Review by Ferdinand_otieno -- Guardian of Deceit

[Ferdinand_Otieno]

[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 a fictional drama novel. The book was originally published in April 2015. I read the fourth edition which had been illustrations by Betty Harper and Peter Healy. The book follows the story of Darwin Hastings, who was forced to go and live with his famous cousin after his parents died.

Darwin Hastings was forced to live with his cousin, Luther Pinnelli, after his aunt could no longer take care of him. He had to travel from Pittsburgh to the Hamptons. When he arrives in his new home, he finds himself being given a utility room in his cousin's mansion. If this is not enough, Luther will not give him his allowance even though it's part of his inheritance. Luther forces him to go to public school and do chores for him in order to get his allowance. Everyone in his new home likes him but cannot help in his schooling situation. Luther is a professional football player who loves gambling. When Darwin follows him and hears that Luther might be in trouble financially, he fears not only for the people in the house but for his inheritance. Will Luther help Darwin to attend the private school he wants? Will Luther's troubles come to haunt Darwin? Is he in danger being close to Luther? All these questions will be answered in this amazing book.

The main theme I encountered in this book was betrayal. Luther betrays the trust left to him in taking care of Darwin. He betrays the love that his girlfriend Sweeney has in him and he also betrays his team by trying to throw a game. The author uses this theme to drive the suspense of what might happen in this book. The other themes I encountered in this book were; love, loyalty, friendship and acceptance. The author uses these themes masterfully to not only make the characters interesting, but to also make the plot memorable.

The character development in this book was written masterfully. Luther is a very complicated character. He abuses his guardianship of Darwin while making it sound like love. He has moments where he shows he cares for him, but these moments are intertwined with hidden agendas. Darwin maintains his hard-working personal throughout the book and I loved this about him. Even when Luther takes away his allowance, he is prepared to do demeaning tasks and live in a utility room just to get by. The characters were exceptional and the author made sure to write from different perspectives. The amazing story and the excellent characters made me compare this book to McDowell by William H. Coles.

I would rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. This is because the author enriched the plot with excellent characters and forced me to follow what every character was doing. I found myself reading the entire book in one day and that says more about the superb writing than my ability to read. There were no spelling or editing errors and the story flowed effortlessly. I did not encounter anything that needed improvement in this amazing book and the only thing I did not like about the book was the fact that it was not part of a series.

I would recommend this book to all fictional drama and literary fiction fans. The story was amazing and the author employed an amazing writing style to highlight different characters and their motives at different points in the book. I loved this book and I am looking forward to reading more of the author's works.

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Guardian of Deceit
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