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No Idea: A superb comical and romantic mystery drama!
A CONTEMPORARY DRAMA WITH A TOUCH OF ROMANCE AND A MYSTERY SET TO EXPLODE... Estranged from his family and dumped by his best friend, Rob Wise should be in the prime of his life, but being unlucky in love and living with depression has him trapped and living in the past. Sharing a run-down flat with two layabouts and a girl called Pit Bull has brought Rob nothing but poor health, writer’s block and an empty bank account. Rob finds real inspiration when he meets the sassy and attractive Grace Stein, but soon their world is thrown into turmoil. A neighbour’s missing grandson leads them into the murky and criminal underworld of the Dark Web and contract killers. Who can they trust? Will it be fight or flight? Follow Rob's journey where the lives of those he loves are at stake and truth is stranger than fiction. EARLY "Blinking heck, what a read! Rob is down on his luck, unlucky in love, totally broke. He has a razor sharp wit and cracking observations of those around him, then BAM, everything gets turned upside down, with more twists than a really twisty thing, your emotions are taken along for the ride!" Donna Moran, member of The Book Club “I loved this book! No Idea is a mystery romance, which is both thought provoking and emotional in places. With a great mix of characters, humour, adventure and an interesting twister of a plot, I think this would make a great TV mystery drama series.” Jules Mortimer Book Likes Blog "No Idea is a novel which holds a lot of surprises and doesn’t quite go in the direction you think it will. It starts off as a humorous story which then turns into a nail biting, edge of your seat read before turning into quite an emotional one. It was certainly a roller coaster of a read... yet another wonderful read from this author. 5/5 stars." Sarah Hardy, By The Letter Book Reviews "Oh how I loved 'No Idea' by Simon Page. I loved the characters in this book, and really enjoyed the sad times and the bits that had me laughing out loud. An excellent read and 4.5 juicy stars from me." Philippa McKenna, member of The Book Club "A very engaging story... No idea is a book about Russians and Cybercrime, but also about redemption, Love and justice. I thoroughly enjoyed it." Emma Read, Screenwiper Blogspot "Full of mystery, intrigue, love, surprises and shocks galore! 5/5 stars." Jo Walsh, member of The Book Club "A great book and a fantastic 5 star story that I couldn’t put down." Craig Gillan, member of The Book Club "No Idea was an excellent read. I found it really funny and it appealed to my sense of humour. It was also touching, sad and uplifting. I would certainly recommend this book." Fiona Mccormick, member of The Book Club "A great book that takes you with Rob, Grace & family - sad, funny and had me holding my breath at times - loved it! A definite 'must read'." 5 stars. Debs Mallagh, member of The Book Club "Absolutely amazing, the best novel I've read this year by a long shot. There were several twists I didn't see coming and a story so well written and utterly absorbing that I couldn't stop reading. I didn't know what to expect when I started reading this book but by the end my spirits were lifted and I put this book down feeling happier than when I started it." Michelle Worthington "A fab book... I really wanted to know what would happen next! Very funny and sweet at the same time. A must read!" Sapna Agarwal Chamaria, member of The Book Club "This book started off very funny with Rob Wise a budding author sharing a flat with Rupert, Martin and his girl friend Michaela, aka Pit Bull. The flat is grubby and with only Pit Bull working, money is tight. When Rob tries to do their neighbour a favour that's when the fun starts. I loved it. 5 stars." Angela Lockwood, member of The Book Club
313 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 1, 2016
1 person is currently reading
8 people want to read
About the author
Si Page
6 books49 followersSi Page was born in Romford, Essex in 1970 and grew up with a love of football, films, frolicking and females (the priority of the four 'F's reversed during his teenage years).
After attending three different senior schools, Si decided that it was a waste of time turning up for his GCE exams and bunked off to head for the workplace as a carpet fitter where he found the YTS scheme waiting with no more than twenty-something quid a week and a clip round the ear for cutting carpet 'very wonky'.
Si describes the next ten years of his working life in grim fashion: 'I worked as a telesales 'thingy' (ew), vending machine salesman (spit), insurance clerk (snore), debt collector (ouch), recruitment consultant (I liked that one) and a mortgage broker (I worked for sharks and didn't last long).'
Things were soon to change drastically in 1996, when Si decided to become a 'real' student and study for a B.A. Hons. Theology Degree somewhere outside of Essex, in a strange land called 'The North'. Things were reportedly so bad 'oop North', that Si expected to be living among whippet-racing peasants dressed in shell suits, living off a diet of mushy peas. Oh, and statistically, Northerners tend to have a habit of dying much younger.
Si was concerned about something called the North-South divide and mistook it for the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, where he believed that pollution due to population density must have been the reason for poor health among Northerners and not just the mushy peas.
After a car journey up the M6 motorway to a grassy dwelling called Cheshire, Si survived three years of student life and the carcass served up in the college canteen. He finished his degree in 1999 and until 2007 he worked as a Reverend in the North West of England - Merseyside and Lancashire. Si planned that among more sophisticated company, he would say that he resided a few miles away from two world class golfing resorts - the first near Royal Birkdale, and the second, a few cosy miles from Royal Lytham.
