Sidney Sheldon's After the Darkness

After the Darkness - by Tilly Bagshawe and Sidney Sheldon

Luckily I have never read a Sydney Sheldon book so I have nothing to compare it to. Especially since there is another writer taking over at this time. My review won’t be biased at all. It’s a fabulous book for this genre, really! If you liked Olivia Goldsmith and her books, especially “Young Wives” or “Pen Pals“, if you like Linda Howard and her book “Son of the Morning“, or other novels about women on the run, women betrayed by family and friends, books about the wealthy losing it all, then this is going to be right up your alley!

This is a perfectly yummy book just chock filled with everything that makes this a superb vacation read/beach read. We have Grace show more Brookstein our protagonist and total star of this novel. She is naive, gentle, well bred and kind. We then have Lenny her rich much older husband, who really doesn‘t have that big of a part!. There is a bevy of secondary characters that are so mean and evil; you just want to do evil to them yourself. There is a delicious mystery and enough twists and turns in the plot to make you feel as if you were doing the twist. And the climax? Wow, I must say that I truthfully didn’t see it coming…I was hoping for this sort of ending, but I didn’t think the author had enough nerve to try this and it WORKED! show less

Sidney Sheldon's After The Darkness by Tilly Bagshawe
Published by HarperCollins
ISBN 978-0-06-172830-3
At the request of LibraryThing, an ARC was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest review
Synopsis (from back of book): Grace Brookstein is the very young, naive wife of financial superstar Lenny Brookstein. Lenny is a billionaire many times over, with estates around the world, a fleet of yachts, and a life that is the stuff of fantasy. He and Grace live in New York where Lenny is revered as King of the Wall Street social scene. A noted philanthropist, he is both liked and respected in the worlds of high finance and high society. When the stock market goes into a terrifying freefall, the Brookstein's glamorous lifestyle of Palm Beach polo show more tournaments and G5 jets is barely touched.
That is, until the day Lenny goes sailing from their Nantucket beach estate and never comes home. When his abandoned yacht is found far out at sea, the police investigation reveals Brookstein's death was no accident. The famous investor was involved in some sort of spectacular fraud and was about to be exposed by someone close to him.
But as Lenny's malfeasance comes to light, Grace learns there was more to his boating "accident" than she originally thought. And suddenly her life may be in danger too....
My Thoughts and Opinion: I started reading Sidney Sheldon's books in the 70s and remember them to be great reads, always waiting anxiously for his next novel to be released. I also remember hearing of his passing and thinking what a tremendous loss for fans and the literary world. But thankfully the family did not let that happen, entrusting an author to continue his legacy. And Tilly Bagshawe most definitely did. I have to say that I honestly was a little skeptical when I started reading this book, wondering if it would live up to the older Sidney Sheldon books? And the answer is a resounding YES!!
Ms. Bagshawe created a cast of characters that you either loved or hated, had compassion for or envied. cheered them on or were glad when they fell. The plot is a non stop "who done it" of multiple possibilities to the very end. And speaking of the end, it is one that I did not see coming until the very last pages !!! Throughout the entire book, the story line is a continuous, fast paced, speeding suspenseful ride with the elements of love, betrayal, hate, envy, trust, greed, strength, lies and revenge, and self preservation, just to name a few. Do I recommend this book? My answer, another resounding YES!! This is a definite can't put down, page turning novel !!!
My Rating: 5 show less

First off I have to be honest and say that it is amazing that I have even finished reading this book. It took me about three tries over several years. This time the third time is the charm. I was able to connect with the story and the characters. Although I must admit there were no surprises to be found in this story. It was apparent right away who all of the major players were and their connection to the big picture. Yet I am glad to see that Grace was not the wilting wallflower that I first took her for. She is a fighter. While there were no surprises to the plot the ending was a good one and for this I appreciate the fact that this story had a good ending otherwise I would have said it was all for nothing. For the most part this is a show more good read. show less

Syney Sheldon's After the Darkness by Tilly Bagshawe is a mystery in the style of Sydney Sheldon.

