M. C. V. EGAN

The Bridge of Deaths reads like something far beyond fiction: it reads like a mission of discovery, a search for truth propelled by the author’s passion and curiosity, trying to piece together stories she heard in all the way back in her childhood about her grandfather, who was one of five casualties in a mysterious aircraft crash.

The research that M.C.V Egan wove into this book is astounding in depth and breadth, beyond the usual amount of work usually done by other historical fiction writers. The mystery is wrapped in psychic aspects of the possibility of reincarnation and in romance that is all the more enjoyable because of the contrasts between Bill and Maggie, opposites attracted to each other. They set out to learn about the crash with the help of Catalina, a character who obviously represents the author herself in her drive to resolve conflicts between different accounts of history, different version of truth, and conflicting snippets of evidence:

“She held up a photograph for them to see of two men walking in a snowfall across a bridge somewhere in New York City. They were her two grandfathers, the one she never knew, who died in cold Danish waters, and the one she wasn’t related to by blood, but certainly by bond of great childhood memories…”

Five stars.… (plus d'informations)

In 2010, Maggie and Bill meet in a bookstore in London. As their relationship grows, Bill shares that he is having vivid dreams about being in a plane when it crashes into the sea. Maggie suggests going to see a hypnotist who could help him with past life regressions. Meanwhile, in Florida, Catalina is trying to find out what really happened to her grandfather, Cesar Agustin Castillo, who died in a plane accident near the Storstrom bridge in Denmark on 15 August 1939.

The Bridge of Deaths is an interesting and original read. M.C.V. Egan chose to mix reality and fiction to tell the story. Cesar Agustin Castillo was her grandfather, and even though she never knew him, she had always been intrigued by the circumstances of his death. The author chose to tell the story as a fiction because, on top of the conventional research she conducted, she consulted psychics and hypnotists, and she knew that some readers would find these methods too unconventional and untrustworthy. As a result, Bill is based on a real person and Catalina on the author, but Maggie is a fictional character.

While the story sheds some light on what was happening right before World War II in Europe, the author repeats herself a lot. Sometimes, the narrative is dry, especially when Maggie and Catalina share their research. In addition, I found that there sometimes were too many details not important to the story. Other times, M.C.V. Egan seems to be withholding information, when for example she does not explain what the Munich Pact is (some readers might not be familiar with it). However, I did enjoy the book as a whole as it was an intriguing and unusual historical fiction.

The Bridge of Deaths was sent to me for free in exchange for an honest review.

To read the full review, please go to my blog (Cecile Sune - Book Obsessed).… (plus d'informations)

Several months ago the author contacted me asking me to read/review her book. Well, I read the book over 2 months ago and now I am just writing the review. I apologize to the author for being slower than a turtle in writing the review of her book. I hope she understands why it has took me so long to write this.



This book is so far from my normal reading that it is not something that I would even look at or even read the back cover. If you follow this blog any you will know that sometimes I step outside of my small square box to read something different. Well, for my preference this is not just different it is totally off my radar.



This will not be a very well written review. I honestly do not know how to explain this book in detail without explaining the whole story. I admit that the idea behind the book seems a little weird. However, after understand what drove the author to write the book the reader will understand why she went to such great lengths to solve a mystery.



The book is based loosely on the author trying to figure out the mysterious death of her grandfather. I admit that I can totally understand why the author went to such lengths to get help and understand. The author never got to meet her grandfather. She grew up hearing all about him but never met him. Since I grew up with my paternal grandfather, I can understand why she wanted to know more. If I had never known my paternal grandfather my life would be totally different.



Whether you believe in having a past life or not this is a great read. I admit to not understand anything about psychics or how to author choose to go the route she did to obtain the information to write this book. However, the information is amazing.



Thanks for a great read MC, the bunnies and I truly enjoyed your book.… (plus d'informations)