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The Simeon Chamber
Sam Bogardus is the law partner of his former lover, though the relationship is now platonic. Bored, he takes on elegant Jennifer Davies as a client. She has fallen heir to an ancient, valuable document belonging to her father, which surfaced 33 years after he mysteriously disappeared in a 1942 Navy blimp crash. When Bogardus discovers the literary legacy is probably an excerpt from lost diaries of 16th century explorer Sir Francis Drake, word of the find leaks out and the net closes on Davies and Bogardus. Willing to kidnap, maim and kill to possess the papers, his covetous adversaries unwittingly lead the counselor to San Simeon, William Randolph Hearst's castle, where he unearths a startling wartime black-market scandal.
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 11, 1988
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About the author
Steve Martini
96 books696 followersSteven Paul "Steve" Martini is an American writer of legal novels.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
March 3, 2017
In truth, I was torn between giving this book one or two stars. For whatever reason, I went with two.
I found this book in my apartment building's laundry room. I liked the title, which I found out, I had misread. This misreading led to an incomplete understanding of the title and how it related to the story, and, by consequence, I disconnected with the book as a whole. That's my fault, I get that.
But other misgivings I have about The Simeon Chamber aren't on me. Rather, the book is a bit slow and overpopulated. In addition to having two characters with the same first name, there are too many characters to keep track of, some of whom appear and disappear from the narrative with no resolution to their part in the drama unfolding on the page.
I picked up the book because of the title, and decided to keep reading based on the strength of the first couple of chapters; they were well written with just enough intrigue to keep me going. But the story stalls out every now and again, and Martini's writing often times takes on a kind of naive quality when describing certain characters or situations. Worse still, the plot, which involves a ghost blimp, buried treasure, and stolen art, is overshadowed by too much mystery--which is a problem given this book is part mystery novel.
In short, Martini takes too long to get to the good stuff.
***SPOILERS***
In addition to my overall dissatisfaction with the story, I have a huge problem with part of the resolution. The MC's law partner, ex-girlfriend, and sometime lover is murdered partway through the book, and Sam's quest for vengeance keeps him going, pursuing the mystery to its conclusion. But when we finally find out who killed Pat, the revelation is not at all satisfying. In fact, it's infuriating, from timing to content.
Tacked on at the very end of the book, Pat's murderer is revealed to be Sam's own mother, Angie. Angie has hated Pat since forever, and took advantage of an opportunity to get rid of what can only be described as "the competition." Not only does Angie murder Pat, she also interferes with Sam's business, stealing documents and things. It's not fair to the reader to create such a psychologically complicated character, have her manipulate the narrative from the shadows, then dismiss her actions as an unfortunate consequence of her growing and untreated "mania."
Remember that naive I mentioned? Here it is in spades.
I found this book in my apartment building's laundry room. I liked the title, which I found out, I had misread. This misreading led to an incomplete understanding of the title and how it related to the story, and, by consequence, I disconnected with the book as a whole. That's my fault, I get that.
But other misgivings I have about The Simeon Chamber aren't on me. Rather, the book is a bit slow and overpopulated. In addition to having two characters with the same first name, there are too many characters to keep track of, some of whom appear and disappear from the narrative with no resolution to their part in the drama unfolding on the page.
I picked up the book because of the title, and decided to keep reading based on the strength of the first couple of chapters; they were well written with just enough intrigue to keep me going. But the story stalls out every now and again, and Martini's writing often times takes on a kind of naive quality when describing certain characters or situations. Worse still, the plot, which involves a ghost blimp, buried treasure, and stolen art, is overshadowed by too much mystery--which is a problem given this book is part mystery novel.
In short, Martini takes too long to get to the good stuff.
***SPOILERS***
In addition to my overall dissatisfaction with the story, I have a huge problem with part of the resolution. The MC's law partner, ex-girlfriend, and sometime lover is murdered partway through the book, and Sam's quest for vengeance keeps him going, pursuing the mystery to its conclusion. But when we finally find out who killed Pat, the revelation is not at all satisfying. In fact, it's infuriating, from timing to content.
