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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
As always, the depth in the stories Sidney Sheldon has to offer is amazing. A book like Bloodline had to be very detailed, wide-spoken and to the point at the same time for its own sake. The funneling of the story to, perhaps, a not-so-baffling climax should still be considered as one of the best in the mystery world. Overall speaking, definite page-turner, one of the best family mysteries there is and probably a very organized story telling, but somehow lacked the flair I was looking for.
2.5 stars
It's always interesting to read someone else's favourite book. You understand a lot about them from the words that they've enjoyed reading the most, and what I think I've understood after reading this book is that my uncle enjoys... business, sex and action. This book is the type to really get you wanting to know more, the intrigue was well created by the author.
I enjoyed the tension and the fast pace of this book but certain comments and parts of this book irked me a lot. I'll give you an example, this book switches between different point of view's at the start to let us see the story of these different characters and how they come together (which was a clever way of formatting this book) but the first paragraph we see with the main character of this book begins with:
"The birth of Elizabeth Rowane Roffe was a double tragedy. The minor tragedy was that Elizabeth's mother died on the delivery table. The major tragedy was that Elizabeth was born a girl. I think you can understand probably understand what annoyed me so much about this book. At first I actually thought the author was female but very soon into it I checked the "About the Author" page and was unsurprised to see [a:Sidney Sheldon|9068|Sidney Sheldon|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1209169297p2/9068.jpg] is in fact, male. Elizabeth is an interesting character and the parts with flashbacks of her life were my favourite parts of this book but she had to be the stereotypical, needing a guy to save her from trouble, character and it felt extremity cliched.
I'm now going to talk about the end of the book, the author had done a great job of making me, as the reader, think that but the fact that the murderer is made is revealed on (i'm not exaggerating) the final page of this book meant that I couldn't know how he was the murder or what clues there may have been along the way that the author left. I love the tying together of different things in mystery novels and that "ohhhh" moment of realisation but that wasn't in this book and it almost felt like [a:Sidney Sheldon|9068|Sidney Sheldon|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1209169297p2/9068.jpg] plucked a background character and made them the murderer simply for the element of surprise without any actual explanation. It was disappointing after all of that build-up towards the end of the book.
Overall, I really enjoyed the format and the way this story was told, the author obviously knows how to craft a thrilling mystery novel but the actual story is where the book fell flat for me. I understand why people who don't really care for a great story and mostly want action would love this book, though.
It's always interesting to read someone else's favourite book. You understand a lot about them from the words that they've enjoyed reading the most, and what I think I've understood after reading this book is that my uncle enjoys... business, sex and action. This book is the type to really get you wanting to know more, the intrigue was well created by the author.
I enjoyed the tension and the fast pace of this book but certain comments and parts of this book irked me a lot. I'll give you an example, this book switches between different point of view's at the start to let us see the story of these different characters and how they come together (which was a clever way of formatting this book) but the first paragraph we see with the main character of this book begins with:
"The birth of Elizabeth Rowane Roffe was a double tragedy. The minor tragedy was that Elizabeth's mother died on the delivery table. The major tragedy was that Elizabeth was born a girl. I think you can understand probably understand what annoyed me so much about this book. At first I actually thought the author was female but very soon into it I checked the "About the Author" page and was unsurprised to see [a:Sidney Sheldon|9068|Sidney Sheldon|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1209169297p2/9068.jpg] is in fact, male. Elizabeth is an interesting character and the parts with flashbacks of her life were my favourite parts of this book but she had to be the stereotypical, needing a guy to save her from trouble, character and it felt extremity cliched.
I'm now going to talk about the end of the book, the author had done a great job of making me, as the reader, think that
Spoiler
Rhys was the murderer and I was surprised to see on the last page that I was incorrectOverall, I really enjoyed the format and the way this story was told, the author obviously knows how to craft a thrilling mystery novel but the actual story is where the book fell flat for me. I understand why people who don't really care for a great story and mostly want action would love this book, though.
For me, this is officially the best book on Goodreads not to reach a 4.00 rating. There are twists galore in this book. But it's not the gotcha type of twist that is now so notorious in The Simpsons episodes and in The Last Jedi.
This book, now forgotten by most occidental countries, is popular, for some reason, in India. It is also the first adult book that I read. The sex scenes in the book are never gratuitous.
I didn't know before that the author, Sidney Sheldon, had won an Academy Award for best original screenplay in 1947, for a Cary Grant film. I affirm, and go so far as to say that the author is a genius in storytelling. Bloodline is a book that I'll reread a few times more. It's an unforgettable experience, and one of the strongest books to get 5 stars from me.
This book, now forgotten by most occidental countries, is popular, for some reason, in India. It is also the first adult book that I read. The sex scenes in the book are never gratuitous.
I didn't know before that the author, Sidney Sheldon, had won an Academy Award for best original screenplay in 1947, for a Cary Grant film. I affirm, and go so far as to say that the author is a genius in storytelling. Bloodline is a book that I'll reread a few times more. It's an unforgettable experience, and one of the strongest books to get 5 stars from me.
It was really a nice thriller but it got repetitive at one instant. But highly recommended to all thriller fans.
