Bloodline (Sidney Sheldon)

Sidney Sheldon remains as one of the few writers who really know how to move a story, keep his readers absorbed and root for a protagonist. He was skillful at constructing a complicated plot, and had the main storyline intertwined with the numerous side stories. I also like how the author was comfortable with writing about any time, place, or setting. He adapted to them all very well, as any good writer would. He also knew when to throw a twist at a reader. Sometimes it's comes as a pleasant surprise; sometimes you could hear yourself say "oh, this was totally unnecessary." Sidney Sheldon's books are soap operas wrapped in the paperback (or hardcover). He adroitly strikes chords and rattles reader's nerves. His novels are what critics typically call an "absorbing, fast-paced page-turner." However, if you read more than one of his novels you will notice couple things. First, he never bothered with complex descriptions of physical appearances. His characters are all good-looking... Read more

Another fantastic, mind-gripping read, holding its audience from page one. Bloodline spins the tale of a family-run pharmaceutical conglomerate. Roffe and Sons has been passed down to the heirs of Samuel Roffe's family, Sam Roffe, the only male descendant and holder of the controlling interest of the company, Anna Roffe married to Walther Gassner, Ivo Palazzi, married to Simonetta Roffe, Charles Martel married to Helene Roffe and Sir Alec Nichols' mother had been a Roffe. Samuel Roffe, founder of the company, had decided from the beginning that his company never go public. His theory, "Never let a friendly fox into your hen house. One day he's going to get hungry." When Sam Roffe (an experienced climber) dies in a mysterious mountain climbing accident, Elizabeth inherits his controlling interest in the company. Suddenly, life-threatening events begin to happen to her as she holds onto her great-great grandfather's wishes after finding a book telling the story of Samuel Roffe's lif... Read more

The first book I ever read was "If Tomorrow Comes" and that will always be a landmark favorite in my favorites written by Sidney Sheldon. Having some time to recooperate this summer, I took upon myself to start reading - - that's when my mom offered "BLOODLINE." The book is written in such a fashion of the hit movie "CRASH" where he talks about every character and at the end, he brings them all together! I do agree with another reader that he took a long time talkin' about Elizabeth's roots within the family because she felt like she didn't belong or the plot took too long to develop the story in the beginning that would shy readers away. But now that I look back, ALL of that was necessary for the story to be the way that it was. Upon reading other reviews, I stumbled upon one that made sense: Sheldon never revealed to us who planted the microphone behind Samuel's picture in the office...Overall, I think this book was great...I found "If Tomorrow Comes" to beat it as far as quali... Read more

This is master storyteller SIDNEY SHELDON at his best! The plot is breath-taking. The characters are rich and well described. Unputdownable. Finished the book in 2 days

This was the first novel I've read by Sydney Sheldon. The character development, plot development and prose is drivel compared to books by Greg Iles, Joseph Finder, Nelson DeMille, Richard Crais, Michael Connelly, Sheldon Siegel, and Richard North Patterson. Its so bad, I'm throwing the book out so I won't make the mistake of rereading it. Raise your standards people!