The Best Laid Plans

The latest from the indefatigable Sheldon is full of manipulators, dirty dealers, and dastardly rascals, all snatching at power--political, financial, sexual, or all the above; in other words, business as usual in Sidney's World. The Best Laid Plans begins with the meeting and mating of Oliver Russell, a promising young attorney-cum-gubernatorial candidate, and Leslie Stewart, the beautiful go-getter who is running his public relations campaign. Just as the pair is about to be wed, Russell's mentor, Senator Todd Davis, offers him a deal he can't refuse: marry my daughter and I will make you president. Russell accepts and Stewart vows revenge. The lion's share of The Best Laid Plans revolves around the young pol's rise to power and Stewart's byzantine plotting to bring him to grief. Russell gives his phony wife plenty of opportunities because, like every fictional president (and some real ones), Russell has an unruly libido. Reading this book is like waiting for a train wreck, bracing for the inevitable collision; but to Sheldon's credit, the titanic scandal that ends the novel is not quite what you expect... --This text refers to the paperback edition. HE WANTED POWER. SHE WANTED REVENGE. Dear Diary: This morning I met the man I am going to marry. That declaration sets Leslie Stewart on a destiny she could never have imagined. For she is engaged to Oliver Russell, a man fated to rise to the pinnacle of world power, the office of the President of the United States. And, in the aftermath of the shattering betrayal that follows, Leslie will amass her own towering media empire, dedicated to a single purpose -- the downfall of Oliver Russell, on the eve of his most dazzling triumph. From Sidney Sheldon, the unchallenged master of bestselling fiction, comes a story of blazing ambitions and thwarted love that enthralls and surprises with every page.... --This text refers to the paperback edition. 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. --This text refers to the paperback edition. Acclaim for Sidney Sheldon: `Sidney Sheldon is a master of giving the public what it wants'Los Angeles Times `A master storyteller at the top of the game'USA Today `Sheldon is a writer working at the height of his power... I hung on till the very end'New York Times --This text refers to the paperback edition. From Kirkus Reviews Schlockmeister Sheldon (Morning, Noon and Night, 1995, etc.) outdoes himself with an overcharged (albeit eminently readable) tale about a randy American president and the vengeful newspaper heiress he done wrong. Leslie Stewart, a brainy and beauteous ad agency exec, falls hard for a handsome client, attorney Oliver Russell, whose campaign for the governorship of Kentucky began foundering when he lost the support of Senator Todd Davis after two-timing Davis's daughter Jan. The crafty, powerful lawmaker soon engineers a reconciliation between Jan and Oliver, who unhesitatingly sacrifices Leslie on the altar of his political ambition. In short order, the happy pair find themselves the Bluegrass State's first couple while embittered Leslie heads to Arizona, where she eventually becomes the trophy wife of wealthy businessman Henry Chambers. Henry obligingly dies two years later, freeing Leslie to expand his media holdings in aid of her obsessive desire to get even with the inconstant Oliver. Years later, as the Russells are moving into the White House, the vindictive publisher acquires influential newspaper/television outlets in D.C., which she uses to rake up old scandals that put her erstwhile lover in a bad light. Further disclosures of adultery, murder, and other high crimes have the embattled chief executive on the ropes. In a startling reversal of fortune, however, the true villain of the piece is exposed on live TV, leaving Leslie with egg and more on her lovely face, and allowing Oliver to pursue a semi-noble agenda calculated to bring peace to the Middle East. A twisty yarn with few real surprises: Sheldon continues to exploit his special talent for getting down and dirty with the high and mighty. (Literary Guild selection) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the paperback edition. From Library Journal A power-hungry Southern governor and his scorned lover collide in this latest from the ever-popular Sheldon.Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the paperback edition. Read more