Steve M. Smith

Reviews - Southern Belle

This book is no rollercoaster. No, with a rollercoaster, you can see the track and you know what's coming. You can see the end. This is a cross country journey, where you're in unfamiliar territory and you don't know what's coming up around the bend. You can't see that the bridge is out until you're on top of it and without warning you're plunged into the depths of the dark, cold realm of espianage and murder. Such is the ride that Mike Braker finds himself on in "Southern Belle."
An average guy with an average job, he seems destined to live a happily ordinary life. But Braker soon discovers that nothing is as it seems when dealing with secrets and assassins. Every day drives him deeper into dangerous ground, taking him away from his home in England to Spain, New Orleans, Orlando and New York, all the while trying to unravel the mystery and avoid the crosshairs of a killer.
"Southern Belle" is a fast-paced page turner that is rich in detail and character insight. Steve Smith paints his people with vivid colors that help the reader envision not only the action of a scene, but also the emotions of those involved. He has obviously been to the various locations himself and his descriptions bring the cities to life, so that the reader can almost smell the crawfish cooking on the bijou.
So fasten your seatbelts and throw out the map. The end of this ride is not on it.

F. Baker - Colorado - Amazon Review


This book held my interest to the point where my only criticism is that there was not a good place to put it down!! The clarity of the decriptions of New Orleans made me wish to be there and you could easily visualise where the characters were at any point - brilliant. The fast paced action kept you guessing as to what was going to happen next and never let you down! I, and others, are looking forward to the next book by this author with great anticipation.

Jules Burkin - Amazon Review


Set in the early 90's, & taking in locations from Europe to America, Southern Belle is a very worthy & readable first time effort from Steve Smith. Bodies fall like dominoes as an ordinary guy finds himself in extra-ordinary circumstances. Displaying a tendancity of purpose, diminished only by a spasmodically excessive alcohol input, Mike Braker attacks his demons head on suffering emotional & physical pain along the way. An interesting, but thankfully not too pat, conclusion is worthy of Colin Dexter & leaves the way open for a sequal. I look forward to that & hope it won't be too long coming.

Amazon Review


I can't recommend this book enough. From the first page, it is very well written, with a good sense of reality and believability. The characters are strong and the story line interesting and understable. The subtle twists during the book culminate in a triple twist at the end that keeps you hanging on to the last word. Steve Smith's debut novel proves that he is a fine storyteller, and I'm sure this book would make an excellent film.

Amazon Review