Simon has since been involved in a number of creative projects, including an Oscar-nominated short film called 'Most'. His first novel was a very successful comedy (with over 161 reviews) called, Missing Gretyl (also a screenplay). His second was a tongue-in-cheek parody and satirical work on David Cameron, called 'The Inside Scoop: The Secret Journal of a Prime Minister,' and his third and most recent is an exciting novel called NO IDEA, released on 1st December 2016.
Si is also working on three other books at present, which include the sequel to Missing Gretyl, a Billy Elliott-type adventure called, The Collar, and more recently, a comedy with the working title: The Holiday.
Si has two lovely boys called Ruben and Freddie and has been married for 27 years to a beautiful lady called Solana, who prior to meeting Si, enjoyed the full use of her mental faculties.
Totally dedicated to writing these days, Si has taken his classroom humour, workplace banter and on a more serious note, life skills from the pastorate, to write funny, challenging and original drama.
There's plenty more to come... watch this space!
You can also find out more about Si Page on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SiPageauthor/ and Twitter http://twitter.com/Siberpasta
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 4, 2017
Rob is a man suffering SAD and feeling his life is going down the drain.
Feeling a break in himself when he finds an old computer disc while hunting for some clothes he reads through his stories and decides he’s fed up of being walked over by his flat mates.
He decides to reconnect with the mother who abandoned him 15 years before.
He struggles to reconcile and understand about his mother and how he came to be in such a state.
Slowly things come together as he learns that love and forgiveness can bring more opportunities for him and even love of a good woman!
A heartfelt read that shows how much some people can go through and still see the light in life!
Can’t wait for the next story from Si
Feeling a break in himself when he finds an old computer disc while hunting for some clothes he reads through his stories and decides he’s fed up of being walked over by his flat mates.
He decides to reconnect with the mother who abandoned him 15 years before.
He struggles to reconcile and understand about his mother and how he came to be in such a state.
Slowly things come together as he learns that love and forgiveness can bring more opportunities for him and even love of a good woman!
A heartfelt read that shows how much some people can go through and still see the light in life!
Can’t wait for the next story from Si
December 30, 2016
Really enjoyed this book - loved the balance of humour with a bit of poignancy.
Characters were engaging but flawed as we all inevitably are. The book was well-paced and so involved was I that it came as quite shock when I realised I was nearly at the end.
Characters were engaging but flawed as we all inevitably are. The book was well-paced and so involved was I that it came as quite shock when I realised I was nearly at the end.
December 26, 2020
Rob Wise is a bit of a loser. He lives in a run down flat with 2 other lazy non-productive mates and Pit Bull the girlfriend of one of them.
As his money runs out he sets out to find his mum and it soon becomes a journey of self discovery, which on the way encompasses searching for his neighbours missing grandson, reuniting with family, and old friends, getting into exciting and terrifying situations and finding love and himself.
Much of the book is set in South London, my own stomping ground and I liked that I knew the geography (and have been to the restaurant in Croydon where one scene is set). There is also gentle humour and a moments of light-heartedness but I wasn't convinced by the "finding God" aspects, it felt forced and unrealistic.
I part listened part read this, as although I got a free code for the audible, the narrator for me did not do the book justice. I found I couldn't listen to this all the way through. I found some of the accents and timing of the narrator off-putting so switched to the Kindle edition.
The writing was at times a bit clunky, but overall the story was enjoyable.
Story 3 stars
Narrator 2 stars
Overall 3 stars.
As his money runs out he sets out to find his mum and it soon becomes a journey of self discovery, which on the way encompasses searching for his neighbours missing grandson, reuniting with family, and old friends, getting into exciting and terrifying situations and finding love and himself.
Much of the book is set in South London, my own stomping ground and I liked that I knew the geography (and have been to the restaurant in Croydon where one scene is set). There is also gentle humour and a moments of light-heartedness but I wasn't convinced by the "finding God" aspects, it felt forced and unrealistic.
I part listened part read this, as although I got a free code for the audible, the narrator for me did not do the book justice. I found I couldn't listen to this all the way through. I found some of the accents and timing of the narrator off-putting so switched to the Kindle edition.
The writing was at times a bit clunky, but overall the story was enjoyable.
Story 3 stars
Narrator 2 stars
Overall 3 stars.
February 23, 2020
Book 14 of my Goodreads Challenge 2020
An enjoyable read
For the most part I enjoyed this story of Rob Wise and his family and friends. The home he shared with his dysfunctional friends read more like a squat with the guys being almost a waste of space lazing around, jobless getting drunk living in squalor. I wanted to give them a good shaking to get their minds in gear. The author did push the boundaries giving us in-depth descriptions (boys toilet humour) that did not really appeal.
As others mentioned this story did tend to cross genres so we had a bit of comedy, romance, Russian Mafia, religion, thriller and travel. We had some happy times and also some sad ones and so there is probably something for almost everyone within the pages of this little book.
Worth giving a go.
An enjoyable read
For the most part I enjoyed this story of Rob Wise and his family and friends. The home he shared with his dysfunctional friends read more like a squat with the guys being almost a waste of space lazing around, jobless getting drunk living in squalor. I wanted to give them a good shaking to get their minds in gear. The author did push the boundaries giving us in-depth descriptions (boys toilet humour) that did not really appeal.
As others mentioned this story did tend to cross genres so we had a bit of comedy, romance, Russian Mafia, religion, thriller and travel. We had some happy times and also some sad ones and so there is probably something for almost everyone within the pages of this little book.
Worth giving a go.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews