Customer Reviews

Devil's Bridge

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Devil's Bridge kept me reading all night. Topher and Myra seem so real that I wanted to talk to them, see how they're doing now. I know that sounds silly, but I hated to end my time with them.

This is a well-structured story that keeps moving with precision and grace. Lilly touches on several current issues and handles them with skill, no lecturing by the characters, but shows how things like abuse (physical and emotional), hate crimes, misplaced affection, and a desire to begin anew affect the characters.

I recommend this book.

I had read--and been delighted with--Lilly's first effort, FINGERING THE FAMILY JEWELS, a deceptively cozy mystery that had a biting southern gothic undercurrent. I was surprised--and likewise delighted--with DEVIL'S BRIDGE, which, on the surface, seems like a solidly constructed Lifetime TV movie: a woman on the run from an abusive husband, and the friend who helps her...with secrets and man problems of his own. Lilly imbues his characters with such detail and humanity that one can't help but be pulled into the story. You really care about Topher and Myra and feel as though you're with them as they flee Myra's abusive husband and Topher's bad relationship choices. Lilly keeps the suspense factor high...and this is one book that's hard not to read from start to finish in one sitting. Highly recommended.

Devil's Bridge is an intricately woven tale of suspense that will keep the reader wanting to read more. It is a story of two thirty-something people who have been friends since high school. Myra and Topher became friends in high school - she being the slightly unattractive girl, and he being the ostracized gay boy. Their friendship grew deeper and finally into a deeply platonic love which saved them from themselves and the bad choices they made in their romantic partners.

In the span of a few months, they both come to the conclusion that they need a new start. Topher is running from an indifferent lover who wouldn't reciprocate Topher's love, and Myra is fleeing from her abusive, and possibly murderous, husband Gil. They decide to run away and start a new life together, but Myra's husband is not willing to let her go so easily. Vengeance is found at a place called Devil's Bridge.

This is truly a wonderful book. It is a page-turner that builds to a suspenseful climax, with the reader encouraging and cheering on the battered woman and her best friend (who would do anything to keep her safe.) The plot is tight, the characters believable, and the dialogue is modern. I honestly couldn't put this book down, and therefore I give it my highest recommendation. You won't be disappointed with Devil's Bridge.

Topher is a gay man in his late 20's who is in a rather one-sided relationship with a self-involved handsome attorney. His best friend from college, Myra, is in an abusive marriage with Gil, a man she is growing increasingly afraid of. When Myra discussed her husband, Topher was quick to suggest that she leave him, while Myra gave Topher the same advice about his insensitive boyfriend. Neither one wanted to risk losing what they had (or liked to think they had) in order to find true happiness with someone else, which is a problem with many couples, gay or straight. Finally, after a particularly bad fight with Gil, Myra realizes that it is no longer just her self-esteem that is in danger, but her safety and possibly her life, and she decides to leave town and not let him know where she was going. Simultaneously, Topher comes to a similar realization that he wants to "start over" somewhere different, without having to deal with remnants of his last relationship, and also plans to leave town, so they decide to take off together. They leave North Carolina and head west, unsure where they will eventually end up, staying with mutual friends along the way. By the time they get to Sedona, Arizona, they think they just may have found a new place where they will both be happy, but Gil manages to find them, leading to a dramatic climax to the story.

Author Lilly gets extra points from me for spinning a classic "do what you need to do in order to be happy" story with likeable gay and straight characters. In my opinion, the story becomes a bit simplistic and easy to predict, once they are on the road, and that could have been done better. But it does make for an engaging and pleasant read. Four stars out of five.

I read my first book by Greg Lilly, Fingering The Family Jewels, a couple of months ago and thoroughly enjoyed that one. So I decided to try another. Devil's Bridge was even better than Fingering The Family Jewels in my opinion. Lots of suspense to keep the reader gripped by the story and the pacing was just perfect. I ended up racing through it just to reach the conclusion even though I didn't really want it to end. I look forward to reading more books by Greg Lilly in the future. Buy this book. It's definately money well spent!

