Review by Miller56 -- Guardian of Deceit

[Miller56]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Guardian of Deceit" by William H. Coles.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Guardian of Deceit by William H. Coles is the story of Darwin Hastings’ life who was orphaned when he was twelve. He had lived with his widowed aunt until she could no longer take care of him. The story begins with him on a plane to go live with his cousin. His cousin, a professional football player, had many issues that money brings, gambling being the worst. Therefore, the home Darwin thought he was going to have ended up being completely different. The life that he had known no longer existed. On the plane, he met a doctor who would become influential in his life. This doctor helped provide Darwin a sense of direction. The rest of the book was about different people that enter Darwin’s life and his interactions with them.

I thoroughly enjoyed the beginning of the book and thought the story line was intriguing. It was easy to place myself in the book and become one of the characters. However, as I continued reading, the story became a little erratic with too many plots. I felt that I was bouncing around a bit too much to enjoy the book completely. At times Darwin was a self-confident young man. At other times, Darwin was very meek and seemed like he was incapable of functioning on his own. I expected him to be self-confident because he was smart and wanted to be a doctor. I am sure some of his meekness resulted from his age, but the two personalities seemed to be disconnected. This was not so disconcerting once I realized that the book actually covered a span of 15 to 20 years. I seemed to have frozen Darwin as a teenager.

I did not like the portrayal of the women in the story. Except for Granny, the women were depicted as lacking self-confidence and looking for someone to provide them personal gratification. Although many of these women were successful, they all seemed to be needy and broken. These women needed Darwin to pick them up and give them some self-worth. It would be nice to see some strength from the women displayed in the book.

What I liked most about the book was Darwin’s integrity and personality. He showed an inner strength that older men would not have. There were opportunities presented where he could have handle situations with less integrity, but he always seemed to take the “high” road. As we watch Darwin change from a teenager to an adult, the moral compass of the man remains the same.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys literary drama with a number of story lines intermingled. There are several plots to the story, so the reader has to stay engaged. I would recommend this book for anyone in their teenage to adult years.

I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. I enjoyed the book. The story was well-written and appeared to be professionally edited. I found only minor editing and spelling errors that did not detract from the book. Although I did not enjoy all of the story lines, I do not feel that this changes the rating of the book. The mixture of all the story lines would be appealing to many readers.

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Guardian of Deceit
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[CommMayo]

I wonder what the author is projecting from his experiences when he is compelled to write such weak and downtrodden women...

Thank you for your interesting review.

[kdstrack]

I agree. Granny was the best character in the book! She gave Darwin the stability and advice that he needed. Great review.

[Gabriel Merêncio]

It sounds like an interesting drama, though the several plot lines could get a bit overwhelming. Thanks for the review!

[ElizaBeth Adams]

Great review! I would find too many plot lines bothersome. I also would be annoyed by the weak portrayal of women. Otherwise it seems like a decent read. Thank you for your thoughts.