Tacked on at the very end of the book, Pat's murderer is revealed to be Sam's own mother, Angie. Angie has hated Pat since forever, and took advantage of an opportunity to get rid of what can only be described as "the competition." Not only does Angie murder Pat, she also interferes with Sam's business, stealing documents and things. It's not fair to the reader to create such a psychologically complicated character, have her manipulate the narrative from the shadows, then dismiss her actions as an unfortunate consequence of her growing and untreated "mania."
Remember that naive I mentioned? Here it is in spades.
July 23, 2010
First mystery novel from now successful author, not bad !
Unlike lawyers Grisham, Turow, and Scottoline, turned writers, Steve Martini is a journalism graduate and writer who went on to become a lawyer! (Seems there ought to be a good joke in there somehow!) He must be doing fine, as his booklist now numbers eight (five of which comprise the defense attorney Paul Madriani series), with a ninth hardback due out late this year. Let's get real here folks -- this is his first book, and we thought, not bad at all.
In a very complex plot, almost shades of Clancy, we're quickly engrossed into the hunt for possible survivors of a 1942 blimp crash; a search for 16th century documents, possibly the journal of the explorer/pirate Francis Drake; the murder of the partner (and former {?} love interest) of the leading man, lawyer Sam Bogardus; and some other crimes and problems too numerous to recount. There's really not much lawyering happening, and sure, some of this winds up a little silly and improbable, but hey, it's mystery fiction. We thought the goings-on, climaxed by a very neat wrapping up of all the puzzles and murders, plus one totally unexpected revelation in the epilogue, were indeed quite entertaining. And the huge surprise ending left us aghast -- we cannot imagine many at all will be the slightest bit prepared for this icing on the cake!
In sum, a fine plot with quite a neat ending, with good story telling hurt somewhat by a few weak characters and/or some improbable action, gives Martini's first effort a passing grade, leaving us anxious to try his second outing and first of the Madriani set. Why not!
Unlike lawyers Grisham, Turow, and Scottoline, turned writers, Steve Martini is a journalism graduate and writer who went on to become a lawyer! (Seems there ought to be a good joke in there somehow!) He must be doing fine, as his booklist now numbers eight (five of which comprise the defense attorney Paul Madriani series), with a ninth hardback due out late this year. Let's get real here folks -- this is his first book, and we thought, not bad at all.
In a very complex plot, almost shades of Clancy, we're quickly engrossed into the hunt for possible survivors of a 1942 blimp crash; a search for 16th century documents, possibly the journal of the explorer/pirate Francis Drake; the murder of the partner (and former {?} love interest) of the leading man, lawyer Sam Bogardus; and some other crimes and problems too numerous to recount. There's really not much lawyering happening, and sure, some of this winds up a little silly and improbable, but hey, it's mystery fiction. We thought the goings-on, climaxed by a very neat wrapping up of all the puzzles and murders, plus one totally unexpected revelation in the epilogue, were indeed quite entertaining. And the huge surprise ending left us aghast -- we cannot imagine many at all will be the slightest bit prepared for this icing on the cake!
In sum, a fine plot with quite a neat ending, with good story telling hurt somewhat by a few weak characters and/or some improbable action, gives Martini's first effort a passing grade, leaving us anxious to try his second outing and first of the Madriani set. Why not!
October 9, 2021
The Simeon Chamber by Steve Martini is the author's debut legal/crime thriller, set in 1975 San Francisco with a prologue in 1906. The central plot mystery stems from an historical event in 1942, with fictional links to Sir Francis Drake's voyage in 1579.
Sam Bogardus and Susan "Pat" Paterson are legal partners in their own firm. They formerly lived together as lovers, but the relationship cooled, and they now live separately. Sam's mother Angie (who never liked Susan) manipulates Sam constantly with requests that he come to her home-cooked dinners, or help one of her friends with a legal matter.
