Ghost Image : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining and suspenseful
Review: Fairly decent thriller about a plastic surgeon called to the ER one night when a severely burned and beaten woman is brought in. Though her face is mangled, he quickly realizes she is Allie, his lover. He manages to save her, but she is left in a coma for months while the police department searches for clues about what might have happened to her.

When she finally wakes, she doesn't remember what happened. And though Jackson stays by her side, his love for her never faltering, Allie soon becomes obsessed about her appearance -- and about the fact her boyfriend and his boss have the tools and the skills to fix her face. Her obsession turns deadly -- and so does, in some ways, Jackson's own obsession. With her.

All in all, a pretty original medical thriller. But this is Gilder's first novel and it really shows. The writing is good -- solid and well-developed. But, to put it simply, there's just too much of it. Which isn't the same thing as saying the novel is too long (although, that too), but more that sometimes sentences, paragraphs, or even whole chapters are superfluous. And, after awhile, I started skimming a bit. I wanted to find out what happened next, but was quickly becoming bogged down by the unnecessary parts. Still, ten times better than anything Robin Cook has put out in the last decade. Fans of the genre won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Yeah, a new writer who can write!
Review: I am just here to jump on the Joshua Gilder bandwagon. I am so happy to have a new author to read. I love suspense thrillers, but find that most of the books I pick up are so poorly written I can't even finish them. I know it is a cliché to call Ghost Image a "page-turner" but it truly is one!!!! From beginning to end, I could not put this down. The first page grabs you, not with a murder (those come later) but with a scene that immediately gives you that sick-in-the-pit-of-your- stomach and a this-ain't-good event.

The story unfolds against the backdrop of California and the world of plastic surgery, however this will also appeal to those who like the forensic mysteries that are popular now, it is technical, detailed, fascinating. The characters are interesting, flawed and well developed. Some of the secondary characters will be recognizable, but the main ones are truly unique and complicated.

Rating:
Summary: Plastic Surgery with a twist
Review: I don't usually think of plastic surgeons as subject matter for medical thrillers, but the author of this book does an excellent job of convincing me it is possible. I am a sucker for medical thrillers and when they are well written, I have a hard time putting them down. Gilder combines enough medical information to satisfy me with enough suspense to keep me going. I enjoyed this novel thoroughly and recommend it highly. If you're a fan of Robin Cook or Michael Crichton, you'll love Gilder.

Rating:
Summary: Clues inside a living patient
Review: If you like Patricia Cornwall or Kathy Reichs (who gives his book a great blurb, by the way), or even CSI, the TV show, you?re going to love Ghost Image. It?s got all the forensic intrigue, science and medicine, but instead of dead people, the clues are all hidden inside a living patient, and only discovered during an eight hour plastic surgery operation that is so amazingly portrayed you?ve got to read it to believe it. I showed it to a doctor friend of mine, and he said it was very realistic, and with all the surgeons and other specialists the author thanks in his acknowledgements, I guess he did his research very thoroughly. I?ve never read anything like it. Makes one think twice about having plastic surgery oneself, though it all turns out all right in the end ? the surgery that is. I don?t want to give away too much of the plot which has at least two most twists at the end than you?d ever expect, though they don?t leave you feeling cheated, like so many other mysteries. Instead you end with a very satisfying "Aha! Of course that?s what happened!"
Some people might figure it out sooner, but I didn?t until the final two pages. It?s not a "happily ever after" ending, but somehow I felt really uplifted and good in the end, because for all the bad stuff the characters go through, they end with a lot of hope. So, my two cents is, this is a great book. Read it.

Rating:
Summary: Bizarre tale of twisted psyches and perverted love.
Review: Joshua Gilder's first novel, "Ghost Image," is a strange amalgam. It is part medical mystery, part psychological thriller, and part crime novel. Unfortunately, these disparate elements do not come together to form a satisfying whole.

