About this title: Athens, 1947 and a sensational murder trial is about to begin. The cast: a man-shy American abroad, an international film star, a handsome war hero, a vengeful Greek tycoon. Sidney Sheldon also wrote "The Naked Face", "A Stranger in the Mirror", "Windmills of the Gods" and "If Tomorrow Comes".
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Date Published: 1998
ISBN-13:9780446674683ISBN:0446674680
Description: Fair. No dust jacket as issued. Cover is quite worn and bent. Few stains on few pages. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 432 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Dell Publishing Company
Date Published: 1975
Description: Fair. No dust jacket as issued. Nice soft cover, lightly read, shelf wear to cover, light slant to book, aging, bend on top corner of front cover, light creases on spine, stk #2245h6. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Dell Publishing Company
Date Published: 1975
ISBN-13:9780440160670ISBN:0440160677
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Nice soft cover, lightly read, some shelf wear to cover, light creases on spine, bend on corners of front cover, light aging, slight slant to book, stk #2475m8. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Dell Publishing Company
Date Published: 1981
ISBN-13:9780440160670ISBN:0440160677
Description: Fair. No dust jacket as issued. Nice soft cover, lightly read, some shelf wear to cover, light creases on spine, 2" tear on bottom of back cover along spine, light marks on edges, light aging to pages, stk #2431q8. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Date Published: 1988
ISBN-13:9780446357401ISBN:0446357405
Description: Good. CT-Spine is well creased. Covers show wear a the edges and corners. Average Reading copy. Pages tanning. Used books may have price stickers. Most orders ship on the next business day. read more
"This was the first adult book that I read. My older sister loaned me her copy--- without my parents knowledge of course. I remember loving it but should re-read it now that I can without sneaking."
"I read this book in 1977 - It is one of my all time favorite easy read fictions. I begged my husband to take me to the movies to see it and was sorely disappointed. From that time on I knew the movie with miscast characters would never be as rewarding as the book."
"We listened to the abridged book on tape on a short trip and it was fun to reacquaint ourselves with this book. As they say - it was an "explosive bestseller" for its time."
"I really do enjoy the fun exercise of reading a particular writer's entire canon in chronological order, because you can truly track the progression (or regression) as a writer and observe developmental nuances. Obviously, this is all a little over-the-top for the Sidney Sheldon bibliography (oh, if only I can get my act together for the long-awaited Thomas Hardy and John Steinbeck renditions of this project), but the guy was quite the master of his game.
I believe a large inspiration for Sheldon's success as a general fiction writer specializing in thrillers comes from his screenwriting background. The dialogue between characters is staccato sharp and moves in an upbeat tempo like a Scorcese film. His chapter cliffhangers are deftly executed - it's extremely challenging to stop at one. Every ingenious play and outplay of wits and capers pulled off is on par with the smartest heist movies made. And the mise en scene is perfect. Paris, Athens, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Chicago - wherever. The details are lurid, fluid and splashes across the pages with vibrance. And that's why you can't keep your face out of the book.
This is probably one of my favorite books in the Sheldon repertoire. While I remembered few details, two scenes I knew by heart, each involving one of the two female protagonists. One was a self-executed abortion with a clothes hanger. Another was a self-aborted sex scene with a college jock. That's what writers adept at scene-stealing can do - they leave their mark on your consciousness.
I began to tire of Sheldon's cockily sure style after a while. You knew he knew he had you around his typing fingers. So he got somewhat sloppy and I knew where the rest of the book was headed. But see - here's where smug writers get smart. I continued reading, because I wanted to corroborate my theories. And when I did, I half wanted to throw the book across the room and half sighed contentedly. And when a piece of writing can elicit such emotions from you, shouldn't it be quite the work of art, a masterpiece?"
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