One such request by Angie leads to Jennifer Davies arriving in Sam's office. He is startled to see a young well-dressed woman, not one of his mother's cronies. Jennifer wants him to trace her natural father. She's adopted, and her stepfather will not reveal the past. Jennifer has received parchment papers in the mail, she suspects from her father. James Spencer was one of the two military men on the Ghost Blimp. It took off from nearby Treasure Island, then mysteriously crashed in San Francisco in 1942. Neither of the 2 men aboard were ever seen again.
Although Sam knows this isn't a legal matter, more of a task for a private investigator, he takes it on anyway; he's bored with legal duties, and she's attractive.
Sam takes the papers to his best buddy Nick, a professor at the university. Nick is quite excited at the possibility the papers are genuine (not forgeries). Nick takes them to an expert (Jasper) who confirms their authenticity by his expertise, and also by having minute scrapings electronically examined. Nick is convinced by the gleam of greed in Jasper's eyes that the papers must be kept safe.
Clearly someone else is after the papers. Sam's apartment is ransacked in the wee hours, and he's attacked. Soon after, someone inquiring about the papers in Chinatown is murdered. Devastated, Sam leaves the hospital with Nick's assistance (not released by the doctor). They begin "hiding out" (not in their own homes) while continuing to investigate.
Sam and Nick (and others who join their quest) never notice they're stalked by a tall man with a raven-head walking stick, usually driven in a limo by a beefy chauffeur. Mayhem follows when he's around.
Having read a few books in the Paul Madriani series, I kept hoping for the plot to eventually lead to courtroom scenes. It never does. It evolves into somewhat of a conspiracy plot (understandable for a book published in 1988) about a shady Committee of Acquisition including a Nazi party member.
The quest takes Sam, Nick and Jennifer down the coast to Hearst Castle at San Simeon. Of course they're followed by the tall man with the cane. Another murder occurs, followed by a kidnap. The final deadly confrontation takes place at Drake's Beach, back up the coast near Point Reyes. The "Seven Sisters" sandstone cliffs reminded Francis Drake of the white cliffs of Dover. Surprise plot twists continue into the epilogue.
Sam Bogardus and Susan "Pat" Paterson are legal partners in their own firm. They formerly lived together as lovers, but the relationship cooled, and they now live separately. Sam's mother Angie (who never liked Susan) manipulates Sam constantly with requests that he come to her home-cooked dinners, or help one of her friends with a legal matter.
One such request by Angie leads to Jennifer Davies arriving in Sam's office. He is startled to see a young well-dressed woman, not one of his mother's cronies. Jennifer wants him to trace her natural father. She's adopted, and her stepfather will not reveal the past. Jennifer has received parchment papers in the mail, she suspects from her father. James Spencer was one of the two military men on the Ghost Blimp. It took off from nearby Treasure Island, then mysteriously crashed in San Francisco in 1942. Neither of the 2 men aboard were ever seen again.
Although Sam knows this isn't a legal matter, more of a task for a private investigator, he takes it on anyway; he's bored with legal duties, and she's attractive.
Sam takes the papers to his best buddy Nick, a professor at the university. Nick is quite excited at the possibility the papers are genuine (not forgeries). Nick takes them to an expert (Jasper) who confirms their authenticity by his expertise, and also by having minute scrapings electronically examined. Nick is convinced by the gleam of greed in Jasper's eyes that the papers must be kept safe.
Clearly someone else is after the papers. Sam's apartment is ransacked in the wee hours, and he's attacked. Soon after, someone inquiring about the papers in Chinatown is murdered. Devastated, Sam leaves the hospital with Nick's assistance (not released by the doctor). They begin "hiding out" (not in their own homes) while continuing to investigate.
