The Bridge of Deaths

by M. C. V. EGAN

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On August 15th 1939, at the brink of World War II, an English plane crashed and sunk in Danish waters. Five deaths were reported: two Standard Oil of New Jersey employees, a German Corporate Lawyer, an English member of Parliament, and a crew member for the airline. Here is a conceivable version of the events.

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13 reviews
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 show more 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.
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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 show more 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).
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The Bridge of Deaths is an interesting bird. It’s part fiction, part non-fiction, part years-long research odyssey, part “what if” conjecture. It revolves around a airplane that went down in Danish waters in 1939. That plane, a Lockheed Electra, was carrying the author’s maternal grandfather, a Mexican national and employee of Standard Oil of New Jersey, as well as a German lawyer, a British parliamentarian, another employee of Standard Oil, and the pilot and copilot. Only the pilot made it out alive. Mrs. Egan has spent decades of painstaking research trying to piece together what happened, how the plane went down, and why her grandfather died. She decided to put it down on paper as a novel but found that the story needed show more something in addition to the facts—something that could only be conjectured and guessed at. And so she decided upon a mix of the two.

At the opening of the novel, a pair of mostly-fictional characters named Bill and Maggie meet in a London book store and quickly fall in love. Bill tells Maggie about his recurring nightmares regarding the crash of a plane with the registration number G-AESY. She convinces him to see a hypnotist, who guides him in his first past life regression. The experience convinces both him and Maggie that in a past life he was the pilot of that doomed aircraft. They begin to research the event, trying to learn more about the crash and hopefully bring some closure to Bill’s dream. In the process, they run across an online listing from an American woman named Catalina (the author’s semi-fictional avatar in the story) requesting more information about the G-AESY crash. After contacting her, the two women become fast friends. Catalina shares her research with the couple, and they share with Catalina the results of Bill’s past-life regressions.

But rather than answering their questions, the information they find only spawns more. None of the documentation seems complete. It’s filled with inconsistencies, and those details that are present contradict the events of Bill’s past life regressions. The cast of characters aboard the doomed aircraft also serves to sow seeds of doubt. There was the German lawyer with his war medals and his glass eye. There was the English parliamentarian, a man of fiery temper and wit who was making waves in the political world. And then there was Catalina’s grandfather, a Mexican oil man who spoke five language, studied in America and Europe, and was practically tailor-made for the spy trade. It all happened in the shadow of WW II, a fast approaching conflict that everyone knew was coming but no one knew how to stop. The possibilities for what could have happened are endless. In reality, though, finding out what actually happened is impossible. Mrs. Egan tries to stick to the truth in her tale—she leaves it open ended, a fact that strengthens her work more than anything.

It’s a great lesson in history. What we know of history is really a story—there are good guys and there are bad guys, and there’s a linear plot from A to B to C. But that’s not history. That’s how we’ve codified history into easily digestible chunks. It’s what we tell each other and teach our kids and build our family identities upon. Real history, however, isn’t a story. It’s messy, and it’s unknowable—at least, in any true sense. And while we might like to turn it all into an easily understood story, the truth is often far more complicated and far more nebulous than we can wrap our heads around. It may not have been Ms. Egan’s primary purpose in her story, but it came across beautifully.

Another aspect of her book that I really liked was the painstaking research she included. The story was rich with details about pre-war Europe and the personalities that inhabited it. When it came to sheer detail there may have been a little too much in parts, but it was easily ignored and—for her purpose as the “what-if-historian”—likely added more to the work than it detracted. After sinking so much time into the research (two decades, she tells me), I can understand how hard it have been to cull all that information into a more accessible format.

As for what I didn’t like, I felt that the language in the story was a bit simplistic—not that it was bad, mind you, just that it lacked the stylistic panache that I admire in good writing. Ms. Egan tells it like it is in no-nonsense prose, which becomes the historical researcher in her but doesn’t necessarily make it the most artful of deliveries. Likewise, I felt that the relationship between Bill and Maggie and some of their interactions were a bit hurried, presented in too-plain terms that “showed” too little and “told” too much. All of this is forgivable, however, as the main purpose behind her work is to examine the crash of the G-AESY and the many possible causes, and that she does amazingly well.

