Review: The Guardians

The Guardians by Andrew Pyper

Format: Trade Paperback, Review
Pages:
Published: Sept 13, 2011
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Genre: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller

My Rating: 4.5/5

Summary (from chapters.ca):

There's no such thing as an empty house...

Trevor, Randy, Ben and Carl grew up together in the small town of Grimshaw as many boys do - playing hockey on the local team, the Guardians, and forging friendships that run deep. Twenty-four years later, Trevor, recently diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and faced with his own mortality, learns that his old friend Ben has committed suicide. He returns to Grimshaw to pay his respects and to reunite with Randy and Carl.

But going home means going back to the memories of a sinister crime that occurred in the abandoned house at 321 Caledonia Street - a crime that claws its way into the present, leaving its indelible mark on everyone.

Review:

**NOTE: A copy of this book was provided by the publisher, Doubleday Canada. However, no compensations were made and this review reflects my honest thoughts and feelings about the book.**

**Shivers** - and it is not because it is cold out. This book actually delivered everything I was hoping it would. A weekend spent avoiding windows of houses across the street - just in case. A lot of lights left on and noises in my house that I swear didn't exist before.

As an admitted lover of 'scary' movies, it took The Guardians to make me realize that there are actually two very different category of scary. There are the 'slasher' films/books - Nightmare on Elm Street or Friday the 13th - the kind where you know whats going to happen and even though you may be a bit spooked or grossed out, you aren't going to lose any sleep. Then there are the movies/books that play with your mind - What Lies Beneath, The Ring or The Guardians. These are the ones that make you feel that every dark corner is a potential danger, that every sound is possibly 'the end', or that the house across the street is 'alive'.

Andrew Pyper set out to deliver a story that would make the reader sit up and listen (or, in my case, cower in a corner and whimper) and he did just that. The telling of two stories at the same time was a brilliant way to tie the two events together. A past that held so many secrets melded with that of the present, allowed the reader to feel like they were really connecting with the characters, like they were being let in on a secret that so few know.

With so many twists and turns, this is a novel that keeps you reading and always keeps you guessing... you just never know what is going to come around the corner next.

Overall, a brilliant book that delivers thrills, chills and yes, bumps in the night.