Tell Me Your Dreams (Hardcover)

by Sidney Sheldon (Author), Sidney Sheldon Family Limited Partnershi (Author) "SOMEONE was following her..." (more)
Key Phrases: Sidney Sheldon, Ashley Patterson, Judge Williams (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Meet Ashley Patterson, the brainy, babelicious "computer whiz" and confused heroine of Tell Me Your Dreams. Although she has a cushy job at Global Computer Graphics, a fast-growing start-up in Silicon Valley, her life falls short of fulfilling. She's lonely, shy, and absolutely convinced she's being stalked. What's worse, the only sympathetic ear around is her father, Dr. Patterson, the heartless heart surgeon, who has the charm of an electric eel and the compassion of a tarantula. Given her options, Ashley looks to the heavens for support and offers up an ultimatum to the Almighty: "I'll make a deal with you, God. If it doesn't rain, it means that everything is all right, that I've been imagining everything." Of course, it starts raining buckets just paragraphs later, setting off a car alarm of an omen about our computer cutie's fate.

Enter Toni Prescott and Alette Peters. They both work with Ashley at Global Computer Graphics, but the similarities end there. Toni is a saucy, British vixen with a penchant for Internet dating and discotheques. La bella Italiana Alette, on the other hand, is a wannabe artist who prefers quiet, dreamy weekends with beefcake painters. Reminiscent of junior high school, Toni and Alette do their best to keep Ashley out of their cool clique, but find it difficult when a string of murders irrevocably binds them together. Based on a true story and laden with realistic details--not to mention a whopper of an ending--Tell Me Your Dreams is vintage Sheldon. However, there is one necessary caveat: avoid moviegoer types who insist on telling you the entire plot before you have a chance to see it. You should be doing this anyway, but take extra care with this book. Once the surprise ending is blown, so is the fun in reading it. --Rebekah Warren --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
Perennial bestseller Sheldon (The Best Laid Plans) doesn't get under the reader's skin here as he does at his best, even though he weaves together many of his time-tested elements?childhood horror and its consequences; lust and murder as bedfellows; a pretty, hapless heroine; good men in the legal and medical professions trying to undo the wrongs done by others. Despite gory crime scene depictions, the old master, uncharacteristically, has left out the suspense and the layers of feeling. We finger the serial murderer all too quickly, just as we know before we know that Ashley's creepy physician father, Steven, abused her as a child. We never doubt that goodhearted lawyer David Singer will convince hostile judge Tessa Williams that, yes, multiple personality disorder happens, and that, morally and legally, it separates the doer from the deed. Nor is it any surprise that psychiatrist Gilbert Keller, spurred on by personal as well as professional longings, takes Allison apart and puts her back together the right way?or does he? A prefatory sentence says the novel is based on real cases. Maybe so, but one wishes that the authentic details had been told with genuine passion. Literary Guild main selection.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; 1st edition (August 25, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688162827
• ISBN-13: 978-0688162825
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (228 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #833,664 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sidney Sheldon is back after a long hiatus, August 29, 1998

By	[e-mail] (Chicago, Illinois) - See all my reviews

For years, Sidney Sheldon has entertained us with his masterful story-telling. From "The Other Side of Midnight," to "A Stranger in the Mirror," "Bloodline," "Rage of Angels," "Master of the Game," "If Tomorrow Comes," and "Memories of Midnight." However, then Mr. Sheldon's novel began to faulter. His stories were weak, often sketchy and his characters lacked any substantial depth - all of which culminated in last years novel, "The Best Laid Plans" which appeared to show Mr. Sheldon as a writer that only cared about selling books because of his name as that novel showed no character development and interjected surprise elements purely for shock value which had nothing to do with the story. It is with great enthusiasm that I can say Mr. Sheldon is back with, "Tell Me Your Dreams." This novel tells the story of 3 women - Ashley, Toni and Alette - all of whom are suspected of committing a series of brutal murders. As their stories are told, the truths begin to unfold resulting in a suspensful, engrossing read. The pages rapidly turn while the heat beats quickly. This is vintage Mr. Sheldon as he shows us he can create well-developed characters and surprising plot developments. Once again I am looking forward to the next Sidney Sheldon novel and I am glad to be able to say he is "the master of the game."

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Dissapointing Read, February 13, 1999

By	anna-joelle (Malaysia) - See all my reviews

Sheldon should have "retired" from writing after masterpieces like Memories of Midnight and A Stranger in the Mirror. This is because his subsequent novels from "The Stars Shine Down" onwards, have been nothing but huge dissapointments. He uses the same formulae for every book, but they have become somewhat stale and tired. The literary language he uses is limited, prefering to use short sentences and simple words. I think even a primary/grade 3 student could read and review his book easily. "Tell Me Your Dreams" is no different. The storyline is so thin and predictable. Apart from the rather shocking revelation on who the murderer was (before you even finish half the book), you just know what's going to happen to all the main characters after that. The main character, Ashley Patterson has MPD and is accused of murder, but her character is not well developed, and you hardly emphatise with her situation for find yourself rooting for her. After "Tell Me Your Dreams", I must say I've truly had enough of Sheldon's style of writing, and am giving up on him for good. For a good mystery novel, turn to Scott Turow or Steve Thayer - their plots are meatier, the characters more believable and real.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "All around the mulberry bush...", November 12, 2005

By	Kona (Emerald City) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Tell Me Your Dreams (Mass Market Paperback)

As a big fan of Sidney Sheldon, I was disappointed in "Tell Me Your Dreams," which is quite different in style from his early best sellers. The typical Sheldon novel is about a strong, beautiful, and independent young woman who overcomes countless crises on the way to true love. The heroine of this story, Ashley Patterson, is weak, nervous, and overwhelmed by her fears. Five men have been murdered and mutilated, and Ashley is the chief suspect. A brassy English woman and a meek Italian artist are somehow involved.

After some confusing early chapters, and a myriad of characters that never developed, the plot twist was obvious. I kept waiting for the page-turning excitement, so typical of Sheldon, to start, but it never did. The middle of the book bogs down in an incredibly slow-moving trial and many events are just unrealistic. The author tries to write a scientific-based story about a medical condition, but it comes off as shallow and pointless. A very disappointing novel from a great writer.