Sam and Nick (and others who join their quest) never notice they're stalked by a tall man with a raven-head walking stick, usually driven in a limo by a beefy chauffeur. Mayhem follows when he's around.
Having read a few books in the Paul Madriani series, I kept hoping for the plot to eventually lead to courtroom scenes. It never does. It evolves into somewhat of a conspiracy plot (understandable for a book published in 1988) about a shady Committee of Acquisition including a Nazi party member.
The quest takes Sam, Nick and Jennifer down the coast to Hearst Castle at San Simeon. Of course they're followed by the tall man with the cane. Another murder occurs, followed by a kidnap. The final deadly confrontation takes place at Drake's Beach, back up the coast near Point Reyes. The "Seven Sisters" sandstone cliffs reminded Francis Drake of the white cliffs of Dover. Surprise plot twists continue into the epilogue.
December 20, 2017
A quick read and very entertaining.
July 18, 2019
Just couldn't get into this book. This is Martini's first book and I can see shades of the Madriani series here. Jake, the investigator, has similar traits to Herman in the future series. I like Nick and could have seen him as a side kick to Paul Madriani, but I think Harry works better. The plot moved slowly, too many loose ends and unexplained plot moves. Glad this wasn't the first book by Martini that I read or I would have not read more and I would have missed some good books, like The List.
December 21, 2021
This is one of Martini's that I must have skipped. Lawyer Sam Bogardus picks up a routine search for birth father case by way of his interfering mother. But the case turns out to be very unroutine. It involves the journals of Sir Francis Drake, the Hearst Castle and a World War II blimp that crashed in the mid 40's in Daly City, CA.
July 31, 2022
Martini's first, don't know how it got published, gave up after reading about 80%. When I go back to it, I think, boring; perhaps it'll get more interesting an move along better. He's gotten much better since then, only found one other I didn't like enormously.
January 22, 2023
To be fair, it’s not my genre. There was some suspense throughout, but it took me a while to get through this one. It drove me nuts how the author switched between calling characters by their first & last names. The end was a little strange too.
March 12, 2019
good read
July 15, 2019
Very intense. I love all of his books!
September 26, 2020
Love his other books but just didnt care about this one
August 29, 2021
I couldn't put it down
September 6, 2021
An early surprise and an unexpected twist. Compelling characters with nicely-paced action and an interesting storyline. A good read.
November 21, 2021
This is one of those you have to able to focus on...at a later date.
November 30, 2023
I liked it. Was hoping for better though.
Read
April 26, 2024TBR Try-A-Chapter DNF.
April 23, 2016
Steve Martini is the author of "The Simeon Chamber," an historical novel involving Sir Francis Drake's supposed landing in the San Francisco area in the 1500's. I confess to enjoying historical mysteries or mysteries centered on some historical event or object, so this one caught my eye. I have not read anything by Martini before, but I was drawn to the Drake subject matter. Another item of historical interest is the referencing of information about the newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst and the Hearst Castle. I enjoyed the story and will try another Martini some day.
The protagonist is lawyer Sam Bogardus who is an interesting character, as are most of the other characters through Martini's good character development. In fact, the reader begins to become interested in them as people and in their actions. In this story, Bogardus' client believed her natural father died years ago in a bizarre war time blimp accident. But now, she's received word that he's still alive and tied to a hidden fortune. There is no courtroom drama in this novel, which one might expect in a "lawyer" novel. The plot is well crafted and is tied to the client's search for her father. The plot is woven with a mysterious Ghost Blimp crash in '42, Drake's missing treasure, and the journal of his voyages. Martini deftly weaves a plot of suspense that has twists and turns and surprises right up to the end, but then the events neatly circle back to the prologue without being unbelievable. The ending is not predictable; in fact, there are several surprises that will leave the reader aghast. "The Simeon Chamber" is a relatively fast read, which brings the story to a jaw dropping and stunning finale.
