The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks

As she approached the house an hour later, she heard the phone ringing. Hurrying inside, she let the screen door close with a bang behind her. Probably Emma, she thought. Emma had been calling a lot lately ~ she loved what was happening with Mike and couldn't wait to talk about it. And to be honest, Julie kind of liked talking about it, too. Just for perspective, of course. ~ The Guardian, page 184 ~

Julie Barenson's young husband left her two unexpected gifts before he died ~ a Great Dane puppy named Singer and the promise that he would always be watching over her. Now four years have passed. Still living in the small town of Swansboro, North Carolina, twenty-nine-year-old Julie is emotionally ready to make a commitment to someone again. But who? Should it be Richard Franklin, the handsome, sophisticated engineer who treats her like a queen? Or Mike Harris, the down-to-earth nice guy who was her husband's best friend? Choosing one of them should bring her more happiness than she's had in years. Instead, Julie is soon fighting for her life in a nightmare spawned by a chilling deception and jealousy so poisonous that it has become a murderous desire...

This book did absolutely nothing for me. It was very predictable from start to finish. I found the writing style stilted. I've read other works by this author and loved them, especially The Wedding. I thought going into this I'd be reading a romance with possibly a few wrong turns on Julie's part until she realizes who is really the man for her. After the reading the author's note at the end of the story I understood why I didn't like this book. He was writing a romance story with a thriller aspect secondary to the main story line. He stated it went through 8 major revisions, maybe it should have gone through nine. For me it didn't work. Hopefully in the future he will write what he's very good at ~ true romantic, get out the hankie tear jerkiers.