Dana Evans, who made her first appearance in Sidney Sheldon's The Best Laid Plans, is a spunky, good-looking, young Washington TV journalist who's recently returned to the nation's capital from the Balkans, where she adopted a handicapped war orphan who's having trouble adjusting to life in America. But that doesn't keep Dana from following a story all over the world, from Washington to Aspen, Nice, Juneau, Dusseldorf, Rome, Brussels, Moscow, and Siberia. Each of these brief visits is like a postcard--a local landmark or two, an interesting local restaurant (at least in the European venues), and another piece of the puzzle, which has to do with why every member of a venerable, old Washington dynasty has died a violent death in the last year. It seems strange that in a media-savvy city like Washington, no one but Dana has noticed there's a pattern in the rapid extinction of the Winthrops or even whispered the words family vendetta. But that's why pretty, young girl TV reporters were invented, at least by Sheldon. As Dana sets out to investigate the distinguished career of the Winthrop family patriarch, her lover Jeff, a sports anchor at her station, is called away to administer aid and succor to his former wife, a beautiful model who's realized, too little and too late, that she never should have dumped him. And Kemal, the 12-year-old orphan, is being drugged by his baby sitter, who's in cahoots with at least one set of bad guys. Dana hasn't noticed how tractable the temperamental boy has become recently because she's been dressing up like a two-bit Russian tramp to infiltrate a secret weapons base in Siberia... Do you hear the words movie locations? But all's well that ends well, as it usually does for Sheldon's heroines, and in the meantime you've learned where the five-star hotels are and what to order in a famous restaurant in Rome. A slick, commercial, slightly thin tale told by a craftsman of the genre. --Jane Adams
From Library Journal
This latest novel from Sheldon (The Best Laid Plans) probably won't have much chance of being selected as an Oprah Book Club choice (hers are certainly more thoughtful, character-driven picks), but that won't stop it from being in demand by most library patrons. The book has pretty flimsy character development, a feeble plot line, and an ending that hardly surprises. Yet it works. From the first page, the reader is caught up in the snappy and suspenseful chapters, which become inescapably addictive. Dana Evans is a television reporter with an apparently unlimited travel expense account who finds it peculiar when all five members of a very wealthy and highly regarded family meet untimely and violent deaths. Her investigation soon confirms her suspicions, uncovering not one but three strong motives for murder. Eventually, her search leads her to top-secret Russian and U.S. agencies dealing with the production and sale of nuclear weapons. Needless to say, her probing for the truth doesn't go unnoticed, and soon she is running for her life. The last few chapters neatly resolve all the intrigue, including secondary story lines involving her adopted son; her fianc , Jeff; and a shaky relationship with her mother. A certain purchase for any public library fiction collection.
-DMargaret Hanes, Sterling Heights P.L., MI
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Popular author Sheldon ventures into the world of television journalism and post^-cold war espionage. After her courageous and high-profile coverage of the war in Sarajevo, Washington reporter Dana Evans is offered the plum job as host of her own investigative television show. She decides to investigate the deaths of the entire wealthy Winthrop family. A clan reminiscent of the Kennedys, the Winthrops appeared to be a family dedicated to public service; the patriarch, Taylor Winthrop, once served as an ambassador to Russia. Most journalists believe that their untimely deaths are merely tragic, but Dana finds the fact that the whole family died within a year suspicious and tries to find the cause. Her investigation leads to Aspen, major European capitals, and Russia, and the more Dana discovers, the more rapidly the image of a great altruistic American family dissolves. Taylor Winthrop had long been considered a modern-day saint, but eventually an international list of people who Taylor wronged is unearthed, and it seems he was up to no good with the Russians. Meanwhile Dana's personal life is in arrears. Kemel, her Yugoslavian adopted son, is having difficulty adjusting to school, and her fianceis off taking care of his beautiful ex-wife. In addition to the pseudo-Kennedy appeal, Sheldon's entertaining plot has the feel of a James Bond film but with a heroine instead of a hero. Whitney Scott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
"The master of the storytelling game." -- People
"When it comes to concocting plots full of twists, Sheldon has no peer." -- Associated Press
"When you want a novel you simply cannot put down, go to Sheldon." -- Daily News (New York)
From the Back Cover
The Sky Is Falling
A spellbinding novel of glamour, sex, power,and murder that spans the globeIf America had a royal family, the Winthrops would wear the crown. The popular, charismatic Winthrops have captured the imagination of the world with their public service, their enormous charity, and their glamorous lives. But in a single year, all five members of the family are killed in a series of accidents.
Dana Evans, a beautiful young anchorwoman with a Washington television network, believes there is something more sinister behind their deaths. She begins an investigation and starts uncovering compelling evidence that she can hardly believe.
In her determined pursuit of the truth, Dana never anticipated the cat-and-mouse chase that leads her through a half-dozen countries in search of a remorseless killer. As she closes in on her suspect, the shocking secrets she then unearths place Dana and her young son in dire jeopardy and -- in an unexpected turn of events -- Dana becomes the hunted.
Can Dana outwit her pursuers and expose the truth that will astound the world? Readers should prepare themselves for the breathtaking journey through the skillful twists and turns of the plot that are Sidney Sheldon's hallmark.
A dynamite thriller filled with all the elements that have made his previous works phenomenal bestsellers, The Sky Is Falling is Sidney Sheldon at his sizzling best.
About the Author
The late novelist and screenwriter Sidney Sheldon remains one of the world's top bestselling authors, having sold more than 300 million copies of his books. Are You Afraid of the Dark? is his most recent in a long line of huge bestsellers. He is also the only writer to have won an Oscar, a Tony, and an Edgar. The Guinness Book of World Records heralds him as the most translated author in the world.
