Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Sidney Sheldon
(Reviewer - Narayan Radhakrishnan)
2004 William Morrow
ISBN: 0060559349

Two gutsy widows take on the secret mission after their husbands are killed.

Sr. Associate Reviewer Narayan Radhakrishnan writes:

Sidney Sheldon is back after a hiatus of three years with a top-notch thriller that reaffirms his position as the Master of the Game of storytelling.

When I was 15, I got a copy of Bloodline -- my first “adult” book -- & was hooked, becoming an immediate & ardent reader of the “World's most translated author”. Today I am the proud owner of all 19 Sidney Sheldon novels, including the one under review; a children's book titled Drippy: The Adventures Of The Runaway Raindrop (& also I was duped into buying two titles, which I was later informed were not written by Sheldon, viz.- Catoplus Error & Pavid Pavilion. A quick search on the Net on these two titles proved that I was not the only one who was duped! Right from The Naked Face to Tell Me Your Dreams, Sheldon works have had a dream run, & he is easily the most popular novelist in this part of the world also.

Like in all the previous novels, Are You Afraid Of The Dark? features strong women protagonists: Diane Stevens & Kelly Harris, who fight all odds when, well, all is lost. Stevens & Harris come from two entirely different backgrounds. But one thing brings them together: both their husbands were killed while working on a top-secret program for a think tank company called Kingsley International Group (KIG), headed by the enigmatic Tanner Kingsley. The widows, who hate each other at first sight, slowly gain each other's respect, & realize that two heads are better than one -- & thus begins the cat-&-mouse game -- where these two gutsy, but vulnerable women take on a powerful & evil enemy, always one step ahead of fatal danger.

Sidney Sheldon fans are gonna be pleased & hooked onto the pages of Are You Afraid Of The Dark? -- but a question may arise -- how does it compare to other Sheldon works? It's much better than The Sky Is Falling & Nothing Lasts Forever, not as good as If Tomorrow Comes & Rage Of Angels & stands almost in equal footing with The Sands Of Time & Windmills Of The Gods. So the seasoned Sheldon fan might now have a good idea of what Are You Afraid Of The Dark is all about.

I enjoyed it, but a warning: don't take Are You Afraid Of The Dark to bed with you -- you'll lose a good night's sleep because you'll be glued to the pages.

Highly, highly recommended.
(08/29/04)

Narayan
2004©Narayan Radhakrishnan
A RebeccasReads.Com Sr. Associate Reviewer

Reviewer's Bio:
I am a 26 years old lawyer practicing in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. Along with my legal practice, I have finished post-graduate studies for both Business Law & Human Rights. I am a self proclaimed numero-uno legal thriller lover & am the proud owner of all of Grisham's & Turow's novels. I enjoy John Mortimer's Rumpole & relish an occasional Martini & a rare Scot(ch)t-oline with a Patterson on the side.

My work A FICTION OF LAW is now about 500 pages in length & features 500 lawyer authors & 2000 legal thrillers covering a 300 year period - inclusive of entries from the USA, UK, Asia, Europe, China, Middle East etc. Still in search of a publisher.
www.keralatourism.org