Customer Reviews

The Naked Face

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I read this book about 4 years ago, and back then I thought it was quite good. Naturally, it has no comparison to Sheldon's tales nowadays, but it was Sheldon being born to the world of books, and even though he started late, he has already acclaimed a legion of fans in excess of 250 million people..and I am proud to be one of those.

This is one of Sidney Sheldon's early works. Written in the 80's, there is some language that is a bit dated. For example, the phrase "he was a big mother." Okay, haven't heard that phrase in a long while.

Judd Stevens is a psychoanalyst. The people he sees are very disturbed with the exception of one patient, Anne, who won't get to the bottom of her problems. In the opening of the book, one of his patients leaves his office wearing Judd's raincoat and gets stabbed in the back. Shortly after that, his secretary is murdered in his office after hours. The homicide detective assigned to the case believes that Judd is actually guilty of the murders and begins to try to slant the evidence against Judd.

Though this is dated and not one of Sheldon's best works, it is very suspenseful and held my attention to the bitter end. It was a satisfying read and, though not necessarily a keeper, it was worth the time. Sidney Sheldon's writing improved dramatically over the years after this book was first written - if you want to read one of his best, read Master of the Game.

The Naked Face was so suspenseful I could not put this book down. I wanted to continue reading just so I could find out who the killer was. Everyone seemed to be a suspect.

Anyone who has read any of Sidney Sheldon's novels will know that he is extraordinary in his writing, and this novel is no exception--as long as you read it with the mindset of, 'THIS IS HIS FIRST NOVEL.' With that understanding you'll love The Naked Face. Without it, it is just average.

This book isn't as long as some other Sheldon, so what? It was very good! It was fast paced and suspensful. I liked WAY better than THE SANDS OF TIME. It will probably appeal to people who liked MORNING, NOON, AND NIGHT.

What separates "The Naked Face" from other books i have read is that the suspense that hypnotises the reader till the end.The reader is spell-bound by page two.The first chapter describes how a person wearing an yellow coat gets stabbed in the back by a murderer.The writer slowly unfolds the secrets one by one and persuades the reader to read till the end.

The central character in this novel,Dr.Judd Stevens,is a dedicated psychoanalyst working in New York who abruptly comes to know that one of his patients has been murdered.Soon,he finds his personal secretary,Carol Roberts-who would never succeed in her life without the help of Dr.Judd Stevens,murdered in the most frightening and merciless way.The protagonist of this novel,a beautiful woman,is closely related to the antagonist himself!

All the characters in the novel have their own,unique speciality.Though the novel is a fictional suspense novel,the writer skilfully shows the reader about each character's speciality and making them realistic.

The novel has been written from the third-person viewpoint but someimes the writer seems to speak from the mind of Dr.Judd Stevens.One of those sentences is,"Civilisation was a thin,dangeriously fragile veneer,and when that veneer cracked,man became one of the beasts again,falling back into the slime of the primeval abyss he prided himself on having climbed up from."The idea stated in the previous sentence has been written in the novel generally,that is,a person who has not read the novel can understand what has been said in that sentence.The only bad side of this novel is that the story unfolds like a movie.Finally,it can be said that this novel can be read and enjoyed by anyone who reads books and is an young-adult.

This is the first book I ever read of Sidney Sheldon and I thought it was the best. I couldn't put it down. I was hooked. I have read almost every book he has written. Pick it up today and don't put it down till you are done!

His first novel and my introduction to Sheldon. Not as hip as his other novels, but still worth the time. You'll never guess who did it!

I've read one other Sheldon novel and have to say that I thought Bloodline was excellent. The Naked Face kept me interest enough to read it at one go but it was definitely a first novel: too many attempts at repetition by way of trying to help the reader to remember/appreciate what happened a few pages ago for my liking.

A good story reasonably well told.

"The Naked Face" was a book that I very much enjoyed. It's twists and turns and all around plot was excellent. It left you thirsting for more of his immagination, you just can't wait to read another of his books. The murders that he comes up with are so real and vivid in your mind when you read the flowing words on each page. If your looking for a thrill read this.