It's very timely, touching on the recent failures and bailouts of big trading houses, banks and insurance companies, and tells what happens when THE New York City 'IT' couple, Lenny and Grace Brookstein, crashes and burns.

Lenny doesn't come back from sailing one day, and in short order, his company, the biggest hedge fund out there (think Enron-size) fails disastrously. Grace's life changes immeasureably. The rest of the novel is a fast-paced thriller that follows Grace as she tries to solve the puzzle of her life.

A fun, quick read, not very deep, and not too tough of a mystery (I had a strong suspicion of the denouement pretty early on). A show more good summer read - I give it 3.5 stars. show less

Sidney Sheldon's After the Darkness is a wonderfully written story of suspense, intrigue, mystery and betrayal. The principle character in After the Darkness is Grace Brookstein. Her character goes through so many changes and growth from the start of the story. Grace is the wife of Lenny Brookstein, who died while out on his boat and the death is ruled a suicide. Lenny is the financial wizard behind an investment company called Quorum.

After the Darkness starts out with Grace on trial for theft of billions of dollars through Quorum. She is innocent and feels that she will be cleared of all charges. Her trusting nature is what causes her many problems and heartbreak through the story. Those who she thought were her family and friends show more turn on her and don't want to help her during her trial and even after her day in court. She is surprised by her family's reaction. This is when Grace starts to go through a change. She is a lady that is used to things always being easy for her. Grace goes from a trusting, innocent child like woman to a woman of strength and realizes her true worth and that she can stand on her own two feet without the help of a man. I found myself eagerly hoping for her to survive every obstacle and hardship she encountered during the story.

Once you start reading After the Darkness you will not be able to stop. After the Darkness is a page turning novel of intrigue and suspense. I loved how the story was summarized at the end of the book. The ending for Grace is one of pure surprise. You may like it or you may feel jilted. show less

Sidney Sheldon’s After the Darkness is a great read. Don’t pick it up unless you have enough time, because you will not want to put it down. I’m reviewing a pre-release review copy I got from LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers program.

Grace Brookstein is the young wife of hedge fund manager Lenny Brookstein. Lenny has raised himself from abject poverty to billionnaire by hard work and incredible financial acumen; Grace was born both rich and entitled, but lost her father at an early age. She is Lenny's perfect trophy wife, and he is her perfect father figure. Despite their age difference, Grace cannot imagine life without her Lenny, until he is killed in a boating accident and all the money in the fund - billions of dollars - show more disappears.

Because of maneuverings at the fund before his death, Grace is first suspected of and then tried for consiracy and fraud. Her friends and family desert her. Her wealth evaporates. The only thing she has left to live for is to clear Lenny’s name and, by extension, her own.

After the Darkness is full of plot twists and unexpected alliances, although I didn’t find any of them terribly surprising. (Okay, one of the alliances was a surprise. You’ll know it when you get to it.) If you haven’t read Sheldon before, the ending might surprise you, but in all but the details I thought it was a bit predictable. None of that, however detracted from my enjoyment of the story. The fast pace, rapid plot turns, and hugely unlikeable evil antagonists (and there are many) kept me turning the pages. This is an excellent “downtime” book for any lover of suspenseful crime novels. Thanks LibraryThing Early Reviewers! show less

After the Darkness is a quick, fun read - one of those books you like to read because you don't have to concentrate or remember details.
People who spend time looking for themes, deep currents under the main plot, plausibility and depth of characters should look elsewhere. The story line has a good intent - everyone against the heroine but her growth is not believable. The attorney and judge - well there is a huge case for an appeal in just the first chapter.
The ending appeared to be one where the author realizes the word count is met and rush to end everything. Not satisfying at all!
With all the negative - it is a fun, light read but if someone wants depth to their stories, look elsewhere.