Book Review: The Editor

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

The Editor     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Thomas William Simpson
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Psychological Suspense   Thriller
Bantam, Sep 2000, $6.50, 384 pp.

Book editor Sam Adams loved his wife Ellen and their son Ricky. However, tragedy struck on Easter Sunday when a lunatic killed both of his beloved family members. Although the killer received two life sentences, Sam wished for the death penalty. He begins keeping a journal in which he places entries almost every day. Still, Sam is unable to remain in the home he shared with Ellen and Ricky because he finds too many memories in every corner. To relieve his nightmares, on the spur of the moment Sam rents a cottage from a complete stranger Roger Richmond.

Roger’s mother Evelyn, a blind cellist of some note, lives in the nearby main house. Evelyn seems to enjoy flirting with Sam and soon he buries his grieving as he finds himself attracted to his landlady. Their relationship forges a weird bond between them that helps Sam forget his grieving. Is it love or lust between two wounded souls and what path will it ultimately take?

THE EDITOR is a cleverly disguised suspense tale filled with twists and turns that will completely fool the audience. The story line is crisp as the reader learns what is going on through Sam’s journal. Anyone who wants a taut psychological thriller will enjoy Thomas William Simpson’s mindbending twister that is never solved until the climax.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner