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In tribute to Sidney Sheldon, a great writer who passed away January 30, 2007 at the age of 89, I’m going to review his books. If you were a reader of popular fiction in the 1980’s and early part of the 1990’s, you probably read a few of his books.

Sheldon was quoted in a 1992 interview as saying, “I try to write my books so the reader can’t put them down. I try to construct them so when the reader gets to the end of a chapter, he or she has to read just one more chapter. It’s the technique of the old Saturday afternoon serial: Leave the guy hanging on the edge of the cliff at the end of the chapter.” That’s the exact reason why I loved his books so much. They were exciting, with lots of unexpected plot twists that left me hanging and wanting to continue reading. And I often did keep a book open longer than planned. There were many nights where I started a book and was still reading at 2 am even though I needed to be up in a few hours to go to work.

He was, and still is, my all-time favorite author.

All the books I’m going to review are still available in paperback. If you want a hardcover edition borrow a copy from your local library or visit a used bookstore.

I’ll start my reviews of Sheldon’s books with one of my favorites: “The Other Side of Midnight.”

This is one of Sidney Sheldon’s earliest novels, his second, released in hardcover in 1973. It’s also one of his best.

There are four main characters whose lives touch each other – Noelle Page, Catherine Alexander, Larry Douglas, and Constantine Demiris.

There’s a sequel to this book, “Memories of Midnight” which is good too, but if you read both books you might find the same inconsistency that I did. In “The Other Side of Midnight” Constantine’s wife Melina is said to have told her parents that her powerful husband had had many affairs; but in “Memories of Midnight” it says that Melina lost both of her parents when she was still a child. Whoops! It’s a small inconsistency but one you might have fun watching for.

There’s a small error in “The Other Side of Midnight” too – one that I missed but a friend of mine had found so I went back and read the book again to find it. Israel Katz, Noelle’s doctor friend, has his right leg amputated. Later in the book it’s his left leg that was amputated. It’s another small “whoops” that’s not a big deal but something to watch for. It certainly doesn’t diminish the overall plot and quality of the book.

In “The Other Side of Midnight,” Noelle and Larry meet. Noelle falls in love. Larry asks her to marry him. Larry is a pilot in the war (the book is set in the 1940’s during World War II). Larry leaves, saying he’ll be back, but he doesn’t come back. He’s off fighting the war and seducing other women. Noelle is crushed. She then finds out she’s pregnant. At this point she starts to mentally lose it. She vows revenge against Larry and anyone he cares about, and she seeks that revenge in horrible ways.

Larry, meanwhile, becomes a decorated fighter pilot. He meets Catherine while she is in California overseeing a short movie shoot for a government film. Although Catherine is in love with her boss, a nice man named William Fraser, she falls for Larry’s charm and ends up marrying him (something that fuels Noelle’s rage even more when she finds out about it).

Even though Noelle spends many of her waking moments plotting her revenge against Larry, she does pursue a career and becomes a famous actress in Europe. Because the story is set in the 1940’s, there are subplots about the Nazi invasion and about what life was like when a person’s country is occupied by enemy forces.

One of the most interesting subplots involves Noelle’s doctor friend Israel Katz, who becomes an underground rebel fighter and a person the German army is trying hard to find so they can punish and make an example of him. When he’s in a really tight spot he seeks Noelle’s help.

Constantine Demiris is a powerful man from Greece. He owns his own island. He becomes tangled in the lives of Noelle, Larry, and Catherine. He has an affair with Noelle and falls under her spell. Because of Noelle’s persistence and recommendation, Constantine hires Larry as his personal pilot. Although Catherine’s relationship with Constantine is a small one in this book, pay attention to it because that relationship becomes a focal point of “Memories of Midnight” – the sequel to this book.

The story moves along quickly with lots of suspense and drama. Larry’s job as Constantine’s personal pilot is all part of her elaborate plan for revenge. But in some ways the surprise is on her. When she meets up with Larry again after several years, she finds out he doesn’t recognize or remember her.

I had a hard time putting this book down. It seemed every chapter added a new plot twist and more suspense.

My rating (0-10 smilies): 10 ☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