A Touch of Evil by Barry Simiana

Ali Mark
Mar 28, 2016
4 min read

Gut Instinct Rating - 3.44

Story Line - 3.5

Writing Style - 4.5

Characters - 4.06

Excitement Factor - 4.13

Believability for type and topics - 4.14

Similarity to other books - 4.63

Title Relevance - 4.0

Goodreads users gave this book a 4.27. I think it was more deserving of a 4.11.

Published in 2011.

Pages: 205.

Number of books by author: 5.

Genre: Fiction.

Barry Simiana wrote an 8-series (+ prologue) of short stories. I did not take into account the cover artwork for this novel. The collective average above is taking each story into account and taking their average for that category. I will quickly provide overviews for each category and a few comments of feedback.

Short #1: End of The Line, 25 pages, 3.69 Rating

Gut Instinct Rating - 3.5
Story Line - 4
Writing Style - 3.5
Characters - 4
Excitement Factor - 4
Believability for type and topics - 4
Similarity to other books - 3
Title Relevance - 3.5

This was one of my top 3 - likely would've been #3 on that list. The character building was a bit under what I wanted. I thought given the potential for this story, I wanted more characters from each event Matt encountered. This easily could've been a foundation for a novel, despite its similarity to other fantasy books. I didn't really follow the ending so much, so I was left feeling a bit sour.

Short #2: My Evil Twin, 15 pages, 3.50.

Gut Instinct Rating - 3
Story Line - X
Writing Style - 3.5
Characters - 3
Excitement Factor - 4
Believability for type and topics - X
Similarity to other books - 4
Title Relevance - X

I didn't really understand this story at all. I couldn't really categorize everything, so if you see an X above, that's why. This story could've been a bit more informative. I think I got the gist of what was happening, but it was just so unclear.

Short #3: Davy's Rivers of Light, 13 pages, 4.56

Gut Instinct Rating - 2
Story Line - 5
Writing Style -5
Characters - 5
Excitement Factor - 4
Believability for type and topics - 5
Similarity to other books - 5
Title Relevance - 3.5

Like Short #2, I didn't really follow this. I'm not really into the fantasy-scene, so I felt just disconnected I suppose. Just a bit out of my realm.

Short #4: Hair Raiser, 31 pages, 3.63

Gut Instinct Rating - 2
Story Line - 2
Writing Style - 4
Characters - 5
Excitement Factor - 4
Believability for type and topics - 2
Similarity to other books - 5
Title Relevance - 5

This was definitely a clever play on words. Simiana did an excellent job of playing the comedian in this story. I didn't love it, but the last line was a good punch-line. There wasn't necessarily a point... it was kind of like, a long joke.

Short #5: The Card, 71 pages, 4.93

Gut Instinct Rating - 5
Story Line - 5
Writing Style - 5
Characters - 4.5
Excitement Factor - 5
Believability for type and topics - 5
Similarity to other books - 5
Title Relevance - 5

This was my favorite of this series. I really could've played into this story for an entire novel if it existed. I love crime novels, and this story in particular reminded me of Eoin Colfer's Plugged/Screwed series. If I were to ever recommend something by Simiana, this would definitely be it. I would've liked to see a bit more about Eddie's perspective after his luck ran out, but otherwise, this couldn't have gotten much better.

Short #6: Family Business, 37 pages, 4.38

Gut Instinct Rating - 4
Story Line - 4
Writing Style - 5
Characters - 4
Excitement Factor - 4
Believability for type and topics - 4
Similarity to other books - 5
Title Relevance - 5

This would've stood #2 on the top 3 list. It was just unique and out there, but it was really well connected and flowed. This definitely could've been a novel, as well. I would've liked to seen a bit more of the dynamics with Maggie after she learns about her 'powers.' And I definitely wanted to know more about notifying the family and friends.

Short #7: My Funny Valentine, 8 pages, 4.88

Gut Instinct Rating - 4
Story Line - 5
Writing Style - 5
Characters - 4
Excitement Factor - 5
Believability for type and topics - 5
Similarity to other books - 5
Title Relevance - 5

This was just another comedic release. I don't tend to laugh at books, especially not out loud, but I got a little chuckle, and then suddenly, it wasn't so funny.

Short #8: How High The Moon, 8 pages, 3.25