Synopsis
from Goodreads: Julie
Barenson's young husband left her two unexpected gifts before he
died: a Great Dane puppy named Singer and the promise that he would
always be watching over her. Now, four years have passed. Still
living in the small town of Swansboro, North Carolina, 29-year-old
Julie is emotionally ready to make a commitment to someone again. But
who? Should it be Richard Franklin, the handsome, sophisticated
engineer who treats her like a queen? Or Mike Harris, the
down-to-earth nice guy who was her husband's best friend? Choosing
one of them should bring her more happiness than she's had in years.
Instead, Julie is soon fighting for her life in a nightmare spawned
by a chilling deception and jealousy so poisonous that it has become
a murderous desire...
Stats
for my copy: Mass market paperback, Warner Books, 2004
How
acquired: Bought
First
line: Exactly forty days after she'd last held the hand of her
husband, Julie Barenson sat looking through her window toward the
quiet streets of Swansboro.
My
thoughts: When
I first read Nicholas Sparks, many years ago, I thought he was an
okay writer but a great storyteller. Well, his writing has improved,
and his storytelling skills are still intact. And of the Sparks books
I've read, THE GUARDIAN is by and far the best, a little ahead of my
previous favorite, SAFE HAVEN (which is one of my favorite movies
ever, seriously), and way above A WALK TO REMEMBER, THE NOTEBOOK, and
TRUE BELIEVER. (I've also read MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE and A BEND IN THE
ROAD, but so long ago that I honestly do not remember much about
either one.
The
prologue starts with Julie mourning the death of her husband, Jim,
and suddenly received a belated gift from him of a Great Dane puppy,
who she names Singer. Then we jump ahead four years later. Singer is
a huge dog now, and at times almost seems more human than canine.
Julie still misses Jim, but she's slowly putting herself back out
into the world and starting to date.
In
his Author's Note in the back of the book, Sparks says that this book
was his first attempt at adding an element of “suspense and peril”,
and I think he did it very well. There are a lot of days where the
only chance I have to read is when I fall into bed at night, and
three nights this week I sat up reading long past the time I
should've been asleep, staying up until I finished the book last
night.
The
slow dawning of Julie and Mike's relationship was sweet and
believable, and on Mike's side it also provided lots of humor. Mike
was Jim's best friend, and has loved Julie for ages, and watching her
start dating other men is torture for him. But while he and Julie
have a wonderful easy friendship, when it comes to trying to start a
relationship with her he becomes awkward and tongue-tied. In fact,
when they do finally go on a date, it's Julie who instigates it.
Mike's brother Henry teases him unmercifully, and some of those
scenes were so funny that I actually laughed out loud, the first time
that's happened with a Sparks book.
Sparks
is a detailed writer, with lots of stretches of narrative where not
much actually happens but we get a good look into the characters and
what makes them tick. And then there were also lots of scenes played
out more through dialogue, and in both instances my attention never
wavered. Towards the end of the book, the tension and suspense ramped
up, and knowing Sparks' propensity for tragic deaths, I began to feel
nervous and worried about how the book was going to end. And I'm not
gonna spoil it for you by telling you how it ends, but I will just
say I loved this book.
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