Seymour Shubin (1921–2014)
Author of Witness to myself
Works by Seymour Shubin
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1921
- Date of death
- 2014
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Country (for map)
- USA
- Birthplace
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Short biography
- Seymour Shubin is the author of fifteen novels and more articles and short stories than he can begin to remember. His novels and stories have won numerous awards. 'The Captain', received the Edgar Allan Poe Special Award from Mystery Writers of America, and was also the subject of an essay in 100 Great Detectives. Another of his novels, 'Anyone's My Name', a New York Times' bestseller, and has been used as a text in university criminology courses.
His short stories have appeared in a wide range of publications, ranging from such popular magazines as Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine to the literary Story and Potpourri, where one of his stories won the best-of-year award. A collection of sixteen of Shubin's tales were collected in 'Lonely No More', which was released in 2012. Other stories have been anthologized, and one of Shubin's stories -- 'The Cry of a Violin' -- was broadcast twice on the BBC, whilst 'The Good and The Dead' was collected onto six CDs by Books in Motion. His one nonfiction book was a commissioned biography of John B. Amos, the late founder of the insurance giant, AFLAC.
Shubin was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA and is a graduate of Temple University. He and his wife, Gloria, live in one of the suburbs. They have two married children. His son, Neil Shubin, wrote the paleontology book 'Your Inner Fish'... which was shortlisted for the Royal Society Prize for Science Books in 2009.
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Reviews
Despised it. The framing device seems rather weak. An author who can't find a story to write? Does seem that Seymour had the same issue.
Very little happens and the character (OK the character's cousin) tends to be pushed along because of his own paranoia. Seems to indicate that librarians will think that anyone that researches murders at a library must be a killer. The last third seems to throw up an interesting idea but then it turns out to be nothing. Final chapter then does a 'here's what happened' that feels rushed and doesn't really add anything.
But there's nothing to move the book forward. I don't care if the guy gets caught by the cops or not. Sure I don't really like him, but I don't hate him. There was no last minute twist to knock you out of your chair or anything really to redeem the slog that was the first two thirds.
This book took me five months to read and it was a real effort to get through it. There are much better Hard Cases worth your time.… (more)
Very little happens and the character (OK the character's cousin) tends to be pushed along because of his own paranoia. Seems to indicate that librarians will think that anyone that researches murders at a library must be a killer. The last third seems to throw up an interesting idea but then it turns out to be nothing. Final chapter then does a 'here's what happened' that feels rushed and doesn't really add anything.
But there's nothing to move the book forward. I don't care if the guy gets caught by the cops or not. Sure I don't really like him, but I don't hate him. There was no last minute twist to knock you out of your chair or anything really to redeem the slog that was the first two thirds.
This book took me five months to read and it was a real effort to get through it. There are much better Hard Cases worth your time.… (more)
I read a book by the author years ago called 'The Captain' and really enjoyed it, so when I came across another of his works I thought it was worth a try.
Holy Secrets did not live up to my expectations, and while it wasn't an awful book it definitely wasn't anything to get excited about.
Carla Keller is a psychiatrist at a respected hospital, her husband is also of the same profession and they have a seemingly idyllic life. However he unexpectedly commits suicide with no apparent reason. She feels there is more to his death than meets the eye, but when she starts to dig a little deeper into his past and the past of those around him, a pattern begins to emerge. Can any of the people she used to trust really be confided in? Or is there a mass conspiracy? Things take a sinister turn when her son is dragged into the equation. Is he really at risk or is it all just a part of her tormented mind looking for answers where none exist?
A fairly well written book, with a cohesive plot. The biggest issue is that the twists were seen coming a mile away and I didn't really care enough about any of the characters. The storyline has been rehashed many times (although who is say this wasn't an original idea when published in 1984?) and often written better. Not a total waste of time but if I am honest it was largely forgettable. I will still read Shubin if I come across him, but he seems to be quite rare these days.… (more)
Holy Secrets did not live up to my expectations, and while it wasn't an awful book it definitely wasn't anything to get excited about.
Carla Keller is a psychiatrist at a respected hospital, her husband is also of the same profession and they have a seemingly idyllic life. However he unexpectedly commits suicide with no apparent reason. She feels there is more to his death than meets the eye, but when she starts to dig a little deeper into his past and the past of those around him, a pattern begins to emerge. Can any of the people she used to trust really be confided in? Or is there a mass conspiracy? Things take a sinister turn when her son is dragged into the equation. Is he really at risk or is it all just a part of her tormented mind looking for answers where none exist?
A fairly well written book, with a cohesive plot. The biggest issue is that the twists were seen coming a mile away and I didn't really care enough about any of the characters. The storyline has been rehashed many times (although who is say this wasn't an original idea when published in 1984?) and often written better. Not a total waste of time but if I am honest it was largely forgettable. I will still read Shubin if I come across him, but he seems to be quite rare these days.… (more)
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- Works
- 20
- Also by
- 2
- Members
- 242
- Popularity
- #93,893
- Rating
- 3.2
- Reviews
- 10
- ISBNs
- 40
- Languages
- 3
Overwhelming guilt. Fifteen years. A return to the scene of the crime. And the truth. The agony that the main character goes through is tragic, though totally self-inflicted. I very much felt a "Tell Tale Heart" vibe throughout the read.
“Kill yourself or give yourself up!”