4 out of 4 stars
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Guardian of deceit by William H Coles. William H Coles is an award-winning author of Facing Grace with Gloria and Other Stories, The Surgeon's Wife, The Necklace and Other Stories, The Spirit of Want, The Short Fiction of William H Coles 2001-2011 and the popular book about literary writing, Story in Literary Fiction: a Manual for Writers. He lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. Darwin Hastings, a 17 years old orphan and his dying aunt sends him from Pittsburgh to New York to a new guardian, a famous wealthy football player. He is excited and afraid; he wants to recapture the love he knew with his parents before they died and become a doctor like his father. But in his new home of celebrities, crooks, untrustworthiness, excessively wealthy deviants, lust, want thwart his search for selfless caring love and in his quest to become a doctor, he discovers the altruism of health care and scientific discovery riddled with profit motivation and deficient moral standards.
Luther has lots of secrets. He is a gambler who loves high stakes poker and owes the syndicate big bucks for all of his losses. He also abuses the women he dates, dates being nothing more than twenty minutes in a motel room. Luther ignores his supposed fiancee, the fabulously famous and beautiful pop singer Sweeney Pale. Sweeney professes desperate love for the abusive Luther. Darwin meets Adrian Malverne, M D, a famous orthopedic surgeon who lives in the same affluent neighborhood as Pinnelli. Malverne, saddled with an unfulfilling marriage and two spoiled daughters, seizes upon Darwin’s ambitions to become a doctor and begins guiding the young man toward a specialty that would put him in line to become a partner once his schooling is completed.
Malverne and his wife are clearly upper crust, Mrs. Malverne being the guardian of the social and cultural values of the home. Their daughters, Coral and Helen, readily take on the arrogant privileged attitudes of their home and launch into society morally rudderless.
Coles divides his book up into five segments and the thrust of the story changes somewhat as the reader moves from one section to the next. Most of the changes are in the focus on the characters, but each segment builds toward a conclusion. The book is a coming-of-age novel with a mystery thrown in toward the end. Bonita Thomas’ daughter, a minor character, goes missing, Bonita being Luther’s bookkeeper and accountant. Laszlo, Luther’s security guard with unexpressed feelings for Bonita, begins a search for the girl. The clues he uncovers implicate several and add to the suspense. Darwin grows from an acquiescing youngster who accepts living in quarters unfit for the lowest paid member of the household staff to a forthright young man who risks his future when he insists that his wishes be respected in completing the guest list for his wedding.
Most of the people in Cole’s book are unhappy. Luther fails to find fulfillment in his wealth and fame. Sweeney becomes almost selfless in her fawning, adoring and unrequited love of Luther. Helen and Coral Malverne thrash about in their frustrated efforts to find a man before they find themselves.The drama plays out for all of the major characters with many finding themselves at a place in the end where a second run at happiness is possible. In this book, Coles has lessons he wants reader to take away from his work. Darwin is frequently placed in circumstances where his silence is important, circumstances in which he must keep a secret. He never reports Luther’s abusive behavior. He accepts Malvern’s explanation as to why certain medical record charts were altered. He keeps Sweeney hopeful of marriage to Luther by withholding truthful reports of Luther’s feelings toward her. Coles embeds commentary into the story and lets his characters speak of them. I got caught up in the business of medicine, I made a lot of money, but I lost the satisfaction that good patient care can bring, I missed out. Malverne says in a closing conversation with Darwin.
In Guardian of Deceit, Coles creates an incredibly fascinating world that once we visit, we don’t want to leave anytime soon. Some of the best, most realistic and genuine characters, I’ve encountered in a long time, anywhere, I thought the descriptions and characters were wonderful and could picture everything happening perfectly. I think the story as a whole could have benefitted from some tightening, and at times it seemed to lose some focus. But the interweaving storylines were so dramatic and paced well for the most part. I like how we are not just bystanders in Darwin’s story, but engaged throughout. Although at the end there is a sense of things being more told to us and summed up, almost like the author just wanted to quickly finish the book. And I wish it had more action in the beginning. I was satisfied with the ending and the way everything ended up for Darwin, like full circle in a way. Liked the fast pace and the snappy dialogue that really shows us the story unfolding. Very well written and a worthy addition to the lit-fiction genre and a recommend read for adults. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars.
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Guardian of Deceit
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