The protagonist is lawyer Sam Bogardus who is an interesting character, as are most of the other characters through Martini's good character development. In fact, the reader begins to become interested in them as people and in their actions. In this story, Bogardus' client believed her natural father died years ago in a bizarre war time blimp accident. But now, she's received word that he's still alive and tied to a hidden fortune. There is no courtroom drama in this novel, which one might expect in a "lawyer" novel. The plot is well crafted and is tied to the client's search for her father. The plot is woven with a mysterious Ghost Blimp crash in '42, Drake's missing treasure, and the journal of his voyages. Martini deftly weaves a plot of suspense that has twists and turns and surprises right up to the end, but then the events neatly circle back to the prologue without being unbelievable. The ending is not predictable; in fact, there are several surprises that will leave the reader aghast. "The Simeon Chamber" is a relatively fast read, which brings the story to a jaw dropping and stunning finale.
April 13, 2010
Lawyer Sam Bogardus' client believed her natural father died years ago in a bizarre accident. But now, she's received word that he's still alive and tied to a hidden fortune. Sam's investigation uncovers a web of conspiracy so shocking that it's enough to make the lawyer take the law into his own hands.
March 7, 2012
I took this book on a trip and expected to have it finished in no time. But it just didn't draw me back. I read most of it on the flight home and it kept me interested but not entertained. I have 6 or 7 other books by this author and will give one more book a try before I give them away to Goodwill.
May 16, 2012
Who would have ever thought Nazis, Francis Drake, and Hearst's Castle could be in one modern day investigative lawyer mystery? It starts slowly and the heroes do some awfully dumb things, but it does get better. There's one extremely unexpected twist at the end. On the other hand, there is no good foundation for who end up being partners.
February 13, 2013
A good mystery, somewhat off the beaten (topic) path for Martini bu intriguing and easily readable as usual. An historical background involving Francis Drake's landing at San Francisco in the 1500's and his missing treasure and the journal of his voyages. The principal characters are still lawyers but they appear as adventurers rather than courtroom participants.
July 19, 2014
This was not the best Martini book I have ever read, but it was great fun nonetheless. Enveloping Sir Francis Drake, the California coast, W.R. Hearst and sinister characters in a murder mystery was an interesting idea with which Martini kept me turning pages. The main characters lacked a bit of development, and some of the story was disjointed - but I still found it enjoyable.
August 10, 2015
This is my first book of Steve Martini & I think I did a mistake. The summary of this book looks promising but when you start reading it you might want to throw it away. The plot was good & the pacing was also but I somehow didn't felt attached to the character their emotions & anything. It was like a bland.
February 12, 2012
Steve Martini is an excellent novelist and this earlier work is no exception. He deftly weaves a plot of suspense that has twists and turns and surprises until the end, but that neatly circle back to the prologue without being unbelievable.
June 25, 2014
Sometimes an intricate plot leads the reader on and on, and then it is a though the author thinks ....I'd better end this book.....and the plot goes pfffft, and doesn't live up to the hype.
a very surprising twist at the end didn't rescue this book, but seemed more like a gimic.
a very surprising twist at the end didn't rescue this book, but seemed more like a gimic.
February 19, 2016
A very plesant book to read.
It kept me intrested all the time but never got a very tight grip on me.
But plesant enough to make me consider reading more books from this writer.
That why this book gets a nice score of 3 stars from me.
It kept me intrested all the time but never got a very tight grip on me.
But plesant enough to make me consider reading more books from this writer.
That why this book gets a nice score of 3 stars from me.
April 13, 2022
An exciting tangled web that needs unravelling. Enough misdirection, tension, twists and turns including California Highway 101 near San Francisco. The plot and characters include other continents and other centuries.
September 4, 2007
All Steve Martini books are great!
August 23, 2007
It's a nice enough treasure hunt. The character's don't seem to fit in, though.
February 2, 2008
Great beach read - treasure hunt thriller involving the notes of Sir Francis Drake...lots of history.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews