Customer Reviews

Sidney Sheldon's After the Darkness LP

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Isn't anyone as confused as I am about the reason Sydney Sheldon's name appears on this book? I own hardback copies of all of his books and knew that he had passed away. Seeing his name on the cover caused me to purchase this book. I haven't begun to read it yet, so I am not commenting on the writing. I have never known of someone to use the name of a deceased writer to sell books. Because he was definitely "master of the game" of suspense novels, I find it hard to believe that anyone else can come close to matching his skill and talent. Why are his heirs allowing his name to be used on this book? I wonder what he would have thought about someone using his name after his death? Why "Sydney Sheldon's After the Darkness" when clearly he had no part in the writing of this book? I remain baffled by this senario!

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

I am from India and I have read all of the Masters(read Sidney Sheldon's books). I understand that Sheldon had his buyers in America considering how rich America is, but ask any Book Stall street kid on the Railway station of 11,000 railway stations in India and he would tell you the name of Sidney Sheldon. That's how popular Sheldon was in India !.

Anyway, I bought this book from the Railway station as usual reading the Front Cover glaring as "SIDNEY SHELDON". Later I read down below an author named Tilly something...I figured that Sheldon might have been completing some of his previous work and his death might have left that half complete...Later when I read about the 2009 financial collapse in the book I figured out that this lady Tilly Something had USED Sheldon's name inorder to con people into thinking that they were buying a Sheldon book.

Anyway coming back to the book, I have read the book and it is not even close to 1% of the class of writing or suspense that Sheldon books generally have!.

What we have in this book are 3 families of utterly inhumanly deceiving and lusty people who form the central characters of the authors book. Reading through the book you will realize how the author has stolen some parts like Grace's jail torture from Sheldons other book the name I forgot...

Anyway the story in the entire book is pretty lame and predictable and the ending leaves you think that the Author suddenly changed the plot in the end after she herself realized that the Story did not carry much weight......There is good comedy in between, PLENTY Of mention of Christian terms like Repentance, Sin, Baptise, etc.etc...(The author needs to realize that she might be a strong Christian but NOT everyone of her readers might be that)....So all that Christian things gets a bit irritating.....

Anyway overall a poor plot, a dumb ending and a waste of time......Wrong way to use the Sheldon name Author !.

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.

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.

[...]

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.

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.

Nothing I read in the description of this story prepared me for the story. Just sayin'.

The writing is pedestrian and formulaic, the characters are pretty much all varying shades of stupid or despicable. Grace, the pretty heroine, is angelic, so of course, she has to suffer abominations.

But if you like books about horrible, scheming, jealous, greedy and unfaithful rich people set against a backdrop of today's Wall Street losers, you will like this book. It is fast-paced and unremarkable.

Very predictable story. I had to force myself to finish reading this. I kept on hoping there would be another twist to this story...I was disappointed.A lot of scenes in the book sounded so impossible! This is so obviously NOT SIDNEY SHELDON quality. I don't understand why his family would allow this. If you are a lifelong Sidney Sheldon reader like me, you would know that this story is so beneath him. This author can write his own book without using somebody else's name. Trust yourself,Mr.Tilly. I think you can make a name for yourself. Stop using Mr. Sheldon's name. He's probably spinning in his grave!

Wall Street executive Lenny Brookstein is on top of the world. He is a millionare, married to socialite Grace Knowles, and living a life that some only imagine. When he disappears while sailing, Grace's life begins to unravel. Not only is her husband presumed dead and apparently a bigger crook than Bernie Madoff, but she is indicted, tried and convicted of several security violations, a crime she did not commit. Escaping from prison with an officer (Mitch Conner) hot on her trail, she is determined to learn the truth and clear her name no matter what it takes. She is devastated when she learns that those who are near and dear to her have betrayed her. In the tradition of classic Sidney Sheldon (he loves strong women who overcome betrayal), Tilly Bagshawe tells a decent tale of rage and revenge. As Grace transforms from a sweet and innocent woman to one filled with anger and vengeance, you appreciate the story and know that no matter what she will survive.