Sidney Sheldon's After the Darkness

After the Darkness - by Tilly Bagshawe and Sidney Sheldon Luckily I have never read a Sydney Sheldon book so I have nothing to compare it to. Especially since there is another writer taking over at this time. My review won't be biased at all. It's a fabulous book for this genre, really! If you liked Olivia Goldsmith and her books, especially "Young Wives" or "Pen Pals", if you like Linda Howard and her book "Son of the Morning", or other novels about women on the run, women betrayed by family and friends, books about the wealthy losing it all, then this is going to be right up your alley! This is a perfectly yummy book just chock filled with everything that makes this a superb vacation read/beach read. We have Grace Brookstein our protagonist and total star of this novel. She is naive, gentle, well bred and kind. We then have Lenny her rich much older husband, who really doesn`t have that big of a part!. There is a bevy of secondary characters that are so mean and evil; you just want to do evil to them yourself. There is a delicious mystery and enough twists and turns in the plot to make you feel as if you were doing the twist. And the climax? Wow, I must say that I truthfully didn't see it coming...I was hoping for this sort of ending, but I didn't think the author had enough nerve to try this but she did and it WORKED! One of the most satisfying endings that I've read in a long time.

What would happen if you were Bernie Madoff, but you didn't steal from the fabulously wealthy? Instead, you stole from those who pegged their hopes on investing wisely, and slowly, over the coure of many many year. What would happen if the person who was supposed to get you locked up was personally affected? You have money, power, and an excellent attorney who can play the jury. Worst of all, you have absolutely no remorse for it, when you show up in a couture outfit every day of court. Like most of Sheldon's classics (I recall the one about the diamond tycoons, Master of the Game), you start the story off towards the end, after the bulk of the story happens, and go back in time to see where these characters came from. You either love or hate the character (Grace Brookstein, in this case), but either way, you shouldn't make a judgement from the outset. As with all of Sheldon's novels (Sands of Time, Windmills of the Gods, The Sky is Falling, The Stars Shine Down), you should always withhold judgement until you reach the end, when you have the full story in front of you. You get to understand things through Grace's eyes, and see that sometimes a certain level of healthy cyncicism is good, while other times it's best to temper it with a bit of compassion. Reading After the Darkness was, for me, like being back in High School when I originally fell in love with Sidney Sheldon's novels, and could power through one in a day. I know that the author isn't exactly the same as Sheldon, but her style matches closely enough to leave you feeling satisfied. Give it a shot, and see if you agree.

Though I can't admit to understanding the relationship between Sidney Sheldon's relatives and author Tilly Bagshawe that prompted the penning of "After the Darkness", I can happily report that it was brilliant and unexpected. Expertly developed characters--with insatiable appetites and a lack of morality that would make a hardened criminal blush--are perfect components in this gripping tale of excess. Brought up in the world of Manhattan's elite, Grace Brookstein had it all. A loving billionaire husband, beauty and youth all contribute to her continued naiveté. Charmed by her husband and their fairytale lifestyle, Grace never imagined there were cracks in the veil of perfection until it was much too late. When the artificial trappings of her carefully constructed world are viscously stripped away, Grace finds an inner strength of character that shocks even the most spiteful enemies. As the criminals slither in plain sight, even the most adept reader will find it challenging to figure out "who-dun-it" as "After the Darkness" races along to its surprising end. [...]

This book provided excellent reading with a good plot. I found it to be fascinating and difficult to put down Even though I realized part of the answer to the puzzle, it was not until the ending that all the pieces came together. The ending was satisfying, but I had wished for the alternative. The book is also relevent to the present time.

Sidney Sheldon always delivered a great story. This book is no exception. Tilly Bagshawe has continued the tradition with great panache. From front to back, the story unfolds in such a way you will keep turning the pages to see what happens next. I love the way she keeps Sheldon's tradition of fine prose alive. Brava! When a wealthy young woman finds her father-figure in a rich and powerful Wall Street magnet, she is drawn into a world she never dreamed of. Accused of a fraud of such magnitude it destroyed millions, she is reviled throughout the world. To tell you more would be to turn this review into a spoiler, so let me just say that every word, every sentence will enthrall you. This is a must read! Highly Recommended