The Guardian

I have read the following novels written by Nicholas Sparks in this order: THE NOTEBOOK, MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE, A WALK TO REMEMBER, THE RESCUE, BEND IN THE ROAD, NIGHTS IN RODANTHE, and finally THE GUARDIAN. In contrast to his previous work, Sparks significantly changed his overarching theme for this most recent novel. THE GUARDIAN has a very different tone. Sparks was wise to institute such a change in his storyline. I think such an effort challenged his mind and made a superb reading experience. Sparks is well-known for writing love stories that have a degree of realism but also pushes the envelop of mushiness. In THE GUARDIAN, Sparks writes a story of the affections between a man and a woman. As common in his other novels, we witness several emotional triangles. Sparks is quite skilled in painting a picture with words that illustrates the emotional trauma when a third party is thrown into an emotional tie between two others. What makes THE GUARDIAN different is the element of suspense and peril in which the major and minor characters (including a dog) are placed in life threatening situations. More than any other other of his novels, THE GUARDIAN illustrates Sparks' talent for writing. He develops several layers of emotional complexity, without being incoherent, and retaining the reader's interest. In many respects, THE GUARDIAN maintains the same level of complexity as Raymond Chandler's THE BIG SLEEP. However, Sparks is able to do a much better job than Chandler in keeping the reader focused. In many ways, it is quite amazing that Sparks was able to hold this storyline together. Frankly, I think that THE GUARDIAN is Sparks' best work.

It was slow going for me at first, a lot of reading the internal thoughts of the characters. But I quickly fell into the groove of the writing style and I fell in love with the characters, they felt like friends and I had to know what happened to them and what happens next. There was a character that bugged me at first, but he was actually a really good guy, just timid at first. And then of course the bad character that really gave me the creeps, as was the author's intent I'm sure. I could visualize the characters and this quaint small town that made me want to visit it. I'm not really a mystery person but I enjoyed this book!

TRIGGER WARNING ALERT - GRAPHIC AND EXTREMELY CRUEL ENDING FOR SINGER

NOT A HAPPY BOOK FOR DOG LOVERS ENDING WISE

SPOILER ALERT

When I read the sample, it seemed,like a good book about Julie and Singer. Plus from what I have,read about the author, he seems to write more positive books. So I bought the book. The book was great till the last half. Then it got REALLY dark and Singer became a target. I could barely read the rest until it got to the worst possible ending. I quit reading about the murder of Singer. I wish one of the other reviewers mentioned the way this book ended. It's one thing for a dog to die, natural causes or an accident but the deliberate planning and murder of a dog in such disgusting detail was beyond necessary for the story.

I will never read another book by this author.

THIS IS A REVISION TO THE REVIEW ABOVE

The book up until the attack and murder of Singer was decent. To be fair to the author, I revised my review from one star to three stars. I stand by the rest of my review. The attack and murder was beyond cruel and unnecessarily graphic. I will never buy a book by this author.