Fifty Candles vs The Winter of Frankie Machine: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction
Fifty Candles
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Biggers had always been interested in mystery fiction, but his interest in Hawaii clearly stems from a 1919 vacation in Honolulu. While there, he read a newspaper article on a Chinese detective named Chang Apana. Apana…
The Winter of Frankie Machine
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Frankie Machianno, a hard-working entrepreneur, passionate lover, part-time surf bum, and full-time dad, is a widely recognized pillar of his waterfront community. He is also a retired hit man. Once better known as…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate The Winter of Frankie Machine highest: The Winter of Frankie Machine 4.4 · Fifty Candles 3.7.
- The Winter of Frankie Machine has the widest readership — 420 ratings behind its score.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| Fifty Candles | The Winter of Frankie Machine | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.6 (160) | — |
| Hardcover | 4.0 (1) | 4.1 (38) |
| Google Books | — | 5.0 (1) |
| Apple Books | — | 4.5 (420) |
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Reception
| Fifty Candles | The Winter of Frankie Machine | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 160 | 420 |
| Editions | 258 | 5 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 69 | — |
| Reading it now | 13 | — |
| Written reviews | 25 | — |
| Wikipedia attention | 27 | 775 |
| Pages | — | 320 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Fifty Candles or The Winter of Frankie Machine?
The Winter of Frankie Machine has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Winter of Frankie Machine 4.4/5, Fifty Candles 3.7/5).
Which is harder to read: Fifty Candles or The Winter of Frankie Machine?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Fifty Candles: Challenging; The Winter of Frankie Machine: Moderate.