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1) THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT

The novel is based on the lives of two women who live continents apart and their lives, journeys, personalities and ambitions are totally different from each other, and then one fine day they find themselves face to face, united by a man they both love. The book is unputdownable as it grips you and makes you cry, laugh, frown and fall in love with each and every character. The characters are relatable and such that you find people like these in your everyday lives. Published in 1973, the book reached #1 on the New York Times Best Seller list. It was made into a 1977 film, and followed by a sequel written by Sidney Sheldon titled Memories Of Midnight.

2) MASTER OF THE GAME

Based on the life of a powerful business tycoon named Kate Blackwell, the book is about the struggles, the pain and the hardships a girl endures to ultimately become the reigning queen of a business empire. Her character is strong, vivacious, driven and very ambitious. Surely, a character remembered for all times to come. Master Of The Game remains my favourite novel by the acclaimed writer to date. First published in hardback format in 1982, spanning four generations in the lives of the fictional McGregor/Blackwell family, the critically acclaimed novel spent four weeks at #1 on the New York Times Best Seller list and was later adapted into a 1984 television miniseries. In 2009, William Morrow and Company released a sequel, Sidney Sheldon’s Mistress Of The Game, written by journalist Tilly Bagshawe.

3) RAGE OF ANGELS

A gripping suspense novel, the story once again is based on the life of a woman lawyer, who is a single parent and her struggle in a male-dominated profession, trying to balance her embattled love life along with a demanding career, that towers upon her like a dragon. The climax of the story leaves the readers in shock. Published in 1980, the novel revolves around young attorney Jennifer Parker; as she rises as a successful lawyer, she gets into a series of on goings that lead to intrigue with the mob and a rival attorney that promises to break her life’s dreams. As the story progresses, the protagonist is romantically torn between a famous politician, who helps her rise again, and a Mafia boss who frames her. The boss swears to destroy her after he finds out about her affair with the politician and the child resulting from the affair.

4) TELL ME YOUR DREAMS

Although the book came out in 1998, I read it only but recently. You read one chapter and you’ll find your nose buried in the book regardless of anything happening around you. The situations lead to a shocking climax that leaves the reader in disbelief and so the
story is unlike you have ever read or heard
of in your life. Sheldon, in the preface of the book, mentions how the situations in the story are based on real events but the storyline is fictional. Tell Me Your Dreams is an unforgettable book, without a shadow of a doubt.

‘I like to write about women who are talented and capable, but most importantly, retain their femininity. Women have tremendous power — their femininity, because men can’t do without it.’

5) THE SKY IS FALLING

After Kate Blackwell’s character from Master Of The Game, journalist Dana Evans was another that I related to the most. She is a TV anchor, a single parent and a strong, brave and ambitious lady, trying to make her mark in a male-dominated profession. She is on a quest to crack a murder mystery and all of a sudden finds her and her family’s life in grave danger. It is a 2001 crime novel. It is Sheldon’s third last book before his death in 2007. The book focuses on Dana Evans, a TV anchorwoman trying to find the killer who murdered the Winthrop family.

6) A STRANGER IN THE MIRROR

Perhaps one of the only books by Sheldon centred on the life of a man rather than a woman, however later in the book, Toby (the subject) finds himself at the disposal of a woman, who loves him but loves her needs more. A Stranger In The Mirror is a 1976 novel, which is one of the earliest Sheldon’s works, but contains the typical Sheldon fast-paced narration and several narrative techniques with the exception of a twist ending. The novel tells the life story of two fictitious Hollywood celebrities – Toby Temple and Jill Castle portray the emotional extremes of success and failure and how people inevitably become victims of time. It was adapted into a television film in 1993 starring Perry King, Lori Loughlin, Christopher Plummer, and Juliet Mills.

7) THE SANDS OF TIME

I read this book when my sisters couldn’t stop raving about it and I felt the same after I was finished with it. A beautiful, hypnotic tale! It is a 1988 action novel. A best seller, the novel follows the adventures of four women who are forced to leave their Spanish convent for the outside world of threat, violence and passions; and two men who are pitted against each other in a fight to the death.

8) THE NAKED FACE

I started reading The Naked Face, as this was Sheldon’s first book. A murder mystery, the novel centred on the life of a woman who finds herself in love with her therapist. Together, they try to solve a murder mystery and so the girl finds herself in the midst of a shocking climax. It was through this book that Sheldon shot to fame as a writer. The Mystery Writers of America for the Edgar Allan Poe Award nominated it for Best First Novel by an American Author.

9) IF TOMORROW COMES

I know I keep saying this, but here was another powerful female character that I could relate to a lot. Tracy Whitney was brave, strong and resilient and learned from her mistakes, ultimately becoming a woman that all feared. Her intelligence, wit and quick thinking are highlighted in the book with aplomb. What a character! It is a 1985 crime fiction novel, portraying an ordinary woman who is framed by the mafia, her subsequent quest for vengeance towards them and her later life as a con artist. The novel was adapted into a three-part TV miniseries with the same name in 1986, starring Madolyn Smith and Tom Berenger.

10) BLOODLINE

A tale of power, vengeance, family ties, love and the bond between a father and a daughter, Bloodline tells the story of a girl from a powerful family, but so ordinary in her thinking and way of life, that all driven and strong women can relate to her.

The writer is incharge Lifestyle at Daily Times. She Tweets at @cheenaagha and can be reached at saira_a16@hotmail.com

Published in Daily Times, October 31^st 2017.