Incredible praise for HOLD ME DOWN
“Lyrical, layered, and full of surprises. Simon has penned a raw and emotional thriller with a heartbeat, about lost dreams and missing friends, regrets and buried memories, the final note reminding us that it’s never too late to start again. Provocative, moving, and suspenseful.” –Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of Last Girl Ghosted
“Gripping and intense, a darkly suspenseful dive into friendship, fame, murder, and the thrilling power of rock music. I couldn’t put it down.” —Meg Gardiner, author of the UNSUB series
"This devastatingly powerful mystery hits like a punch to the heart." —Caroline Leavitt, author of Pictures of You
"Simon perceptively illustrates the sacrifices one makes for art. Simon’s tour of the Boston music scene will make readers wish “Hold Me Down” included a link to iTunes." —Oline Cogdill, Sun-Sentinel
"A mystery that expires character motivations ... For fans of Alexander McCall Smith and Janet Evanovich." —Library Journal
"Simon draws on her career as a journalist, in particular her reporting on Boston’s music scene in the 1990s, for the setting, concert scenes, and flashbacks, bringing a gritty reality to this dark suspense tale." —Booklist
“A flat-out, stoked-up, red-alert blistering justice-gets-done story that you can’t put down.” —E. Jean Carroll, author of What Do We Need Men For?
"The big mystery in this exquisite novel is not the one in the story but the one in the way Clea Simon tells it. We hear music that never existed, pine for memories we couldn't have, and mourn for the survivors." —David Hajdu, author of Lush Life and Positively 4th Street
“This pitch-perfectly dark psychological suspense underscores the price of fame, the price of friendship, and the temptations of success. Sharp and insightful, and written with exquisite detail, this story has a soundtrack that will linger long after the final page.” —Hank Phillippi Ryan, USA Today-bestselling author of Her Perfect Life
“HOLD ME DOWN is a joyous novel about friendship and survival, but what dark, bitter joy. Simon has gone deep into a world many women know all too well, where pride, guilt, and pain do battle inside the stories we tell. A cracking plot in a rich setting round out this important, timely book to perfection.” —Catriona McPherson, Edgar-nominated author of A Gingerbread House
“Powerfully written and compulsively readable. Part murder mystery and part wistful history of a one-time rock star and her deeply buried secrets.” —Dave Zeltserman, award-winning author of Small Crimes, now a Netflix film
“A hard-rocking riff of a novel, HOLD ME DOWN explodes with a passion for music while also probing the intimate betrayals buried under a haze of alcohol and pills. Simon expertly explores how music seeks to embody truth, even when musicians hid their own pain behind the melodies.” —Joanna Schaffhausen, winner of the MWA/St. Martin's Minotaur first crime novel award for The Vanishing Season
10/01/2021
Simon's ("Witch Cats of Cambridge") latest is a 1990s-set rock and roll mystery. Musician Gal Raver was only supposed to be in Boston for a few days to attend a memorial concert honoring her friend Aimee, who has recently passed away from cancer. But Gal's plans change when someone from her past turns up dead: her band's first roadie, Thomas Kennedy, aka T.K., has been killed behind the venue for the benefit concert. Aimee's husband is soon arrested for his murder. Gal takes a walk down memory lane to learn why someone would kill T.K. and discovers that more happened during her rock and roll days than she realized. VERDICT A mystery that explores character motivations rather than the murder itself. For fans of Alexander McCall Smith and Janet Evanovich.—Victoria Kollar, Racine P.L., WI