The hero of "Ghost Image" is Jackson Maebry, a promising young plastic surgeon and protégé of the brilliant and successful Dr. Peter Brandt. Jackson's girlfriend, Allie Sorosh, is a beauty with a mysterious past whom Jackson has asked to be his wife. Allie puts Jackson off, and they have a terrible quarrel. Soon thereafter, Allie is admitted to the hospital in a coma, after being brutally beaten and burned almost to death. Who did this to Allie and why? Will Allie be able to recover from her horrible wounds, both external and internal? To make matters worse, the police begin to suspect that Jackson may have attacked Allie in a fit of rage.

Gilder does a wonderful job with the medical elements in this novel. The information about how a plastic surgeon does his work is detailed and fascinating. The psychological elements are less expertly handled. The characters of Jackson, Allie and Brandt are muddled and they become more so as the novel progresses. Gilder's plot starts out promisingly, but it lapses into implausibility as the book reaches its melodramatic climax. "Ghost Image" had potential, but Josha Gilder ultimately does not succeed in delivering the goods.

Rating:
Summary: The Envy Of Excellence To Joshua Gilder New Book!
Review: The author, Joshua Gilder will be making an impact upon American Literature for sometime to come if this novel is any kind of example. I found this book to be simply a breath of great pride to read.

He blends realism with fiction, good against evil, and doubters to decision makers into a twirling tale to the struggle of figuring out who is committing atrocities of murder in the book. The writer uses his talents to describe the complicated medical terms and techniques into easy reading even as the situation starts to unravel the dark murder mystery. The author writes in a very smart and adroit manner. The arcade of distinguishing personalities written into the story and well-structured, flavorful text combine in capturing you from the first chapter.

I highly recommend you buy this book and take it with you on a trip. It will make your travel go faster as you wait in lines. The ending will make you feel glad you took the time to read it. This man knows how to think and write is all I can say!

Rating:
Summary: Rivetting and suspenseful
Review: This book is fantastic from beginning to end. I read a lot of mysteries, and I love Kathy Reichs, who gave this a great blurb, so I bought it. The hero is a "reconstructive" plastic surgeon, which means he does mostly major operations to fix people who have been in terrible accidents or who have present at birth malformations, and the descriptions of his operations are both shocking and fascinating. The difference with most of the forensic mysteries one reads however, is that all of this is happening on living people. It's all the more suspenseful, too, because you like the main character but you're not sure if you can really trust him. It's hard to know what else to say without giving
away the plot, which I bet you won't figure out until the very end. I thought Ghost Image was a really fun, engrossing read. I thought the order and progression of the story at the very beginning of the novel was very well planned out and was thoughtful. The whole plot was very well written and you didn't want to put the book down until you were finished. Cheers to Ghost Image.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!!! Look out for Joshua Gilder!!!!
Review: This book was phenominal!I loved The plot and I recommend it to all readers.The story was so suspensful. Every library should have this book! Look out for Joshua Gilder!!He has written another book called Heavenly Intrigue and it is on my top three!!Please write another book!

Rating:
Summary: An absolute MUST-READ!
Review: This is one of these rare books, that has it all: A gripping thriller, an incredible love story and an amazing novel, that keeps you thinking long after you finished it.
The prose is stunning - it is complex, yet it flows beautifully. This is an author who dares to leave stick figures behind him but instead creates intriguing characters. This is an author who dares to raise important questions and doesn't give quick answers. This is more than just a really good book - this is a jewel.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!!! Look out for Joshua Gilder!!!!
Review: When Plastic surgeon Jackson Maebry is called to attend an emergency, he finds to his horror that the battered and burned young woman is his lover, Allie.A frantic race begins to save her life and to literally piece her back together.After other surgeons have mended her broken bones and skin, Jackson begins to do massive reconstruction on her face, having to peel it back and start from the beginning.He discovers that she'd had facio cranial surgery years before from the almost invisible scars in her bones.This is a story for those readers who enjoy medicine and forensics--sometimes rather gruesome but always compelling reading.