If Tomorrow Comes

I was at a gift shop outside of Olympic National Park (again) when I spied a book exchange. I went over to it and flipped through a few of the offerings. Most didn't grab me at all. This one barely piqued my interest - but it seemed to be the most interesting of the bunch, so I took it with me.

What a riot! I am not embaressed IN THE LEAST to say that I LOVED reading this book. The heroine of this book, Tracy Whitney, is a typical young woman in the 1980's. She works at a bank, where she is "good with computers". Her job is to handle incoming international wires. She begins dating some big shot in the finance buisness, and they're getting married (and having a baby). Her boss is surprised when she says she plans to come back to work show more after the baby is born.

Anyway! Her mother dies and Tracy goes to New Orleans to avenge her death. Unfortunately, she messes with the mob and winds up in jail for attempted murder (which she technically did) and stealing a van Gogh (which she did not do). Then her fiancee abandons her and life really starts to suck. We learn all about life in a Women's Prison in Louisiana (starring a mean character named Big Bertha...what women's prison is complete without one?) and how she gets out.

Once out of jail, she decides the Straight Life isn't her thing. She gets revenge on those who got her into the mess and then goes on to be an international art thief. It becomes a caper book, and it was a good one.

It moved along quite possibly the fastest pace I've ever felt in a book. It was just page-turning. I loved her character and how she was so determined to get revenge on the men that had done her wrong, and how she sort of fell into her life of crime. It was cleverly written and total delight to read.

Now, what REALLY won this over for me: it takes place in the 1980's. This is vaguely apparent in the clothes that she describes wearing. But as I read the book, I imagined it absolutely drenched in the 80's: men with their white jacket sleeves rolled up and big hair; women in sequin-covered evening gowns and big gaudy jewelry; Tracy having to tie back her heavily sprayed bangs to fit under her black cap (ya know, the thief outfit); music from Wham! and Duran Duran playing the the background; fancy parties with people dressed up like the characters from Dynasty; normal people looking like Angela Bauer from Who's the Boss and oh! It just created such a ridiculous picture in my mind. I loved it. My imagination went uber-80's (to a point in which it was just a mockery) and the book came to bedazzled, hypercolor, radical life. It was awesome.

I will probably pick up another one of Sidney Sheldon's books in the future just so that I can revisit the 80's and the rich and famous people that life the swanky life therein. show less

This starts off with serious drama. And a certain amount of cliche. Naive young lady from lower-middle middle class gets pregnant and engaged to elite upper strata male, who, surprise! ends up being a lame-o. We find this out when said young woman tries to avenge mother's suicide, which was the result of some underhanded NOLA mafioso acts, and she ends up getting framed and imprisoned. After a week of intense suffering at the hands of guards and inmates, she goes to solitary where she miraculously transforms into a brilliant master of the mind (she remembers her martial arts training?!) This is pretty eye-rolling, but then, inexplicably, the novel transforms into a decent heist comedy, which I won't bother hiding a bunch of spoilers. show more The romance is typically escape-fiction-goofy, but really, this is pretty decent escape fiction. show less

This starts off with serious drama. And a certain amount of cliche. Naive young lady from lower-middle middle class gets pregnant and engaged to elite upper strata male, who, surprise! ends up being a lame-o. We find this out when said young woman tries to avenge mother's suicide, which was the result of some underhanded NOLA mafioso acts, and she ends up getting framed and imprisoned. After a week of intense suffering at the hands of guards and inmates, she goes to solitary where she miraculously transforms into a brilliant master of the mind (she remembers her martial arts training?!) This is pretty eye-rolling, but then, inexplicably, the novel transforms into a decent heist comedy, which I won't bother hiding a bunch of spoilers. show more The romance is typically escape-fiction-goofy, but really, this is pretty decent escape fiction. show less

This is one of the best nonstop crime runaway stories with a dash of revenge ever written!

Meet Tracy Whitney, a regular innocent young woman that has had the privileges of life afforded to her by family and marital wealth. That changes as soon as her mother Doris kills herself from being double crossed by Romano and his associate Orsatti. Tracy, being naive, files a civil suit against them. Romano then uses his influence to have her own lawyer set her up and have her thrown in prison for a crime she really didn't commit.

Tracy finds herself in jail, as well as pregnant. She doesn't keep the baby as she's raped in prison brutally and loses the baby. Once this gets out she becomes friends with her attackers, and winds up being a model show more prisoner getting great prison jobs like watching the Warden's son. To make it up to her one of her attackers agrees to help her break out of jail. However, her good nature saving the Warden's son gets her out legit.

When she gets out her prison friends on the outside help her start getting her revenge, and get her into the thief rackets. This is how her life became a roller coaster of whirlwind romances duping fellow thieves, being tracked by a sadistic police detective, and slowly but surely settling scores with the men that took everything from her. In the end she got her cash, her revenge, the law off her back, and her man by her side.

Read it.


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I now see why Sydney Sheldon was a famous author. :-)

This book has it all: a great protagonist you really want to succeed (a believable female protagonist), lots of adventures, outsmarting the bad guys, a romance that you really like.....

It starts out with a woman who is accused (falsely) of theft. There's a pretty gritty description of her time in jail, but then, as long as everybody already thinks she is a criminal, well, she might as well be one--and she'll be one of the most ingenious in history, but with a strong Robin Hood complex as well. (Without that she'd be, frankly, a *lot* less likable.)

One of my favorite Sydney Sheldon books. I have a problem that most of his main female protagonist are portrayed as manipulative women whim I simply can't relate to.

In case of Tracey that is not the case. She might have been wronged but gets her revenge and moves on in a delightful manner.

One of my favorite Sydney Sheldon books. I have a problem that most of his main female protagonist are portrayed as manipulative women whim I simply can't relate to.

In case of Tracey that is not the case. She might have been wronged but gets her revenge and moves on in a delightful manner.