Simple People
Two very different twenty-somethings meet and vow to make it work
“Critique: “Simple People: is an original and deftly crafted story by author Paul Martin Midden about two ordinary young adults navigating the decade that defines them by the choices they make, the chances they take, and what happens when the life you have carefully arranged suddenly goes awry. As a novelist, Midden’s genuine and eloquent flair for the kind of character and narrative driven storytelling style throughout “Simple People” results in a compelling and memorable read from start to finish. “Simple People” is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal reading lists as well as community and college/university library Contemporary American Literary Fiction collections.”
—Midwest Book Review
“Readers seeking character-led crime fiction with a generous love story will adore this book.”
—Jamie Michele for Readers’ Favorite
“Paul Martin Midden’s writing was clear, direct, and easy to settle into. I’d recommend it to anyone who likes stories about ordinary people facing difficult decisions.”
—Jennifer Senick for Readers’ Favorite
“. . . Simple People . . . is two books in one, and it gives you the satisfaction of a full character arc, which is rare . . . It is not a book you finish and forget, but one you live in, and by the time you leave, you miss the characters as if they were old friends.”
—Lily Andrews Feathered Quill
Two young adults hit it off, facing many challenges handily until events get out of control.
Synopsis
Ahmed Winslow and Eleanor Hornby have little in common — except the open road, an urge to explore, and another to stay connected.
Ahmed grew up in a contentious, fractured home, his father long gone. He craved life alone and the kind of quiet that comes from leaving everything behind. Eleanor was given every advantage a loving family could offer but wanted to strike out on her own. drawn by the restless pull of the unknown.
Fate — or something like it — lands them both at the same trucking company. And somewhere between long hauls and simple expectations, something unexpected takes hold.
But Ahmed is hiding something. A hobby, he told himself, a victimless crime. He decided to visit Mexico to quietly turn his growing pile of counterfeit bills into real money. He meets David and Marcy, a pair of expats whose friendliness masks something he doesn’t see right away. Not until he and Eleanor visit them together do they reveal their true agendas.
Shocked and disgusted, the pair returns to the U.S. empty-handed but safe. But Fate follows them, leading to dramatic events that shake both of them. Ahmed never saw it coming. And by the time Eleanor understood what it meant — for him and for herself — nothing between them would ever be the same.
Simple People is a story about two ordinary young adults navigating the decade that defines them — the choices they make, the chances they take, and what happens when the life you’ve carefully arranged suddenly refuses to cooperate.