Roffe and Sons is a company that specializes in the pharmaceutical industry. When the family patriarch, Sam Roffe, was killed in a climbing accident, his daughter Elizabeth took over the company. Elizabeth Roffe, a bright young woman, believes her father was murdered and that an assassin is hunting her down.
Bloodline is my first introduction to Sidney Sheldon's world, and I'm impressed with his writing. Sheldon begins with Sam Roffe's accident and then moves on to Elizabeth. The author introduced the history of Roffe and Sons through Elizabeth. In addition, the author emphasized young Elizabeth's sadness and loneliness. He then shifts to the main story and hooks the reader. There are far too many characters of equal value, and the author assigns equal weight to each. The plot of the book slowly unfolds, and the author narrates it well.
When we get to the end, the author has to justify a lot of stuff, but the book has a lot of unanswered questions. Even, the conclusion does not satisfy me. The book maintains the suspense and sometimes shocks the readers, but it is not entirely persuasive. There are far too many flaws and unresolved or unanswered incidents.
Bloodline is an exciting tale about greed and deception in a wealthy family. The book is suitable for every thriller enthusiast, and the author's style is commendable.
Bloodline is my first introduction to Sidney Sheldon's world, and I'm impressed with his writing. Sheldon begins with Sam Roffe's accident and then moves on to Elizabeth. The author introduced the history of Roffe and Sons through Elizabeth. In addition, the author emphasized young Elizabeth's sadness and loneliness. He then shifts to the main story and hooks the reader. There are far too many characters of equal value, and the author assigns equal weight to each. The plot of the book slowly unfolds, and the author narrates it well.
When we get to the end, the author has to justify a lot of stuff, but the book has a lot of unanswered questions. Even, the conclusion does not satisfy me. The book maintains the suspense and sometimes shocks the readers, but it is not entirely persuasive. There are far too many flaws and unresolved or unanswered incidents.
Bloodline is an exciting tale about greed and deception in a wealthy family. The book is suitable for every thriller enthusiast, and the author's style is commendable.
This is the controversial Sheldon novel, because Audrey Hepburn's old ass played a character forty years her junior and the movie tanked!
When we open we're introduced to the Roffes. The family owns Roffe and Sons, which is an international cabal type of company filled with power and money hungry family members desperate to take all of the pie without sharing. When old man Sam Roffe dies "accidentally" being thrown down into what I believe was an elevator shaft or something, his heir apparent Elizabeth inherits the firm and is more fixated on finding out why her father was murdered before the unknown killer kills her. There's Anna, who married Walther and is in a loveless marriage with a man that just wants her family's wealth. There's Helen, who collects more husbands than Erica Kane, and is on to the next marriage to Charles who is robbing her blind. There's Alec, who is a gambling junkie and has a wife that is so cheap she squeezes buffalo nickles to get free poop. There's Simonetta, Ivo's wife who adores her infidelity driven husband who is currently being blackmailed by Donatella, his mistress. Everybody but maybe Elizabeth, is out to get what they came for no matter what, and no matter if they have to get a few people out their way.
This thing reads like an Agatha Christie novel. It's genius the way it's set up. Guarantee you won't see the ending coming.
When we open we're introduced to the Roffes. The family owns Roffe and Sons, which is an international cabal type of company filled with power and money hungry family members desperate to take all of the pie without sharing. When old man Sam Roffe dies "accidentally" being thrown down into what I believe was an elevator shaft or something, his heir apparent Elizabeth inherits the firm and is more fixated on finding out why her father was murdered before the unknown killer kills her. There's Anna, who married Walther and is in a loveless marriage with a man that just wants her family's wealth. There's Helen, who collects more husbands than Erica Kane, and is on to the next marriage to Charles who is robbing her blind. There's Alec, who is a gambling junkie and has a wife that is so cheap she squeezes buffalo nickles to get free poop. There's Simonetta, Ivo's wife who adores her infidelity driven husband who is currently being blackmailed by Donatella, his mistress. Everybody but maybe Elizabeth, is out to get what they came for no matter what, and no matter if they have to get a few people out their way.
This thing reads like an Agatha Christie novel. It's genius the way it's set up. Guarantee you won't see the ending coming.
I love all of Sidney Sheldon's books! I've learned to always be suspicious of everyone and everything. The first thing I thought about the "red ribbon" and the murder as it happened in its own chapter I pictured Vivian. Just by the way she had already been described and the fact that this young girl portrayed her. It made me think more and more that Alec was really that deeply in love with her and had the most history of being closest to Elizabeth that it just had to be him. Even towards the end when Rhys appeared to be the one who was after Elizabeth, something in me told me that he honestly had a special place in his heart and couldn't bring himself to harm her.
Re-reading this book took me back to my college days when I used to devour Sidney Sheldon's books. There's such power in his writing that I used to live the life of the protagonist in my mind.Bloodline still carries the punch for me, even thou psychological thrillers are my preferred genre now. The story meanders thru so many characters that there's no clear picture of who'z the culprit.
Memorable quote:
"If you had to remind someone you loved that it was your birthday, then it was futile." -Elizabeth Roffe
"If you had to remind someone you loved that it was your birthday, then it was futile." -Elizabeth Roffe