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The Note Man
Peter Jeffries thought that placing a note on a stranger's windscreen could help people improve their driving skills, but he quickly realized that his actions lead to people getting killed, prompting him a sense of revenge and righteousness.
In order to protect his wife and daughter, he will have to deal with a criminal organization, armed with nothing but his brains and ordinary gadgets. Will that be enough?
In order to protect his wife and daughter, he will have to deal with a criminal organization, armed with nothing but his brains and ordinary gadgets. Will that be enough?
350 pages, Paperback
First published April 7, 2019
12 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Pine
2 books4 followersAndrew was born and raised in the city of Porto, the 2nd largest city in Portugal, and after 18 years as a quality engineer/manager, he is currently working as a project manager on a management consulting agency.
Although he has always enjoyed writing, he kept it to short articles published on his Linkedin profile (https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrepinh...). From mid-2018 he started collaborating with an online magazine dedicated to entrepreneurship (https://www.startandgo.pt - only in portuguese, unfortunately).
Andrew was always fascinated with the way seemingly mundane things can be correlated with management concepts. That's why the book "Perfume" by Patrick Süsking was a great influence, as it skillfully turned something like beauty fragrances into a medieval crime novel.
During a "between jobs" spell in 2018, Andrew decided to try writing a long story, and again tried to take a mundane subject like traffic problems and turn it into an action thriller. It became his first novel, The Note Man.
Although he has always enjoyed writing, he kept it to short articles published on his Linkedin profile (https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrepinh...). From mid-2018 he started collaborating with an online magazine dedicated to entrepreneurship (https://www.startandgo.pt - only in portuguese, unfortunately).
Andrew was always fascinated with the way seemingly mundane things can be correlated with management concepts. That's why the book "Perfume" by Patrick Süsking was a great influence, as it skillfully turned something like beauty fragrances into a medieval crime novel.
During a "between jobs" spell in 2018, Andrew decided to try writing a long story, and again tried to take a mundane subject like traffic problems and turn it into an action thriller. It became his first novel, The Note Man.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 19, 2020
First and foremost, a large thank you to Reedsy Discovery and Andrew Pine for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.
Drawn to the premise of Andrew Pine’s book, I settled in to see if the actual novel would be as exciting. There were certainly some moments, after a slow start to the narrative. Peter Jeffries is going through his mid-life crisis after being made redundant at his place of work. Unsure how he will tell his wife and teenage daughter, Peter begins to notice the world around him and is not impressed. He comes to realise just how poorly people in Boston drive, not using their signal lights and being much more erratic than needed. Peter wonders if there is something he can do, wanting to make a difference and leave the roads safer. When not looking for work, Peter devises a plan to leave notes on the windshields of offending drivers, in hopes of jarring them into following the rules. Using short messages on Post-It notes, Peter begins his crusade as “The Note Man”, watching from a distance. He notices mixes results and decides to deliver follow-up notes to those who do not heed the warning on their windshields. When one of his notes results in a reaction he did not expect, Peter is left in a quandary, having crossed one of the Irish Mob’s senior officials. While they cannot identify him directly, Peter is surely on their radar. Aware of a crime that has been committed while he was staking out one of his notes, Peter is determined to create new ways of letting the Irish know he is onto them. Flirting with danger, Peter cannot help himself, even if it means the safety of those around him might be in jeopardy. An interesting read that I was able to do in quick order. Those readers who can suffer through a little bit of a slow opening will likely enjoy this piece.
Road rage is nothing new in this day and age, so much so that Pine opens the novel with a fictionalised account of an incident he witnessed outside of Boston. Turning this issue into a full-length novel, with the protagonist serving as a vigilante who is trying to find his place in the world was surely a genius move. Peter Jeffries plays his literary role well as he finds himself looking at the wrong end of employment. Trying to connect with his wife and daughter proves easier some days than others, though he is determined not to get lost in the shuffle. When he takes up his vigilante role of trying to make the streets of Boston a little safer, the reader sees a different side to Peter, one in which he has shed the humble accountant and finds a new boldness. Other characters surely add to the story, particularly in the latter half of the book. The reader will find things pick up with the addition of these new and more nefarious cast of individuals. The story flowed rather well, once Pine got the initial lugubrious foundation out of the way. Once the narrative picked up, the reader could surely find themselves feeling things gaining momentum. Mid-length chapters do not deter the reader from flowing through, as I did in a single day. While I rarely become critical of aspects other than the literary nature of a book, I cannot end this review without bringing to light of literal gaffes that were highly bothersome. Spelling and grammatical errors peppered the book, basic things that should not have been overlooked. In addition, Pine seems to be fighting with how to express time, as in the actual hour of the day. At times it is 6:15pm, others 6.15, while 18h15 and 18h15pm also make appearances. This sloppiness should never have made it to print and I hope you take back any money you paid an editor, Mr. Pine. If you did not invest in one, do so. This sloppy display cheapens the novel and cost one star in the rating. Take pride in the work before rushing things to print.
