Washington Post
… a superior medical thriller … Gilder keeps the suspense rising. Ghost Image is an unusually intelligent and skillful first novel. … This one made my day.
Wall Street Journal
(Gilder) is as adept at tracing the mysteries of human relationships as he is at describing a skin graft. … With his first novel, Mr. Gilder vaults to the front of rank of medical thriller writers alongside Robin Cook and other luminaries.
Booklist
In this chilling debut novel, by a former presidential speechwriter, a promising young plastic surgeon seems to have everything going for him until he is arrested on suspicion of having committed several vicious crimes. Dr. Jackson Maebry happens to be on duty when an attack victim is brought into the emergency room at San Francisco's Memorial Hospital. Because the woman has been brutally beaten and burned beyond recognition, Maebry does not realize until he begins working on her that the victim is actually his girlfriend, Allie Sorosh. Maebry doesn't reveal that fact to his colleagues, which is the beginning of a lot of suspicious-seeming behavior on his part, which eventually arouses the interest of the police. Because Allie suffers amnesia and is unable to recall any of the attack, she is unable to clear Maebry, and the plot thickens as her mysterious and somewhat wild past points to several suspects. But Maebry is tied to the crimes by circumstantial evidence, and so the police don't really look at other suspects. The story remains exciting right up until its surprising conclusion.
National Review
… an exciting mystery story that is almost impossible to put down.
Weekly Standard
… (Gilder) has a promising literary career ahead of him.
Romantic Times Book Club
HHHH1/2. FANTASTIC. First time novelist Joshua Gilder hits pay dirt in this suspenseful roller-coaster ride.
Publishers Weekly
A gallery of distinctive supporting characters and lucid, full-bodied prose distinguish the debut novel of former presidential speechwriter Gilder. San Francisco plastic surgeon Jackson Maebry undertakes the emergency treatment of a young woman who has been severely beaten and burned, only to realize that the victim is his lover, Allie. Wanting to stay near her during recovery, Jackson keeps their relationship a secret from both his mentor, imperious chief of surgery Peter Brandt, and police detective Rossi, a black Vietnam vet with a borderline addiction to nasal spray. Allie develops amnesia, complicating the search for her assailant, but eventually Jackson's secret comes out, to his detriment. His concealment of his relationship to Allie makes him a suspect in Rossi's eyes, but quirky attorney Manny Lucasian manages to keep him out of jail. Jackson convinces his former girlfriend, Krista, a nurse, to keep an eye on Allie, but Krista has ulterior motives. He learns some unsettling facts about Allie's past, both distant and recent, and must contend with the unwanted advances of Brandt's alcoholic wife. The story loses steam and focus near the midpoint, but a couple of suspicious deaths speed it to a climax; believable scenes of plastic surgery add an extra layer of chills and interest. The bland and unsympathetic Jackson makes a poor first-person protagonist, but Gilder offers an interesting detour around nearly every corner. Agent, Matt Williams of the Gernert Company. (Nov. 4) Forecast: Robin Cook fans should appreciate this offering. The creepy cover art, a gleaming scalpel in a surgeon's gloved hand, will stop browsers in their tracks. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Library Journal
Jackson Maebry is a plastic surgeon who, after years of work and study, is on the verge of success. His personal life is another matter but shows signs of improvement after he meets Allie Sorosh. Unfortunately, Allie is attacked and nearly killed. Jackson's despair at her misfortune leads him to investigate the incident, and the clues all seem to lead back to him. With the police stalking him and his life unraveling, Jackson takes a closer look at Allie and the stunning success that was nearly his. Narrator Patrick G. Lawlor is an engaging storyteller, with his depiction of characters unobtrusive and credible. He handles the medical vocabulary and hospital setting convincingly. Recommended.-Ray Vignovich, West Des Moines P.L. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
School Library Journal
Adult/High School-Dr. Jackson Maebry is eagerly anticipating a romantic evening with his girlfriend, but a page from the emergency room delays his departure from the hospital. A brutally beaten woman has been found rolled up in a carpet and set on fire. As the ER team works to save her life, Jackson realizes that the victim is his beloved. He decides not to disclose their relationship even to his mentor and chief of surgery, Peter Brandt, and sets out on his own to find her attacker. His intense interest in the case makes him a prime suspect to the investigating officer. Allie is eventually released from the hospital with plans to return for extensive plastic surgery. Even though the romance between them has cooled, Jackson continues his investigation while his wisecracking lawyer fights to keep him out of jail. Digging into Allie's past brings more questions than answers, and he discovers that she had had previous surgeries, perhaps even performed by Dr. Brandt himself. People trying to help Jackson end up dead, drugs surface, and he begins to question who is really on his side. This fast-paced mystery/thriller has the perfect combination of suspense, forensic science, and gore (operating room descriptions are not for the faint of heart). It will be a sure winner with CSI fans.-Katherine Fitch, Rachel Carson Middle School, Fairfax, VA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
A lovesick plastic surgeon learns the hard way that saying about skin-deep beauty, in a derivative debut thriller from erstwhile political (most notably, Reagan) speechwriter Gilder. Young Doctor Jackson Maebry--talented, handsome, nice--on a fast track to a brilliant future, gets a fateful call one day that derails him. He’s summoned to the ER to help with a just-admitted patient, a young woman who’s been severely beaten, seriously worked over with a blunt instrument. It isn’t easy to recognize her, but Jackson can, since she’s Allie Sorosh, his lover. With considerable difficulty and consummate skill, he begins the process that he hopes will restore her beauty. But who could have done this to Allie? A random, particularly malevolent mugger? Or was it instead someone who knows her--a jealous ex-lover, perhaps? It just so happens there’s one of those at hand: Dr. Peter Brandt, head of Plastics at San Francisco Memorial, Jackson’s boss and mentor. Hard to conceive of the eminent and much admired Dr. Brandt in such violent terms, and yet the fact of a passionate, possessive previous relationship, now unrequited, is definitely worrisome. And the thing is that Allie has amnesia--that staple of hard-pressed plotters--and can’t remember who took the blunt instrument to her. Nor can Jackson be sure it wasn’t him. For years he’s been subject to emotionally driven blackouts and, yes, he does have this ungovernable temper. Detective Rossi, the investigating officer, soon latches on to Jackson as his favorite suspect, a conviction that lapses, however, when he himself meets with foul play--fatally. Well, what with one cataclysm or another befalling him, Jackson can be forgiven for thinking that hislife is out of control. And in need of a makeover. The voluminously detailed plastic surgery stuff aside--which sniffier readers will construe as a knife cutting both ways--nothing much new here. Book-of-the-Month Club/Mystery Guild alternate selection
