The Guardians by Andrew Pyper

In The Guardians, four friends have kept a terrible secret for many years. When one of them dies and the others are drawn back home to attend his funeral, history starts to repeat itself as the secret threatens to become exposed. Through a series of memory journal entries by Trevor, one of the four, the reader learns what happened to all those years ago that shaped the lives of the four friends and irrevocably haunted them.

I loved this book. I don't read that many ghost stories or haunted house stories, but I'm so glad I got to read this one. When Trevor was diagnosed with Parkinson's, his therapist suggested that he keep a diary of his memories to help cope with the disease. It's through those entries that the authors brings in the past events. I just love how this was done; it fit with the story so well and brought out the mystery at a nice pace. I also loved that the story wasn't just about a ghost or haunted house. The story was also about the tests of friendship, the triumph over adversity, secrets and mental illness.

I can't say that the book frightened me to the point where I couldn't keep reading. However, there were definitely some very creepy parts that sent shivers up my spine. I was particularly interested or intrigued by the glimpses of the mysterious boy that the friends saw from time to time.

The title "The Guardians" was very appropriate. That "guardian" theme ran throughout the book. There was the sports team on which the boys played in school, called The Guardians. The coach of that team was supposed to be their guardian, watch over the boys and guide their futures. Ben was also a guardian in that he had to keep watch on the house across the street. He did this to the point of insanity.

Favourite quotes:

Funny what the memory holds and what it decides it can do without. Like a drunk fisherman, it guts some of the least edible fish and tosses its prize catches back into the deep.(page 219)

Highly recommended. I hope to read many more books by this author. In fact, I have at least one of his other books currently on my bookshelf. I hope to get to it sooner rather than later.

For more information about this book, please visit the Random House website.

For more information about the author and his other books, please visit Andrew Pyper's website.

I'd like to thank those nice people at Random House for this review copy.

The Guardians by Andrew Pyper, Doubleday Canada (Random House), ©2011. ISBN 9780385663717(Hardcover), 354p.