If you like a good historical quandary, meticulous research, or quests for the unknowable, you’ll like this book. As for me, I give The Bridge of Deaths three and a half stars.
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½
Based on an actual event, The Bridge of Deaths tells the story of one woman’s search to uncover the truth behind the death of her grandfather. On August 15th, 1939, an English aircraft crashed in suspicious circumstances in Danish waters. Aboard were 5 important passengers, amongst them the author’s grandfather. Two weeks later, World War Two broke out. This part is factual, as is the incredibly well-documented data revealed throughout the book. And the factual information ties in masterfully with the fictional characters and plot.

There are three main characters in the book: Bill, Maggie and Catalina. These characters are well-developed and likeable.
The fiction begins with Bill and Maggie meeting in the self-help section of a book show more store in London. They are instantly attracted to each other and become close. Bill tells Maggie of the nightmares he is experiencing involving the numbers on the side of a plane, visions of a bridge and the taste of cold salt water; all from a past life. Maggie suggests he try Past Life Regression. She then finds details of the air crash on the internet which leads her to contact the third character, Catalina.

Catalina, a Floridian woman, who has spent many years researching the crash herself - which also shows all the signs of a conspiracy - is delighted to find someone else who is interested in the mystery. Maggie and Catalina agree to help each other and keep in touch via email and Skype calls, which also involves drinking several glasses of wine each, and smoking loads of cigarettes. The trio decide the best way to solve the enigma is through Bill’s regression, which in turn allows Bill to unravel his dreams. Between them they manage to put together the facts; before, during, and after the plane crash.

M.C.V.Egan has authored a book that screams years of dedicated research, to say nothing of how well-written it is. I was captured from the very first page. Throughout the book, I particularly enjoyed the Skype discussions between Maggie and Catalina which made me feel I was sitting there listening to them first hand, being part of the conversation, not reading about them in a book. Although the narrative is extremely detailed in parts, I found myself wanting all the information I could get. I was completely enthralled and found it difficult to put down. Though I did, through necessity, several times, but found the thread was easy to pick up again.

It is quite clear many years of love and hard work have gone into this work. It is also clear there is a very strong personal motive behind the writing of it. Having now finished reading, I would say those twenty years of research have unquestionably paid off.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book which is now taking its rightful place on my ‘to be read again soon’ shelf.

Without any hesitation, I am giving The Bridge of Deaths the full 5 stars
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This book has a pretty interesting idea. I mean I can't tell you how many times I sat in history class and wondered what really happened. What were the people really like, sure I knew the big picture of things but a lot of times you never find out what happened to the individual person. This book explores what it would be like to have the opportunity to do just that.

I don't want to sound like a broken record, but the beginning of this book was also a little bit on the slow side for me. Which has been a bit of a problem for me lately. I think there was a little bit too much build up to get to the meat of the book. And it just took a little bit longer for me to get on board with the characters.

I don't think this book really fits into my show more normal urban fantasy book, mostly because it doesn't really have any of the typical elements or supernaturals you see in that genre. But it was a nice change of pace for me. I loved the history element, and that you as a reader are able to recognize some of the people and places that are talked about in the book. And on top of that it felt a little bit like unraveling a mystery, which is something I always enjoy.

The past life regression and hypnosis is an interesting approach to take for the characters to try and find out information. It's not quite science fiction, but you also kind of wonder, could it really work?

Also you can seriously tell that the author has done an insane amount of research, like dissertation amount of research. And there are some times when reading the book where the information did become a bit of an overload. It was sometimes hard to keep all of the information straight, so you might want to be a little bit aware of that fact.

