I’ve enjoyed works co-authored by Davis Bunn in the historical fiction genre. This is the first time I’ve read a contemporary solo work and I quite enjoyed his writing style.
The narrative is easy to follow and readers are pulled in within the first chapter of the story. Vivid descriptions of locations help readers to envision the locales, both in present day and back in the early 1980s. Ethan’s (the main character) inner turmoil is evident and one can sympathize with him.
I expected a contemporary story of a man trying to discover who murdered his brother. What I didn’t expect was a sort of time travel story that was part of a physics experiment. So, this story is speculative in nature – but an excellent story nonetheless. I was totally lost with the physics explanations (mainly because I’m not a scientist! However, I can see how the characters in the story thought it was totally plausible. And it worked for the storyline.
Even though the end was in sight for Ethan, the final page felt like the story ended too abruptly leaving me with questions afterward. After all, won’t things have changed in the future if he goes back and changes them in the past?
If you enjoy speculative fiction, you’ll enjoy Burden of Proof by Davis Bunn.
I received an ecopy from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

1 star
Time travel and Christian don't go together. I do not recommend this book at all. I am not a fan.

Davis Bunn writes unique stories, and I appreciate that they are not a rehash of what else is in the marketplace. This book is speculative fiction that is advanced by the main character going back in time to find out how an event occurred and to change the outcome if he can. The premise is interesting, but the story itself is a bit divided between that central goal and some secondary ones. This is a good book, but probably not Bunn’s best book.

Slow start, but captivating once it's going.

Ethan Barrett was handed a very hard task to deal with, and to make others understand. He had great motivation to take it on with his displeasure with his own choices and how his life was going. He was living with a ton of regrets and had a chance to change some of them.

There was a group of characters that he was able to bring in to help him. I enjoyed getting to know them and see how they interacted with each other throughout this book. It wasn’t easy on any of them and they each grew as the story progressed. I really like Hennie. He was very wise and shared his wisdom with Ethan.

The beginning of this book took a little longer to lay the groundwork for the situation that Ethan was in then I’m used to. The plot was definitely intriguing and kept me engaged once it got going. There were a couple of points in the story when there was a very detailed scientific explanation that totally lost me. I struggled to get through them.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher, through NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All of the opinions expressed are my own.

Davis Bunn is such an interesting writer. If you haven't yet, I hope you will check out his other books as well....there are always interesting twists and turns that make the story have that little bit EXTRA.

Ethan and his brother Adrian were very close growing up. When Adrian was murdered decades ago, Ethan has always felt responsible, believing he could have prevented it. Fast forward to present day: Ethan is terminal - living out what is likely his last few months in a relatively peaceful way, when he is contacted by his former sister in law Sonya and her daughter Delia. They claim to have a way for him to change the past....if he takes it he probably has nothing to lose and possibly eternity to gain. What follows is a fascinating story of science, intrigue, love, and deep regret that asks the question: if you could go back, would you?

This book was interesting and well written. I am happy to recommend it!

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book from Revell Publishers and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This is absolutely surprising as speculative fiction. Nowhere in the description would you get that vibe. I thought the central gist would be a surprise that comes to light and makes Ethan, the main character, rethink his past- as many Christian books tend to do.

However, this was a huge surprise. Science fiction for sure. And yet, that part didn't overpower the bigger storyline. Yes, there was scientific jargon. But if you don't actually know anything about those subjects, you can pretty much gloss over those parts, since none of it will make sense to you anyway. Don't let that bog you down and keep you from reading the rest of the book.

I mean, the author glosses over the argument that Ethan makes about how this could happen at all, since by the time the future conversation is supposed to happen with Sonya, he won't be around to have had it actually take place. So you have to suspend what you know about reality. And that's okay.

I really enjoyed this as a character study book. It was absolutely all about Ethan for me. I loved seeing his interactions with Gina, and his brother, and Sonya, and how they changed based on what he knew of himself from his past (future?) experiences and choices. He was a constant exercise in self-control. Of implementing the change he wished he had the character to live the first time around.

Where the book fell flat for me was the ending. It was abrupt, and left a lot of questions. We don't see how Adrian, Gina, and Sonya react, or how they move on. When Ethan has the advice given to him to keep his eyes on the eternal, what does that mean, exactly? There were no real spiritual overtones here, and no further explanation to what that might mean. Nor how Ethan defined that.

I really enjoyed the writing style, and even though much of the book was far-fetched, it kept my attention and I would recommend it to other people to read.

Burden of Proof, by Davis Bunn, is the tale for you if you enjoy the idea of having a second chance to live your life. A chance to reverse major mistakes from your past!

You will meet Ethan on the opening pages of this tale. Ethan is now in his fifties and has skin-cancer that has progressed to the state that he only has weeks left to live. When he runs into his brother's widow, a scientist working on ways to time-travel, she offers him the chance to go back in time and save his brother's live. Ethan simply cannot refuse!

After the transition takes place, Ethan awakens to find himself a 20-year-old young man paddling down the waterway in Cocoa Beach, Florida. This is an interesting journey to take with Ethan as he attempts to discover the best way to save his brother's life. Along the way, you will watch Ethan find that the focus in his former life had been in a totally wrong direction!

