Customer Reviews

The Best Laid Plans

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(36)
3 star:		(29)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

So how does an ad exec come up with the idea for owning a communications empire to bring down an ex-lover who left her at the alter - who - just so happens - becomes the President of he United States?

Does she marry the newspaper owner - just for his $$ and his paper? or does she actually love him?

Is she so blind in getting revenge at the end that she violates her one golden rule and makes a gigantic fool of herself?

The ending was a shocker - a totally unexpected twist.. but then not really. I would have like to have seen the characters developed a little more and the gut reactions written a little more clearly - lots of plots and twists to keep track of - and what WAS the purpose of all star foreign correspondent turn Washington beat reporter - but then you hardly ever hear from here again.. except towards the end - a lot of writing for a little bit of gain...

I've read Sidney Sheldon books before and will again... and have found all of his books easy to read - they kind of flow - I read this one in less than a day... just a light read for when you have nothing better to do... put it at the bottom of your stack of books by your bed... eventaully you'll get to it.

It's a wonderful reading for people who do not speak English in everyday life. This was my first Sheldon book and I had much more fun with this "Best Laid Plans" than with any other book I had ever read.

It's written in plain English, no dictionaries are needed, and a catching story all along the line, so I didn't get bored at all.

I would recommend it anyone who wants to feel "Wow, I've got better at English !!"

What an awful book. There was almost no character development, and I never got to the point where I cared about any of the characters or what happened to them. There was little detail about events that seemed to be important, and the dialogue was trite. The only thing that kept me reading was the hope that it would get better. The single positive about the book is that it is a quick read, and it requires absolutely no concentration, so you can read it on a plane or other noisy place without worrying that you are missing anything important.

This was the first Sydney Sheldon book I have ever read and it won't be the last. The author was always very conspicous at not revealing any clues. I absolutely did not know who the killer was until the very end. It was also exciting to read how Lesley tried to get revenge against her ex-boyfriend for cancelling the engagement, and she assumed he was the killer.

Thanks/Cheryl

After the somewhat lackluster Morning, Noon and Night, mega best-selling author Sidney Sheldon returns in top form with The Best Laid Plans. And proves that he is still Master of the Game of escapist fiction. The plot -- and it's all about plot in a Sheldon novel -- centers on two charismatic characters: Leslie Stewart and Oliver Russell. At the start of the story, young and beautiful advertising executive Leslie Stewart meets the man of her dreams, the handsome and seemingly earnest Oliver Russell, an attorney running for governor of the state of Kentucky. They quickly fall madly in love. On the very eve of their wedding, however, Oliver discards Leslie with little second thought in favor of his former girlfriend, Jan Davis, daughter of the powerful and crafty Senator Todd Davis. Without Senator Davis's support, Oliver will never fulfill his dream of being president. For his spineless decision, he earns the deserved enmity of Leslie. "He seemed very happy," she writes in her diary after Oliver marries Jan -- in the same church he would've married Leslie in, no less. "I'm pleased. Because before I'm finished with him, I'm going to make him wish he had never been born." And we're off an running as Sheldon spins a tale of a woman's quest for revenge entwined with a man's quest for the White House that takes us into the cutthroat worlds of newspaper publishing and politics. Oh, and along the way, we're treated to a murder mystery that may, or may not, involve Oliver Russell. All of this is told with the fast pacing, deft dialogue, and limited exposition (we find out what we need to know about the characters - no more, no less) that are the hallmarks of Sheldon's cinematic style. This reader couldn't turn the last one-hundred pages or so fast enough as the plot unraveled at a furious pace complete with unexpected twists that were as surprising as they were involving. The Best Laid Plans is one of Sheldon's better books and I recommend it as highly as I do his Bloodline and Rage of Angels.

This book has shades of Watergate with its big newspaper connections, sex scandals, as with a former President, murder, corruption and greed for power, and is all a bit familiar. Ambitious young politician, Oliver Russell marries the daughter of a US Senator, to become the Governor of a small Southern state. His father-in-law has plans for him to move all the way to the White House, thinking that he had control of a puppet who could be manipulated at his whim. Leslie Stewart was engaged to be married to Oliver before he jilted her to marry the Senator's daughter, and has vowed to seek revenge on him ever since. She marries a wealthy older man from whom she inherits a vast fortune which she uses to buy newspapers and tv stations, from which to launch a campaign of hatred and vengeance on Oliver, who is now President. Other players in this story include a beautiful on-camera war correspondent, an eager journalist who sees a possible Pulitzer prize in sight and the usual gofers and hangers-on of powerful men. It's really what could be described as an airport read with short, staccato sentences and paragraphs which can be picked up again without any trouble.

I like Sidney Sheldon's books very much. So I didn't hesitate when I saw it in book store. I bought this book in 97 while I was in SF for sightseeing. I didn't read it until now I got time to read it through.

It begins with Lesile Stewart and end up with Dana Evans. The plain story started netting and put it all together in the end. Quick and simple. A little regret for Lesile Stewart, I thought there was account for her future or something.

The story reminds me the scandle of president Clinton. I wondered it was implying it. Maybe it's just a coincidence. ^^ The scandle is keeping in mind when I read it. However the end was really surprised me, I am fooled, I admit.

The skill of Sidney Sheldon seemed a little bit regress. It's regrettable. It seems the inspiration is dried up. There are few good authors here have same problem. Anyway, I look forward to see good pieces again from Sidney soon.

Sidney Sheldon as Sidney Sheldon. Like any of his novels this too was interesting and finished in one day. Readin Sheldon's novels I found it is just like when you eat peanuts. Once you start you can't stop. Anyways...

HE needs help and SHE does her best to help him. then
He falls in love with her and SHE falls for him too. then
HE asks her to marry him - SHE gives him a happy "YES". - then

Out of the blue...SHE hears that HE married someone else - for the sake of POWER - but man, is he wrong??? -

The rest = REVENGE

This was my first Sheldon book and I was very disappointed. I would not recommend it to anyone. It is what I imagine a harlequin romance novel to be. Poorly developed characters with a fairly predictable ending.

I read the hardcover of this book and was thinking to myself when Sheldon had started to write 6th grade books. The writing was a dobule spaced 12 font or something like that, I could have fit the entire book into one half it's length with proper type setting.

I mention this, because I think it was a ruse by the publisher to try and make this book more imrpessive than it really was. This book didn't have very good character development, and the plot twists were contrived; it seemed as though Sheldon wrote this book under duress, and didn't really care how it turned out so long as there was a final product.

I have read many of Sheldons books, and have enjoyed most if not all of them, I am really surprised at this book falling below the level of excellence that his other books have established.

This book is signature Sheldon with the plot twisting and exciting plot and setting, but is a pale shadow of some of his better work.

Read another one of Sheldons older works before you judge him from just this book, I feel that his earlier work is far better.