Overall the characters were fun to read and the premise was pretty good. I do want to say I think this book will appeal to people who like history and investigating the events of the past, those people will for sure get a kick out of this book. If you are looking for something light and fluffy then this isn't your read, but if you want something to make you think, maybe this is your book.
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Book Title: "The Bridge of Deaths"
Author: M.C.V. Egan
Published By: Author House
Age Recommended: 17 +
Reviewed By: Kitty Bullard
Raven Rating: 5

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Review: Another phenomenal historically charged novel that I enjoyed from cover to cover. One of the main things about this book that really caught me was the truth of the story. Catalina has been searching for so long to find out the mystery behind her grandfather's death when over on the other side of the pond you have a young man named Bill and a young woman, Maggie that are having quite an exciting journey with past life regression therapy. For years Bill has been haunted by these dreams of being in a plane crash in the middle of an ocean close to a bridge and they won't go away. show more Sometimes they wake him up at night and he swears he can still feel the salt water seeping into his lungs. When he meets Maggie there's an instant draw that neither of them fully understand until they form a relationship and begin to attend past life regression therapy together.

Suddenly these two young people are thrown into a world so far in the past they have no idea how to cope. Thus the story begins, when they decide to do some research and are led on a path that leads them straight to Catalina that has been trying to find information about the same instance in which both Bill and Maggie lived through an entire lifetime ago.

This is a story that will stay with you, once you read it you won't soon forget it. A true masterpiece filled with a part of the history of a World War most of us in this generation could never begin to understand or know. Are answers found in the end? Does Maggie and Bill begin to accept their part in history and put their lives together for the second time? Does Catalina find out strange circumstances behind her grandfather's death after all these years? Well... you'll just have to read to find out. The best part of all is, the majority of this book is a true story but for a few name changes and I bet it will have even a few skeptics believing in reincarnation before they're done.

I definitely recommend it! Also be sure to look for our giveaway later next month starting on the 1st of February (5) Print copies and (5) PDF copies of this wonderful book will be up for grabs as well as an author spotlight from M.C.V. Egan herself!

Read more: http://www.greatmindsthinkaloud.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board...
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Review by Stephanie M Sellers

The Bridge of Deaths
Author - MCV Egan

Get a history lesson with a healthy dose of entertainment in
The Bridge of Deaths as it takes you into the cockpit during World War II. This suspenseful
read is textbook quality with all the footnotes and quotes a lawyer-minded
reader covets along with a totally right-brained notion of uncovering history's
unknown details via past-life regression therapy. (This is something not generally considered logical. But Stephanie found it very interesting, and as events matched data, finally plausible, as she writes novels with underlying braids of psychohistory.)
Author Egan's storyline fits perfectly with the relationship between main
characters, pragmatic Bill and mystical show more Maggie, who fatefully meet at a
bookstore. This meet up is doubly eerie as Bill, the left-brainer, begins a
journey which will quench his self existential crisis. The two quickly become a
couple as Maggie delves into research to discover what really happened to her
grandfather. A levy of events, with significant persons like the honorable Prime
Minister Neville Chamberlain, the persecuted Jews, evil Hitler, big oil
executives and the best of the best pilots fill the pages with realism while the
couple meets a lady from across the big pond who claims to have similar
information regarding their research on a particular airplane's incident.
The speculation felt like a ledge on the reader’s back that kept her turning the pages.
With so much factual information she found herself torn between reality and not,
like an intruder with a stolen journal.
Twists and jaw-droppers pace the pages as Bill and Maggie uncover hidden truths,
lies, the public has been forced to swallow. Read The Bridge of Deaths to learn
and appreciate what Bill and Maggie discover as they learn 'something is rotten
in the State of Denmark'.
You will find yourself questioning past history lessons and the real story
behind present day liberal media's presentations.
The Bridge of Deaths is highly recommended to anyone with a heart for country and
honor and who understands there is more to this world than meets the eye.

Reviewed by Stephanie M Sellers
16 Sept. 2011

https://sites.google.com/site/fictiononfact
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Fiction and Literature, Historical Fiction, Mystery
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813Literature & rhetoricAmerican literature in EnglishAmerican fiction in English
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