If a gay man, a lesbian, and a battered woman can't make a good suspense story, who can? Okay, that was a clumsy modification of a clever battle cry in the novel Devil's Bridge, but it works for this review. The other reviews include nice summaries. Instead of adding another, I'll mention how much I enjoyed the way author Greg Lilly created his characters. The main ones, Topher and Myra, the gay man and battered woman, are well developed in their initial situations in Charlotte. Then they radically alter their situations by fleeing North Carolina to start new lives. I particularly enjoy the way the dynamics between Topher and Myra change as they make their way to Georgia, Texas, New Mexico, and finally Arizona.

Devil's Bridge is definitely about the characters, but there's plenty of suspense dropped in at just the right moments to keep things moving. I enjoyed reading this novel and highly recommend it to readers who value friendships.

DEVIL'S BRIDGE does a lot of things right. The settings are colorful, the pace is brisk, and both main characters are warm and likeable. The one thing that really stands out, though, is the perceptive treatment of friendship itself. Friends, lovers, kin and complete strangers all swap roles and responses as the story moves from Page 1 to Devil's Bridge, where the tale ends with a jarring confrontation... that nevertheless delivers on the theme of new beginnings.

A satisfying read, and highly recommended!

Old friends Myra and Topher seem to be living the urban professional life in Charlotte, North Carolina. But, in reality, they both are having some personal problems. Myra is abused by her husband Gil. Topher is in a dead-end relationship with Alex. Neither Myra nor Topher want to admit things aren't going to get better. When they decide to leave town for a new start, Myra keeps thinking Gil is following them to bring her back.

This adventure/relationship novel kept me turning the page. Myra is like so many of my female friends in that she is denial of her own life, but can see others (Topher's) clearly. They have similar problems and the conclusion to start over is a dream many people have. But is starting over always a clean slate? Can you leave your problems behind?

Lilly explores these issues with the situations Topher and Myra encounter, and he does it with understanding and action. I had read Fingering the Family Jewels and loved it. The author doesn't let me down with this new novel. He his blog, he states that the Myra and Topher show up in the next Derek Mason Mystery. I'm looking forward to it.

The first time I read Devil's Bridge, I read it quickly.

I had just attended a lecture by the author on character development at a local book store, here in Sedona, Arizona. The action in Devil's Bridge takes place mostly in Charlotte, North Carolina; however, the climax of the story takes place at a Sedona landmark named "Devil's Bridge." After the lecture, I bought a copy of the book, and Greg Lilly signed it for me. Excited, I began reading it that evening. It's a page-turner. The novel is easy to read, yet packed with interesting, likable characters -- as well as a believable and compelling "bad guy." Even the characters with only small roles are presented as fully human. The reader becomes friends with the lead characters, Myra and Topher; but we also become familiar with their coworkers, neighbors, all the characters with whom Myra and Topher interact . I remember that when I first read the book, as the action led Myra and Topher closer and closer to "Devil's Bridge," I read as fast as I could, eager to discover what happens.

Last week, I read the book a second time. This time, I forced myself to follow the story more slowly. I gave attention to the word choices and sentence structure. I read between the lines and allowed my imagination to "listen closer" to the characters, the inspirations, the moods and emotions. This is truly a well-put-together piece of fiction. This time, I found myself seeing people I know in the story. In other words, I saw friendship dynamics that all of us have experienced, as well as moments of fear and emotional hunger that all of us have had to face.

Lilly is a character craftsman. While a quick read will entertain you, a closer read will touch your heart.

I highly recommend Devil's Brdige. It's worth reading -- then reading again.

I read his first book Fingering the Family Jewels and loved it. This book is just as enjoyable. I am from the South and he catches that southern mentality and family interaction. For me that is what makes the stories so great. Can hardly wait for the next book.