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The Prophet of Marathon Kindle Edition

by Bob Waldner (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 43 ratings
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James Bennett didn’t come to the Florida Keys to find a new father. As the rebellious, serially underemployed scion of an old-money New York family, he’d spent years disappointing the one he already had. But when smooth-talking ex-televangelist John Wainwright takes an interest in him, he spurns an invitation to grow up and finally join his family’s business on Wall Street in favor of staying in Marathon to help Wainwright rebuild his church.

When James’ faith in his new mentor and his infatuation with Wainwright’s beautiful, estranged daughter lead him into a maze of deception and double-crosses, he’s left to try to find a path to redemption on his own, and he can only hope that his father will still be there to meet him on the other side.
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  1. Print length
    391 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    November 16, 2015
  5. File size
    4475 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Armed with degrees from Duke University and the University of Michigan Law School, Bob Waldner moved to New York City many years ago to seek his fortune. Not being an adept fortune-seeker, he started writing fiction. He published his first novel, Peripheral Involvement, in 2014, and his short stories have appeared, or are scheduled to appear, in The Saturday Evening Post, The Satirist, Pinball, theEEEL and Mulberry Fork Review. He continues to practice corporate law in Manhattan, where he lives with his wife, Erinn, and his two daughters, Maureen and Madeleine. You can find him on the web at www.bobwaldnerbooks.com.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B017QX9PK4
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ (November 16, 2015)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 16, 2015
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4475 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 391 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 43 ratings

About the author

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Bob Waldner

Bob Waldner

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Armed with degrees from Duke University and the University of Michigan Law School, Bob Waldner moved to New York City many years ago to seek his fortune. Not being an adept fortune-seeker, he started writing fiction. He published his first novel, Peripheral Involvement, in 2014, and his short stories have appeared, or are scheduled to appear, in The Saturday Evening Post, The Satirist, Pinball, theEEEL and Mulberry Fork Review. He continues to practice corporate law in Manhattan, where he lives with his wife, Erinn, and his two daughters, Maureen and Madeleine. You can find him on the web at www.bobwaldnerbooks.com.

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
43 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Sara W.
4.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing suspense!
Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2016
The Prophet of Marathon was an intriguing read with mystery, suspense and a whole lot of what-in-the-world-just-happened moments.

I picked the book up at nine in the morning, waved off my husband and kids several time during the day (don't judge) and put the finished book down eight hours later. I was sucked in from the first page.

James Bennett is a slacker through and through. Breezing through life on his talent at avoiding life and playing online poker, he was coasting along until the government shut down online poker and James was suddenly faced with having to find a real job. He tried playing poker in the flesh, but that didn't work so well for him. James takes off to Florida and falls in with a smooth, personable ex-televangelist with a penchant for persuasion. I liked James. I think he had just the right amount of flaws to make him believable. I mean we all know someone like him don't we? I know I do.

James's relationship with his father takes a good bit of center stage as does his interactions with The Prophet. James has been seeking his father's approval all his life, but throws away all the opportunities given to him. He would rather slack his way through life than work for something. It is this mentality that makes him easy prey for The Prophet, who praises him and gives him the approval he's been seeking from his father.

The Prophet of Marathon is a smart book with a solid writing, intriguing characters, a plot that keeps you guessing and subplots that only add to the richness of the book.
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Mr. Richard Lw Bunning
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and Believable Flawed Characters
Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2016
Verified Purchase
An interesting plot centred on a rich wastrel from a well-to-do family, who in the end sort of comes 'good'. There are two very powerful male characters in this book and neither of them are the failing gambler that is at the centre of this story. One is his father, and the other a preacher of dubious reputation. There is a strong female role as well.
The book reads well and is in the main well edited. The plot is believable, unlike many thrillers, with all of the individual elements pieced together from behavioural patterns that really do regularly pop-up in the real world. There are some nice twists that kept refreshing the book without over stretching one's credulity.
The book's strongest elements, the difficult relationship between a highly successful father and a son that at thirty still hasn't fully tested his potential, the shenanigans of the evangelical preacher, and the preacher's daughter that seems to like existing on the seedy side of life, might be in a sense formalistic, but believable characters have to be, don't they? They certainly aren't ridiculous inventions.
The story dynamics lack some of the power of Waldner's first book, 'Peripheral Involvement', but I preferred the first person writing that was employed here. We need to get inside James's head in as personal way as possible, we need to understand why he was so easily manipulated, and that is perhaps only possible by engaging through his mind and his eyes. The third person style would have been far too remote for us to build any genuine sympathy for this patsy. I was sort of left doubting that James's father would have trusted a dime given past history between the two, but he did, and thinking about it as I read on, the father's assumed feelings of guilt made that element seem believable.
So, so far, two great five star reads, from Waldner, with I assume plenty more to come. If you like believable thriller fiction then these books might well be your cup of tea as they are mine.
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EdAd
3.0 out of 5 stars Don't tell the story if the bad guys win
Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2016
Verified Purchase
I prefer stories where the bad guys are caught and held accountable. That may or may not be a realistic demand. But I don't like it
when the bad guys get away without any ramifications what so ever. That is what happened in this story. The main character of the story was
screwed over by the bad guys and there were not any consequences for the bad guys at all. It took a long time to get to that point and once you got there it was sort of a downer. I felt somewhat silly for previously caring about the good guys.
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Vigilant Reader
4.0 out of 5 stars A good read if you like Coming of Age stories.
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2016
The Prophet of Marathon
Bob Waldner
Genre: Contemporary Mystery
301 pages
Rating 4 stars out of 5 posted 1/29/16

I didn't find The Prophet of Marathon to be mysterious. I saw it as more of a coming of age tale about an extremely naive thirty-year-old slacker searching for his calling in life. Malcolm J. Bennett is the main character; he becomes embroiled in one of the money making swindles of John Wainwright, an aging preacher who is the plot's antagonist.
I know there are naive people like Malcolm, I've met a few; but I don't look forward to reading page after page about their gullibility. I find it tiring to see the world and its low-lifes through their rose colored glasses.
The writing style is good but wordy. For me, too much time was spent on Malcolm's back story information when a long paragraph would have sufficed to set the stage for the type of person Malcolm is instead of page after page of narrative.

Characters are well developed and interesting, and the editing was far above average.
The plot was good but rather simple, and it depended entirely on Malcolm's high degree of gullibility.
The ending was good in that it gave Malcolm a minor taste of revenge and the knowledge that he'd aided some people who truly needed a helping hand.

For my taste the story is a 3 star, but I'm stretching the rating to a low 4 star because a lot of people will enjoy this level of self introspection and the feelings Malcolm experiences on his way to learning who he is while establishing a closer relationship with his father.

This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
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Tom
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Page Turner
Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2016
Verified Purchase
Waldner has matured and his second novel shows considerable growth. I was drawn in and gripped by "Prophet" from the very beginning. It was hard to put down. Can't wait for the next book.
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