A fast-paced thrill of a ride…
I was recently asked if I would be interested in reading/reviewing The Bridge of the Americas: A Jack Sloan Novel by author, Larry Seeley. I found the book’s title to be unusual, and after reading the synopsis, I realized I was very familiar with this bridge. (I just never knew what its actual name was). I lived in Phoenix, Arizona for many years so, every time I did a road trip and passed through El Paso, I would see this bridge. That fact, coupled with the ‘about’ blurb, intrigued me, and I agreed to read it.
In The Bridge of the Americas, we begin our literary journey in Flagstaff, Arizona during a winter storm. Tulip Prescott, a sixteen-year-old Native American girl has been forced to walk the twenty miles that separates her from her house, because her uncle never came to pick her up. As she trudges along the road’s shoulder in her oversized coat and too thin shoes, she prays desperately for a ride. Thankfully, someone sees her predicament, and stops. Unfortunately, once inside the vehicle, Tulip realizes she’s not as lucky as she initially thought she was.
Fast-forward fifteen years and we come upon Jack Sloan, road testing the 1967 Corvette he just got back from his mechanic. He’s on his way to meet with a ‘Frank Pickel’ and an Indian Chief named ‘Bear.’ He’s supposed to meet with them on the Native American land just outside out Flagstaff – Jack has past experience with casino start-ups, and Frank and Chief Bear are interested in hiring him as the front man for another such venture.
Everything about this proposed project seems a bit too ‘cloak-and-dagger’ for Jack’s taste. However, Chief Bear has given him a $100,000.00 check as a ‘signing bonus’ of sorts and Jack can’t help but be intrigued. Against his better judgment, he agrees to help them. What follows is a convoluted and complex web of lies based upon a foundation of deceit. It’s a shaky house of cards that, with the merest puff of wind, will fall apart. There are other important players in this fictional tale, but I will leave it to the reader to discover who they are and how they fit into this puzzle.
As I read, I did enjoy Seeley’s no-nonsense writing style. The Bridge of the Americas has a well thought out plot, and the various aspects of the tale were woven together with skill. The characters were believable, and there was sufficient development to hold the reader’s attention.
The only negatives I noticed were with some of the punctuation/grammar. Generally speaking, punctuation belongs inside the quotation marks. Also, if a character is going to slur phrases such as: “What you want there?” it should be written out as something like: “Whatchu want there?” which is both fitting and believable, instead of “What chew want there?” In the two separate instances where I saw this, the word “chew” was not appropriate to the sentence and/or aspect of the story. All it did was make me think of chewing food, or chewing tobacco…
In summary, a fast-paced and enjoyable read. Four stars…