The title is Burden of Proof. The cover shows a man in a suit walking down stairs while talking on a cell phone. The novel’s summary says something like “Ethan must face his past and join the search for answers to discover how to redeem his future.” What do you think the novel’s going to be about? If you guessed “legal thriller,” you’d be right—but also so very wrong.

I’ve never seen a novel begin with the twist. With no setup, little explanation, and barely a chapter of exposition, Bunn zaps his protagonist into the past—his present consciousness now inhabiting his past self—in order to alter time and prevent a tragedy. Normally, I would call this gimmicky, but Bunn pulls it off by having it be just as much a surprise to Ethan, his main character.

Ethan wakes up in the 1980s, thirty-five years younger and with all the knowledge of his older self. His mission: prevent his attorney brother from being murdered on the courthouse steps. Adrian had been on those steps because he was defending his wife’s biotech company from a hostile takeover. The killer was never caught. This time would be different.

After the murder attempt fails, Ethan and Adrian find that they may not be safe yet. Adrian’s wife has something these people want and they’ll stop at nothing to get it. The latter part of the novel moves into a taut legal thriller as Adrian goes toe-to-toe with opposing counsel as Ethan unravels the mystery of why a big investment group is so intent on the takeover.

Burden of Proof was a fun read. It’d make for a great movie. (In fact, I wonder if that’s what Bunn was gunning for.) So long as you don’t look to close or think too hard, the plot holds up, but think too closely about any of many elements and the whole thing unravels.

Everything just sort of sits at a superficial level. Ethan adjusts to his time travel with relative ease, as does everybody he tells. The characters are rather static and don’t develop or change through the novel. Everybody mentions how Ethan has changed (being old Ethan), but we never see original young Ethan as a comparison. Sonia is every bit as cantankerous and unlikable in the past as she is in the present, after a lifetime of loss and crisis.

Bunn could have dived deeper into the ethics of the biotech Sonia was developing. He could have waxed philosophical about time travel and changing the past. He could have had Ethan distracted from his primary mission by having to deal with past regrets. None of these things happen. Burden of Proof is fast, fun, and entertaining, but it doesn’t really grapple with the issues it is raising.

Think of it like the Fast and Furious franchise. You know it’s going to be crazy. You know it isn’t going to make any sense. Wild things are going to happen and there won’t be much an attempt at explanation. But you let them by with it because it’s just fun. So I’ll let Burden of Proof off the hook. It’s serviceable. It had the potential for more. You’ll still enjoy reading it.

Burden of Proof by Davis Bunn was a book that I was looking forward to reading. However after reading the first few chapters, I came to the conclusion that this was not the book for me.

I was not comfortable with the premise that the hero of the novel was a dying man who was brought back to a previous time in his life in order to find out who killed his brother.

I think the book was well conceived and written, but it was just not for me.

Another captivating suspense book from one of my favorite authors. Davis Bunn has blended well a bit of several genres in Burden of Proof...murder, time travel, romance, legal suspense. After living a pretty self-centered life--as one character noted, he had lived a 'thin life', Ethan has a second chance to save his brother's life. Will he take the chance, regardless of the consequences? Perhaps this time he will aim for the eternal, not the temporal things in life. The book kept my interest from the first page to the last. Readers who enjoy a great suspense book will not want to miss this one.
I was given a complimentary advanced reader copy of the book from LibraryThing and was not required to write a review. The opinions are my own.

I have not read anything of Davis Bunn's for many years. I absolutely loved his Heirs of Acadia series, but I found this quite different from his previous writing. This book rather than being historical fiction is a time travel/speculative type book. Ethan Barrett is given an opportunity to go back to the week before his brother, Adrian, was murdered and see if he can find the killer.

This was not action paced suspense with high drama, but it did continue along at a steady pace. I did enjoy seeing how the events that Ethan went through made him look back on his life and realize how self-centered he'd been and what things he had missed out on. It is well written, but I found myself lost when Sonya, Adrian's wife, was giving scientific explanations of how her "time machine" worked along with her other scientific projects. I also thought the ending was somewhat abrupt.

**I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions are mine alone. I was not compensated for this review.

I've read multiple books by this author and each one has captivated my attention in a new way. While I'm not a science fiction or science buff, I am still able to understand the science behind the plot and storyline. It isn't so technical that a lay person couldn't understand what was going on. However if you are a scientist or a science buff you would absolutely love these books. They all involve some sort of medical mystery or experiment. I also love how you dive right into the story and Bunn doesn't waste any time with unnecessary details. You go on this adventure along with the characters! It isn't a "fluffy" novel, but it also isn't so complex that I couldn't follow it ;-). I'd recommend this novel, and his others!

Second chances. Wouldn't we all love to go back in time and change some things. This is a fantastic book. My first book by the Author and I will definitely check out other books by this Author. A must must read!

