching up with the bad guys with a satisfying ending. This story was richly peopled - a bit too richly, giving me 43 characters in 69 pages that I had to list to keep track of. But the payoff was worth it! Looking forward to my next George mystery already.

[Alison Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a native Pittsburgher, I really enjoy Kathleen George's books! Christie and the other detectives are likable characters. It's thoroughly researched and well written. I couldn't put this one down!

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very engrossing story of a young paralegal who is murdered in her home. The detectives assigned to investigate do a slap-dash job and arrest a neighbor who was doing repairs at her home that day. He is deemed "slow" because he was beaten by bullies while in school and takes a while to process everything. The police commander returns from vacation and decides the reports do not really go into enough detail to aid prosecution. His team starts uncovering things that are not as they should be, including the possibility that she was having an affair with a married man - possibly the attorney where she worked, who is coincidentally planning a run for governor. To further complicate matters, the mother of the accused is the longtime housekeeper for the attorney. Moral dilemmas? Many abound. Good read. Was always waiting for the other shoe to drop.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Police procedural that follows the thoughts, words and actions of the criminals and their hangers-on as it does the squad of detectives that provide the continuity for the series.

A young woman is murdered, a suspect is arrested the next day and the case is cleared. The accused killer is a bit too convenient though and his confession falls apart as soon as it is examined in the cold light of day. The reader knows he is innocent; the actual killer describes (to himself and the reader) the ingenious way he carried out the crime. Things work out, as they must, with the innocent cleared and the guilty punished but there is a lot of well described police work and plenty of cat and mouse between the detectives, their new prime suspect and a few draggers of red herrings in order to get there.

[Nancy McFarlane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first Kathleen George book I have read and I feel like if I had started from the beginning and gotten to know the characters better I would have enjoyed the book more, having said that does not mean I didn't enjoy it because I did.

It was a great police procedural. We pretty much knew from the beginning who the murderer was but we didn't know who else might become a victim, and how the other characters were involved. Diligent police work and asking the right questions and team work from the murder squad got the job done.

I really enjoyed the characters but I felt like I was missing something in their interactions.

I will definitely go back and read the previous books in the series and I look forward to learning more about each of the detectives.

[Marla Madison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and was amazed to see it had only a three-star rating. Simple is a hard-to-put-down suspense/police procedural that kept me engaged from page one. If this is part of a series, the author has made the transition so seamlessly, that the a reader does not have to have read the previous books to enjoy this one. The characters are well done, the plot "simple" but full of twists and turns. George even managed a believable, and satisfying ending.
Another thing this author does extremely well, is handle a full cast of characters in a way that the reader is never confused. As an author myself, I can really appreciate what a difficult task that is.
I highly recommend this book for lovers of suspense and police procedure. Well done!

[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although it is billed as a mystery, SIMPLE is really a police procedural. We know the killer and his motive right away, and the rest of the book builds the suspense of whether or not the police are smart enough to catch him. A few nice twists and decent writing make you want to know how it will end. Some of the subplots involving the characterization of the officers seemed unecessary, and I would have liked to have cared about the ictim a little more. But I really liked Cal, the man set up to take the fall. Read as a standd alone, the character of Coleen didn't matter much to me, but I undertand that she is part of a series, so I may go back and read some of the other books.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd give this a 3.5 if I could. It's a police procedural with a straight forward writing style. The thing that made it work for me was the third person omniscient narration because I enjoyed learning a little more about each person's thinking and motivations every time that character had a few pages in the book. Nor did the novel depend on escalating violence and gore to create suspense. This relied more on the problems we more often see: will those who have wealth and power consider themselves above the law? Is it possible to change for the better after a tragedy? It wasn't great literature, but it is one of the better of its kind.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a discovery. Nothing in the author bio pointed to masterful police procedural writing! A really good read, not so memorable in itself (the series is said to be about Commander Richard Christie, but he does not emerge as a character I can call up a picture of in my mind), but so well plotted and written that it is a very great pleasure. Now to read the other six in the Richard Christie series--if RC is so forgettable in #6, I've not much hope of capturing him in the first 5, but know I can look forward to a book worth spending time with!

[Tobin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't remember how I found out about this book but wow. It's a wonderful police procedural with real police and well-fleshed out bad guys. I strongly recommend this for Tana French fans or really anyone who loves compelling crime dramas.

I consumed this one in a matter of days. Which, given how many other things I've been doing, is really saying something.

I gave it a 8.5/10 on my personal scale.

-tpl

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Simple" is a superior police procedural. Though thee reader knows who committed the crime, the investigation is consistently interesting, the writing is assured (all of the characters have believable back stories, for instance, making them more interesting than most large fictional populations), and there are no sudden unexplainable leaps to reach the conclusion.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a predictable story, but it was told brilliantly. I couldn't put this masterfully written book down. I was happy there were no dumb twists and that the good guys won and the bad guy got what was coming to him. All the characters were very realistic with both good and bad qualities. Engrossing from page 1....

[Amy Rhodes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not know this author or series but a good review (somewhere) led me to this and I found it surprisingly likeable. The plot seemed simplistic (hence the title, perhaps?) and obvious but somehow the character development made it more than first meets the eye. Might go back and check out some others in the series...apparently this is the 6th.

[Sandhya Lohithakshan · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book is nothing but an over elaborated documentary of a text book murder mystery. I still kept reading hoping that the suspense might unfold later in the book until I realized I just finished the book. Unless you're turned on by police case files detailed to the last page do not pick this book.

[Kim · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read the first few chapters and then the last couple chapters. The dialogue was unbelievably stupid - people just don't talk that way. And the whodunit was also presented in the first few chapters - there was no mystery.

[Margiezerr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the feeling of behind the scenes play-by-play in the investigation of this mystery. I think any tension in the book is derived less from the storyline and more from the attachment you develop with the characters in the story.

[Carol O'Bryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

For what it was, it was well written. I think what this experience tells me is that I don't personally enjoy a "police procedural" type of novel. I'd rather read an old-fashioned murder mystery novel.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first of this series that was very slow going for me. I can't say why but it was a struggle for me to plod through it - right from the very first page. But still an enjoyable installment in the series.

[Debbie O'Mahony · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very good police procedural which takes place in Pittsburgh. I enjoyed it and would read others by this author. At first it seemed as if it would be predictable, but then it got much more interesting.

[Sara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Simple plot. weird character development. hard to read b/c I couldn't get into it.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and hard to put down ... I have a hard time with books where innocent people are put in jail though ....

[Gabrielle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not my thing. Returned it to the library after about 100 pages.

[Catherine Woodman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good political procedural who done it--the plot is straight forward and enjoyable.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, just ok

[Andrew Welsh-Huggins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most enjoyable "Dunnit" I've come across in a while. You know the crime and criminal right away, and the thrill comes in the "whether" of the resolution.

[Denali · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasnt as invested in the detectives and their stories as I might have been had I read more of the series. The central crime strained credulity at times but the B story was very good.

[Mt. Lebanon Public Library]

Elizabeth K.'s Pick
Call #: GEORGE Kathleen