“Rage of Angels” by Sidney Sheldon

“Rage of Angels” is an epic saga that revolves around Jennifer Parker’s journey from a nervous and amateur lawyer fresh out of law school to the most sought after defense attorney. The novel starts off with Jennifer being setup in an act of intimidation of the key witness in a trial against a ruthless mafia kingpin Mike Moretti. With the case being the talk of the town, Jennifer’s career comes crashing down before it even kicked off. 

The novel doesn’t waste time and plunges into a captivating narrative right from the first page. The state prosecutor in Mike Moretti’s case holds a grudge against her for blowing off an airtight case he had put up. Jennifer struggles to find her ground in the profession she wanted to shine in. 

From then on, the novel shifts into a series of tense courtroom episodes that are nothing short of brilliance. There is also a poignant love story in between involving Jennifer and Adam, an attorney who might run for senator and eventually the president of United States. Meanwhile, Moretti also watches the growing success of Jennifer, a fierce, street-smart and independent woman. 

Sidney Sheldon yet again proves that he is a master story teller. The novel stands out in not portraying the actions of the protagonists and key characters against any moral yardstick. The  characters have their own flaws and sometimes repent for their actions and Sidney never keeps them within moral boundaries which brings out the human nature. Though the novel has some redundant courtroom scenes that deviate from the main plot, the novel stays afloat with interesting twists even in the subplots. The climax falls flat in an otherwise engrossing thriller.

A tale of romance and betrayal, a tale of animosity and revenge, a tale of unimaginable power and authority - all three intertwine in this novel to make it a compelling page turner!

“The Sky is Falling” by Sidney Sheldon

Dana Evans, an investigative journalist returns from Sarajevo with an armless kid Kemal whom she rescued while covering the war there. While both Dana and Kemal suffer from post war trauma, Dana tries her best to make Kemal feel at home. Jeff, her boyfriend turned fiancé works at the same studio. Just before their marriage, Jeff and Dana are forced to travel away from each other - Dana for work, Jeff to meet his ex-wife with whom the relationship is little complicated. 

Dana starts to investigate the deaths in the Winthrop’s family, a royal family in the US. The suspicious deaths of all the members from the same family in less than a year have many mysteries to be unearthed and Dana is bent upon to uncover them. While Dana is in determined pursuit to find the motive behind the killings, she finds every witness in danger and that there is even bigger conspiracy behind the murders. 

The novel wastes no time in getting to the premise and is well paced all along. The novel has an overwhelming list of characters that guarantees enough action and drama, but there are few characters which don’t add much to the storyline. The novel stays predictable at many places but the pace doesn’t dip. There is no emotional connect with most of the central characters. But, the complicated relationship between Jeff and his ex-wife stands out as a beautiful portrayal - a big plus to the novel. 

This Sidney Sheldon novel is a template murder mystery with additional ingredients that make it a timepass!

Sidney Sheldon's "The Sands of Time"

Sidney Sheldon's "The Sands of Time" is an action adventure novel that revolves around four nuns who escape a military assault on a Christian convent and are forced to face the challenges of the outside world which they had once renounced. 

The four nuns Megan, Lucia, Graciela and Teresa are being chased by the military after their escape and they are forced to travel with the rebels who are branded terrorists by the Spanish government. Jaime Miro, the most wanted rebel known for his exploits to keep the military and police at bay is burdened with the responsibility of escorting the nuns to a safe place. The nuns reinvent themselves on this journey through the hills and forests with the tension of military closing in on them - a journey where they have to adapt and survive. 

Each one of the nuns have a terrible past and they cocoon themselves into the church as their last resort and escape from the harsh reality of their present lives. With that environment changed now, they fight back their inner fears and their nightmares of the past to adapt to the changed world. The backstories of the nuns are slightly disturbing which justifies their actions but at times obscene which could have been avoided with no impact to the storyline. 

The political situation in Spain where Basques were fighting against Spanish nationalists for self-governance or complete independence to preserve their identity forms the backdrop of this novel and is convincingly interwoven into the storyline. But, the lives of rebels and them giving in to personal desires and urges depicted here is questionable. The lives of nuns inside the Christian institutions and how they are asked to suppress their desires and feelings in the name of service to God depicted here is close to reality.

The novel builds up a tale of bravery, betrayal and survival in a steady pace to keep the readers engaged. There is enough drama to propel the novel to a climactic end. The closure Sidney gives to the characters stay true to the storyline and the character sketches instead of pulling off an unprecedented end just to pique the reader’s interest.

Barring the obscenity and some unnecessary romantic sequences, the novel still is a good read. 

Sidney Sheldon's "Nothing Lasts Forever"

"Nothing Lasts Forever" is a novel with three women as central characters who fight to survive in the male dominant medical profession. The three doctors undergo rigorous on-call schedule at the hospital with no work-life balance. They encounter male dominance, sexual harassment, life threatening blackmails when they stand up against the male doctors and hospital management. With each of them having a backstory and a past that might catch up with them anytime, the novel has enough scope for drama and suspense.

The novel starts off with a gripping courtroom drama in its prologue. The lives of the three women had taken a wild turn with one of them accused of murder, one of them dead and one of them held responsible for the possibility of the hospital shutting down. This intriguing suspense in the prologue gives the novel a perfect start. 

But, once the novel shifts away from the courtroom to the hospital, it dips in pace. There are too many minor characters that pass-by and serve no purpose to the storyline. The novel takes too long to be back to where it started and it fails to sustain the intensity all along. Despite a decent detective-style investigative portion at the end, the novel fails to connect primarily due to too many subplots.

What could have been an engaging courtroom drama is let down by the predictable and wavering nature of the storyline. Considering the novel was written in 1994, it could have been accepted by the audience then. Sidney Sheldon's lacklustre outing which might test your patience.