In the book Burden of Proof, author Davis Bunn tells the story of Ethan who was a professional surfer and is not old, and dying of cancer. But he is haunted by his brother’s death, who was killed on the courthouse steps. But when his brother’s widow shows up with an incredible invention, Ethan has a chance to go back and change the past and right the wrongs he has done.
This is a strange story line. I enjoyed the story of redemption and learning from our mistakes, but the whole traveling back in time was strange. I would recommend this book. I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have read books that included time travel before but this one was especially fascinating. It had a different take to it that I enjoyed. I wasn't sure how things were going to end which is always a nice surprise. I will say that I wanted more at the end. It was clear what was going to happen but it ended rather abruptly.
Ethan's brother, Adrian, was murdered 35 years ago. When Adrian's wife asks Ethan to go back to try to save him, Ethan can't refuse. Along with his main purpose, Ethan has to think about what he'd like to do differently with the time he has and even if he should do things differently. What will that do to time? It's interesting to think about.

This book has a little bit of outdoor adventure (surfing), suspense, time travel, and legal drama and it all went together so well. It's a novel of second chances and living well. I enjoyed it and I'd highly recommend it. Thank you to Revell for providing me with an e-copy of this book. all opinions are my own.

Imagine having the opportunity to go back in time and reverse one of the most tragic events in your life. Would you be able to change the past? That’s exactly what is at stake for Ethan Barrett in Davis Bunn’s novel, “Burden of Proof.” Faced with his own pending end, Ethan is presented the chance to restore what was lost… what was taken many years earlier. This book is well thought out and does have moralistic values, but I see no substantial evidence of Jesus in the story.



I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and was not required to write a favorable review. All opinions are my own.

[Ethan] was the prodigal son, the scourge of his family, the man who threw away his heritage and only took from life what he wanted. And only when he could do so in utter selfish abandon.

He had been granted the opportunity to come home. Not because he deserved it. Far from it. Even so, he had returned to the only family left to him. A brother who had abandoned Ethan to the fate he had demanded for himself. And then welcomed him back with open heart and arms. (p. 167)

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I read two chapters and I was ready to walk away - it did not catch my attention. But I continued on - by the end of the book, I had unexpected tears in my eyes. The book was great.

Davis Bunn has combined science fiction, legal thriller, and medical drama, into a surprising story that works well. Ethan was dying from a cancer that would soon take his life. It was then that his sister-in-law contacted him and asked him to go back 30 years in time to save his brother’s life and marriage. Both Ethan and this reader were skeptical, but with a flash of light and a stopped heart, he made the trip. He immediately stumbled into legal and medical dramas that Ethan and his brother, Adrian, would need to work through.

This retelling of the “Prodigal Son” (Luke 15:11–32) allows Ethan and the reader time to reflect on the Grace of God in a modern setting - a lesson we all have to learn.

This book, this parable, belongs in the church library and the public library. It touched this reader’s life and reminded him of faith lessons without a heavy dose of religiosity. After finishing the book it easily receives a 5-star review.
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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are my own.

There are two, maybe three aspects to this book: the sci-fi-esque time travel and the medical part that is Sonya's work and the legal mystery that is Adrian's. Setting aside the first for a moment, I really enjoyed the mystery and intrigue of what Ethan, Adrian, and Sonya were trying to do. I liked the healing and forgiveness that took place among the various relationships. I loved the bond between the brothers.

I don't do well with science fiction, time travel, and heavy science/medical stuff. It's confusing to me and I can't wrap my brain around the theories of it all. Avengers Endgame was a challenge. I didn't love that aspect of this book. It made the main story feel a bit strange, though I understand that the story would not exist without it. The ending felt unfinished. Again, I understand Ethan's role being over but what happens with Sonya and Adrian and Gina? The work? The company? It felt abrupt.

I admire Bunn for being able to write such a variety of work - from legal mysteries that deal with science theories to military novels to historical fiction. He is an excellent writer no matter the subject. This book was just not one of my favorites by him.

Many thanks to Revell and Netgalley for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own and a favorable review was not required.

I've read several books by Davis Bunn and have enjoyed them all. His books are easy to follow and very fast paced. Many times I had to stop reading and didn't want to. I highly recommend this book and anything else that he's written.

If you love John Grisham’s intense courtroom drama and stories about second chances, you will love this novel. The characters and their situation grabbed my heart and never let it go. Ethan comes to terms with the fact doctors gave him a few months to live. Just when he was coming to terms with his new reality, in walks his estranged scientific Professor sister-in-law with an opportunity he would not have considered if cancer were not eating up his body. It is an out of the box, wild option but what did he have to lose. He would be her human lab rat.

This story had throwback elements from the 1980’s on Coco Beach Florida, there were no cellphones, no internet, no video games, and the Nasa Program was in it’s heyday. Life was simple back then. One thing remained constant, how people prepared for hurricane season. Ethan loved to surf, and the best surfing could be had on Coco Beach during dangerous times. I enjoyed surfing with Ethan and his friend.

Another fun thing is the Back to the Future elements sprinkled throughout this intense page turning novel I could not put down. This would be a wonderful book club pick. There is so much to discuss. If you have not read a book by this author, I highly recommend this one.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Nora St. Laurent
TBCN Where Book Fun Begins!
The Book Club Network blog www.bookfun.org