Kudos, Mr. Pine, for a great concept. If only it had not been muddied with grammar school gaffes!
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
Drawn to the premise of Andrew Pine’s book, I settled in to see if the actual novel would be as exciting. There were certainly some moments, after a slow start to the narrative. Peter Jeffries is going through his mid-life crisis after being made redundant at his place of work. Unsure how he will tell his wife and teenage daughter, Peter begins to notice the world around him and is not impressed. He comes to realise just how poorly people in Boston drive, not using their signal lights and being much more erratic than needed. Peter wonders if there is something he can do, wanting to make a difference and leave the roads safer. When not looking for work, Peter devises a plan to leave notes on the windshields of offending drivers, in hopes of jarring them into following the rules. Using short messages on Post-It notes, Peter begins his crusade as “The Note Man”, watching from a distance. He notices mixes results and decides to deliver follow-up notes to those who do not heed the warning on their windshields. When one of his notes results in a reaction he did not expect, Peter is left in a quandary, having crossed one of the Irish Mob’s senior officials. While they cannot identify him directly, Peter is surely on their radar. Aware of a crime that has been committed while he was staking out one of his notes, Peter is determined to create new ways of letting the Irish know he is onto them. Flirting with danger, Peter cannot help himself, even if it means the safety of those around him might be in jeopardy. An interesting read that I was able to do in quick order. Those readers who can suffer through a little bit of a slow opening will likely enjoy this piece.
Road rage is nothing new in this day and age, so much so that Pine opens the novel with a fictionalised account of an incident he witnessed outside of Boston. Turning this issue into a full-length novel, with the protagonist serving as a vigilante who is trying to find his place in the world was surely a genius move. Peter Jeffries plays his literary role well as he finds himself looking at the wrong end of employment. Trying to connect with his wife and daughter proves easier some days than others, though he is determined not to get lost in the shuffle. When he takes up his vigilante role of trying to make the streets of Boston a little safer, the reader sees a different side to Peter, one in which he has shed the humble accountant and finds a new boldness. Other characters surely add to the story, particularly in the latter half of the book. The reader will find things pick up with the addition of these new and more nefarious cast of individuals. The story flowed rather well, once Pine got the initial lugubrious foundation out of the way. Once the narrative picked up, the reader could surely find themselves feeling things gaining momentum. Mid-length chapters do not deter the reader from flowing through, as I did in a single day. While I rarely become critical of aspects other than the literary nature of a book, I cannot end this review without bringing to light of literal gaffes that were highly bothersome. Spelling and grammatical errors peppered the book, basic things that should not have been overlooked. In addition, Pine seems to be fighting with how to express time, as in the actual hour of the day. At times it is 6:15pm, others 6.15, while 18h15 and 18h15pm also make appearances. This sloppiness should never have made it to print and I hope you take back any money you paid an editor, Mr. Pine. If you did not invest in one, do so. This sloppy display cheapens the novel and cost one star in the rating. Take pride in the work before rushing things to print.
Kudos, Mr. Pine, for a great concept. If only it had not been muddied with grammar school gaffes!
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
June 14, 2019
I enjoyed this action thriller. While it started slowly it quickly picked up the pace and sped away to be a very action-packed read. An ordinary man does what he thinks is an ordinary thing not realizing the ramifications of his actions. Who would ever think that post-it notes could lead to danger and the mafia?
May 14, 2019
Suffering from a midlife crisis and obsessed with educating careless drivers about traffic safety, Peter Jeffries embarks on a journey that catapults him in the path of a dangerous mafia organization. By the time Peter realizes his blunder, the ramifications of his actions are about to hit his family.
Pine skillfully incorporates mundane details of Peter’s everyday life and a tremendous usage of techno gadgets into the high-octane, thrilling narrative without ever losing the pace of the story. The opening is slow, but the momentum accelerates as the story moves forward along with action and suspense.
Despite characters’ over-the-top impulsive actions at times, the dizzying turnarounds of everyday situations is an eye-opener. An action-packed thriller that will make the reader turn pages fast.
Pine skillfully incorporates mundane details of Peter’s everyday life and a tremendous usage of techno gadgets into the high-octane, thrilling narrative without ever losing the pace of the story. The opening is slow, but the momentum accelerates as the story moves forward along with action and suspense.
Despite characters’ over-the-top impulsive actions at times, the dizzying turnarounds of everyday situations is an eye-opener. An action-packed thriller that will make the reader turn pages fast.
June 19, 2019
This is the author’s first book and he has done a good job of taking a mundane life and throwing it into turmoil. Even though you may feel like throwing in the towel in the beginning do stick with it as the story does pick up pace and gets a lot more fascinating. It’s a bit of a quirky story but it’s a good read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
June 23, 2019
An incredible story that I can certainly identify with, as can likely most people who drive. I love the way the drama builds and snags you so that you do not want to put it down! Awesome book.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews