Review of Beyond the Higher Ground

Matire · Post by **Matire** » 27 May 2022, 03:06

[Following is a volunteer review of "Beyond the Higher Ground" by Thomas A. Brigger.]

4 out of 4 stars

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Amidst dealing with the death of his wife and demons from childhood, Mason Tucker has been assigned to oversee the construction of a new prison on a remote mountain. In Beyond the Higher Ground, Thomas A. Brigger walks us through the story of this recently widowed man, whose appearance in Wells County, Virginia is detested by a mysterious person. Mason rents a house that used to belong to an old couple who were recently found dead. When leaving for lunch from work, he notices his front left tire is flat, and the laborer tasked with fixing a new one informs him that someone probably shot the tire.

After fixing it and driving down the road on his way to the airport, Tucker is rear-ended two times by a large flatbed truck and knocked over the hill. While he was on the verge of unconsciousness, he heard the words, “You…kin you hear me? You don’t come back, y’hear. You don’t never come back here agin…". Soon enough, mysterious things start happening: his window is shot out, loud noises occur at night, his gasoline can explodes while he is mowing the grass, and a heart is left in a bag by his door. There is also the suspicion of drugs being smuggled into the prison construction site, and this serves as a backdrop for violence and danger.

My favorite part of the story is the infusion of mystery and suspense; it heightened my interest in getting to the soul of the matter. The book is well written, it held my attention right from the beginning until the very end, really captivating. The book is written from the third-person perspective and is very descriptive and well-developed. The book is satirical; it brings to play and criticizes the effect of drugs on individuals and those around them in general. Moreover, I think the book fits more in the C/T/M/H category.

Honestly, I have never been a fan of crime-related books, but this one got me hooked. I noticed minor errors in the book, but they were mostly absent commas, and they did not exactly affect the overall enjoyment of the book. Although grammatically correct, I disliked that there were several long sentences, but this is a personal preference anyway. I still think the book will benefit from another round of editing, though.

Since there were no obvious errors and the book appealed to me greatly going by its suspense and mysterious nature, I rate Beyond the Higher Ground 4 out of 4 stars.

Readers who enjoy suspense, historical fiction, and mystery novels would love this book. It is unsuitable for children and minors because there are many uses of profane words, although there is no sexual content.

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Beyond the Higher Ground
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Oluwatosin Balogun · Post by **Oluwatosin Balogun** » 30 May 2022, 14:18

Fascinating review. The suspense in the summary is just enough for me to want to know more. I love it. I have read the book earlier but this review makes me want to read the book again. I agree with you, the book is better suited for the C/T/H category.

Mask mask · Post by **Mask mask** » 30 May 2022, 14:42

Interesting review..I'm currently reading Beyond the higher ground and I totally agree with you..The book is good if not for the absent commas that make my reading confusing most times!

Meenahhhh · Post by **Meenahhhh** » 30 May 2022, 15:23

This is a really well-written review. The book itself appears interesting, although when I read it I didn't enjoy it myself. Regardless, I agree with this review. Well done!

Bunmi27 · Post by **Bunmi27** » 30 May 2022, 15:28

Beautiful review. Dealing with death of a loved one is not an easy task. It requires a lot of courage to move on with life. I'll love to know how Mason was able to cope and move on with life.

Elijah0007 · Post by **Elijah0007** » 30 May 2022, 15:50

This sounds like a suspense-filled story. I've been deliberating on whether or not I should read this. This was a great help. Thanks for the insightful review.

Oluwanifesimi · Post by **Oluwanifesimi** » 31 May 2022, 17:16

A story filled with suspense is what I would love to read, your review is an interesting one, and I commend you for a work welldone.

Oluwapelumi Rachael · Post by **Oluwapelumi Rachael** » 06 Jun 2022, 06:04

Great review! I've also read the book and I agree that it fits into the c/t/m/h genre. Although I feel interest in the book because of the lengthy descriptions and complex sentences

Abu Humairah · Post by **Abu Humairah** » 12 Jun 2022, 04:23

I love myself a good mystery. This sounds like it would be fun and thrilling to read. Would definitely check it out sometime. Thanks for the awesome review.