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Surviving Ghosts
Surviving Ghosts by Tom Bridges continues the adventures of James W. “Buck” Buckler, M.D., and Detective Allyson Mancuso. The novel starts as Buck and Allyson travel to Rome for a medical conference Buck is attending. While exploring the Roman sites and shops, Allyson swears she sees a ghost – her father’s ghost. When it happens again, Buck and Allyson are determined to find the meaning behind the appearances – the “ghost” is actually Allyson’s father in the flesh, who had convincingly died four years earlier. The couple sets out to find answers to their questions – Why did her father fake his death? What are his ties to the mafia? And, what secrets are the government hiding?
In the beginning of the novel, Bridges describes various Roman landmarks and tourist destinations that Buck and Allyson visit. This allows Bridges to set the scene. I believe it is important for readers to visualize where a story takes place, and Bridges’ descriptions allow his readers to do so. The facts and tidbits about the architecture add a level of complexity by incorporating nonfiction descriptions.
The majority of the novel is told using first person from Buck’s point of view. I think choosing this point of view allows Bridges to share the emotions Buck is feeling as well as questions Buck may have. In the other chapters of the book, Bridges uses third person to give information about JB and the government situation.
In using a technique that allows him to switch point of views, Bridges allows the reader to understand the emotions and thoughts from different characters. This helps give a more thorough understanding of the novel.
Surviving Ghosts is built of great ideas! I think they just need to be developed a bit more. Bridges is very good at describing scenes, but I felt that there was often a lot of telling, not showing. There are some very high emotional scenes in the novel, the scenes are setup superbly, but the emotional intensity is muted when we’re told what someone is feeling, instead of being shown.
Bridges has amazing ideas that beg to be explored and developed more. Allyson and Buck’s skills of logic and reasoning are on great display as they uncover a jarring mystery. What you’ll enjoy most about this novel is how well you are transported into the scenes.
Pages: 229 | ASIN: B01AH4EO1E
The TVC Project
The TVC Project is the story of a pre-med student Buck and detective Allyson Mancuso as they find themselves thrust into a dark murder mystery, rife with political intrigue. Despite the dangerous world, they have found themselves involved in a seductive romance. At the beginning of the book, Buck is a normal college student focused on his studies and his friends. But a normal night of studying turns his life upside down when his two best friends fail to meet up with him. When Buck discovers that they have been murdered he cannot let go of the investigation until he learns what happened to his friends.
The TVC Project was written by Tom Bridges published in 2013. He is from Dallas Texas and works within the medical field. Bridges background is perhaps the reason behind the realism of Buck’s medical knowledge in the book. Buck and Allyson are both intriguing characters that are given interesting backgrounds that fill out their character and make them feel real. Buck’s history in the navy, making him an older college student at 27, gives his character depth and makes his relationship with detective Mancuso believable. His flaw might be that while we are in his head we see that he perceives himself as an overall “nice guy” despite being sexually aroused in the middle of dealing with the murder of his best friends and memorial services. Allyson herself is given depth in her side hobby of rebuilding her house. The unrealistic part of these characters perhaps comes from how easily Allyson lets Buck in on the case and allows him to partake in the investigation.
One of the most interesting parts of the book is Bridge’s use of character perspective. While much of the book is written from Buck’s perspective; we also get to go into the heads of Allyson and some of the characters behind the murder itself. This writing choice is sure to keep readers captivated as answers coming flying in from different directions along with more questions. I liked that none of the characters had all the answers because this leaves the reader in a perfect position to piece the mystery together.
The story is a fascinating murder mystery and an exciting political thriller all tied up in a passionate romance. It successfully weaves these genres into a thought-provoking story. While the book does come to an end in a satisfying and unique way, it still leaves questions open and possibilities for more to come, which creates a desire to continue reading the second book Bridges wrote as a sequel, Surviving Ghosts. Overall the book was interesting and unpredictable, a necessity for an enjoyable mystery.
Pages: 295 | ASIN: B00FEN4RVG
LITERARY TITAN 