Clonmac’s Bridge

By Jeffrey Perren

 ISBN#  9781496179913

Author’s Website:  http://jeffreyperren.blogspot.com/

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra

Synopsis:

A maritime archaeologist recovers Ireland’s earliest bridge near Clonmacnoise Monastery – only to find it intact after 1,200 years underwater.

What could account for this astonishing longevity – and why are his colleagues and the Church desperate to stop him finding out? And why is his consummate love his greatest enemy?

Griffin Clonmac will go through hell to find out.

Review:

Intriguing…suspenseful……riveting….a bit of romance thrown in.  All adjectives I like to use when describing a book I just finished reading.  I found the depth and complexity of the building of the bridge interesting and well written.  The archaeological aspects of the story grabbed me and would not let me go until I had read every word in the story.

I loved the saying…

“But he knew he was stuck between a tsunami and an avalanche.”

A nice change from the saying “being stuck between a rock and a hard place”.  This phrase brought a smile to my face.  Humor is also another valuable component of a good read.

I am happy to report that the shift between current time and the time when the bridge was built was smooth and not confusing to this reader.  When transitions between time periods are not smooth, I tend lose interest right away, so needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised when the transitions were smooth.

Jeffrey Perren portrayed the challenges, set-backs and risks that go along with archaeological digs in a realistic and engaging manner.  At each set back I rooted for Griffin….he just had to get the funding was all I thought!  And boy did Griffin have LOTS of setbacks.

Speaking of Griffin, he is such a likeable main character. But definitely fraught with bad luck…or so it seems.  As the story continues we realize that sabotage is in the air.  But of course the mystery remains as to who would do such a thing to this academic?  I am happy to report that as with any good mystery, it was not until the very end that I put the pieces together.  The story held my interest and at times kept me reading far later than I had anticipated.

Griffin’s love interest – Mari is a strong Peruvian woman with her mind made up as to what she wants to do and accomplish in her own right.  She has a domineering father who wants her to marry Miguel – to further his own aspirations (business and political).  At times it was hard to tell if she was with Griffin or against him…..but I had to believe as a woman whom loved Griffin, that she was just portrayed as sneaky (to rival her father and Miguel).

This book is an excellent and captivating story.  Told with ease, from the perspective of modern day and the 9th century. This is a long read but I am glad that I persevered and completed this intriguing story.

*OBS would like to thank the author for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*