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lottery tickets are like that, It's all in the dream, just the possibility however remote, '

When the Revd Robert Melton first arrives at St Mungo's, his initial enthusiasm quickly turns to despondency until the biggest jackpot in US lottery history triggers a series of uncanny events that throws him, and the seemingly unconnected lives of people on both sides of the Atlantic, into a vortex of questioning, selfdoubt and the search for truth.
For all of them, try as they might to escape it, the past remains a constant presence,

From the rundown despair of Robert's dying inner London parish to the yearnings for love and physical contact of the city's social outcasts and from the moneydriven hubris of Manhattan's financial elite to the homespun wisdom of rural New England The Other Side of Loss is a modernday parable of loss and redemption, of despair and triumph, of human weakness and the lifeaffirming salvation of human strength in all its meanings.


'Any novel that weaves a hightension narrative out of two priests, prostitution, and a lottery ticket has to keep you turning the pages.
'
Gyles Brandreth

'Zounds! Not since Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein has a more colourful story come from a more surprising source, Tom Vaughan is a very imaginative soul, '
George Butler, film producer, The Endurance, Roving Mars, Tiger Tiger

'The Other Side of Loss is, at its simplest, about forgiveness and redemption.
It is an affirming story of how belief can be a powerful sign of contradiction in our secular times, . . much to explore and much to enjoy, ' Peter Stanford, The Tablet

'A compelling and thoughtprovoking debut novel about temptation, corruption, loss and love, ' Hereford Times.out of

sitelinkThe Other Side of Loss is at turns sentimental and at other times a sensational story, sitelinkTom Vaughan takes the reader on an emotional rollercoaster which falls flat because his unconvincing characterisation forces the plot along to where it needs to go in terms of the story but without the heart to move the reader to feel they share it alongside the characters.


Initially, the book seems that it will follow the lives of two London based characters: Robert Melton is the newly appointed reverend at failing St Mungo's church and Brenda is a masseuse who specialises in treating the disabled.
The standard church story looks set for Robert not enough parishioners survival in an age of declining Christianity threat of closure etc, However, after one service the winning lottery ticket for the Powerball is in the collection plate, With the aid of Andreas, a Benedictine monk and American friend, Robert claims the jackpot and his fortunes change in more ways than one.


All fiction is to an extent emotionally manipulative however Vaughan is not subtle in his methods to gain reader empathy, I could forgive the sentimentality in Brendas story as what she experiences is horrendous yet has moving reasons for becoming a transgender masseuse, She also has the more interesting story of the two characters in part one, Yet annoyingly some characters are introduced into the narrative but then forgotten about for hundreds of pages, Brenda included, When we do return at the novels close her story is sacrificed to heighten the emotional journey Robert has undergone, which also stops any enquiries into how Brenda had coped in the lastyears in the reverend's absence.


With Robert Melton the emotional manipulation of the reader concerns how he's changed since the jackpot, The pattern in this book is that it's a far more sensational than sentimental read the dramatics allow for the feel good aspects of the novel as Robert learns how far he's strayed from his flock.
However, we never do witness Roberts change from humble, modest reverend to the powerful man of finances his personality change is shown after the fact has happened, a trick I see inexperienced writers use to bypass describing transformation.


The reader keeps being told how Robert has changed into a greedy and selfish man, Yet for a novel where its central character leads a sinful life of temptations Robert Melton does not fall far from who he was.
Again, another of my complaints is that we never actually see Robert doing anything bad as it happens we just hear the report of his actions later or if decisions are made then with a click of the fingers that is that.
No other real struggle follows,

This is a novel that celebrates the domestic hearth and simple life for what is needed its very much like a Victorian novel in its statement, home is where the heart is and the truth self manifests yes, I'm looking at you sitelinkDavid Copperfield.
Vaughan attempts to show true gain in the face of material riches in terms of Robert's family history as in following up the lineage of his father who was adopted he also rediscovers his own identity.
The novel advocates the redemptive power that finding true family is able to change a person like a miracle has happened however, the number of coincidences and dramas which occur in this section of the book lends the novel a more melodramatic feel.
It's difficult to believe so much can happen to Robert in a short few weeks anyone else would get whiplash in trying to come to terms with all that has occurred.

Excellent I started reading this book because it involved my town, New London, NH, But it quickly became one of the most interesting stories I've ever read, It's view of religion, particularly priests, is very thought provoking, I sent a copy to my brother who is very involved with his church so we could discuss it, It makes no difference what your belief is or whether or not you do it's a very good read, you'll enjoy it, This book was a little different to what I usually read, but made a refreshing change, On the whole a great read,

I won this book in the recent Goodreads First Reads Giveaway, I had the privilege of reading this book free through a Goodreads Giveaway,

Overall, I really enjoyed the book, It was an uplifting story about the corruption of money and the search for the good things in life, with commentary on religion and spirituality.
The

characters were mostly likable, and in some cases highly inspirational, and it's a book that definitely made me think about my priorities and my relationship with God.


That being said, I had a few problems with the book, First of all, the narrative relied very heavily on dialogue, all of which was highly repetitive and pretty unrealistic, The details of characters' backstories are spelled out every time the character is mentioned, . . it gets boring and made me skip over a few paragraphs when I could recite details of the stories by heart, Robert was not very likable or realistic to me, and he changed personalities so fast I think I got whiplash, Finally, it's great for parts of the narrative to line up and fit together, but does everyone's life have to sync up with even the most minor background characters By the end, the book felt cheapened and cheesy because of the amount of coincidences that linked all the characters in the story together more deeply than needed.
Daughter LOVED it! Great job Tom! This book had be so gripped that I frequently almost missed my bus stop as I was so absorbed! The fact that I was happy to carry the rather hefty paperback in my handbag for my commute says a lot about how much I enjoyed reading it! A thoroughly good read, with interesting characters and descriptions of New Hampshire.
No dull moments! I look forward to reading more from the author! I think I'd have to call this a novel of ideas, Tom Vaughn has come up up with an intriguing plot and some potentially fascinating characters, The ideas in question include those of right and wrong, religion vs spirituality, acceptance vs rejection, I do think the book might have benefitted from more stringent editing, not least from the point of view of continuity, For example, the chief protagonist seems to be aboutduring the main part of the novel, yet his grandmother appears to be in her's.
The descriptions of New Hampshire and West London are spot on and brought the locations into sharp focus, yet I couldn't quite get a fix on when this was happening.
That said, I think it's a terrific first novel and look forward to his next one, .