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Summary: Gee willikers; GET OVER IT!
Review: I'm very seldom not entertained by Sidney Sheldon, and this book was no exception. I however did not LIKE either Leslie nor Oliver, but kept reading to determine what would happen to them. So... It was hard to put down, but a gentle, nice book, it's NOT! Talk about the "weakest link"... whew!
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Summary: The real page-turner for non-native speakers of English !!
Review: It's a wonderful reading for people who do not speak English in everyday life. This was my first Sheldon book and I had much more fun with this "Best Laid Plans" than with any other book I had ever read. It's written in plain English, no dictionaries are needed, and a catching story all along the line, so I didn't get bored at all.
I would recommend it anyone who wants to feel "Wow, I've got better at English !!"
Rating: 
Summary: Don't waste your time...
Review: What an awful book. There was almost no character development, and I never got to the point where I cared about any of the characters or what happened to them. There was little detail about events that seemed to be important, and the dialogue was trite. The only thing that kept me reading was the hope that it would get better. The single positive about the book is that it is a quick read, and it requires absolutely no concentration, so you can read it on a plane or other noisy place without worrying that you are missing anything important.
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Summary: Shocking and gripping
Review: This fast-moving and highly charged book meets the expectations Sheldon sets for himself and chronicles the deceit and lies that go on in the White House and government. Not surprisingly, money and power can have a huge effect on life decisions, as Leslie and Oliver find out. But not to be undone, Leslie has the final word years later, when she has built an empire to equal that of Sentaor Davis and returns to seek her revenge.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Reading for the Commuter
Review: This book was perfect for my train ride home. It was written in a manner that grabbed my attention right away, didn't require too much concentration yet it interested me enough that I couldn't wait to pick it up to see what was going to happen next. I highly recommend this book and others by Sidney Sheldon for anyone who reads while traveling.
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Summary: not a sheldon fan
Review: This was my first Sheldon book and I was very disappointed. I would not recommend it to anyone. It is what I imagine a harlequin romance novel to be. Poorly developed characters with a fairly predictable ending.
Rating:
Summary: Definitely not Sheldon's best
Review: I was disappointed in this book because it seemed like I was reading an abridgement. He glossed over and simplified important events; it truly felt like someone had edited out huge chunks of narrative and detail that would have made it more believable. It was still entertaining and had an interesting ending, but I wouldn't really recommend it. I don't think he'll ever top The Other Side of Midnight or If Tomorrow Comes, my favorite Sheldon books.
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Summary: Ruthless People
Review: Leslie Stewart is a ruthless barracuda. A vengeful woman with a gifted intellect, Leslie wrecks havoc on her former lover, Oliver Russell after he wisely jilts her at the altar. Leslie, a stewpot of volatile emotions never recovers from her father walking out on her mother when she was 9 and replacing her with a second family. She parallels her relationship with Oliver to her father and when Oliver's father-in-law helps him secure the presidency, all havoc breaks loose. Leslie, a former advertising secretary/exec, leaves her job for greener pastures. She marries a wealthy newspaper magnate who dies some two years after their marriage. He leaves everything to her and she then creates a news empire. She buys newspapers, TV and radio stations and uses her command of the media to undermine Oliver. One funny part of this book was when Leslie has her first meeting with her late husband's news staff about preventing a strike. Her big mouthed secretary Amy leaks the story to the print foreman, who calls a strike. Without spoiling the plot, Leslie has the last laugh on the foreman, his men and rightfully fires the despicable, big mouthed Amy. I was glad because I didn't like Amy and felt she deserved to be sacked. Dana, the goody-two-shoes reporter is Leslie's foil. She starts her career by trickery, gaining access to news stories. Dana then climbs the corporate news ladder until she lands her plum assignment, Bosnia. Once there, she goes on a Dorothea Dix campaign, befriending and feeding the orphans she meets. Dana subsequently adopts a boy with one arm named Kemal. She's a little saccharine for my taste. Leslie stays true to form and Dana comes off smelling like a rose, which came as no surprise. Oliver did better than settling for Loathsome Leslie.
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Summary: Still Master Of The Game
Review: After the somewhat lackluster Morning, Noon and Night, mega best-selling author Sidney Sheldon returns in top form with The Best Laid Plans. And proves that he is still Master of the Game of escapist fiction. The plot -- and it's all about plot in a Sheldon novel -- centers on two charismatic characters: Leslie Stewart and Oliver Russell. At the start of the story, young and beautiful advertising executive Leslie Stewart meets the man of her dreams, the handsome and seemingly earnest Oliver Russell, an attorney running for governor of the state of Kentucky. They quickly fall madly in love. On the very eve of their wedding, however, Oliver discards Leslie with little second thought in favor of his former girlfriend, Jan Davis, daughter of the powerful and crafty Senator Todd Davis. Without Senator Davis's support, Oliver will never fulfill his dream of being president. For his spineless decision, he earns the deserved enmity of Leslie. "He seemed very happy," she writes in her diary after Oliver marries Jan -- in the same church he would've married Leslie in, no less. "I'm pleased. Because before I'm finished with him, I'm going to make him wish he had never been born." And we're off an running as Sheldon spins a tale of a woman's quest for revenge entwined with a man's quest for the White House that takes us into the cutthroat worlds of newspaper publishing and politics. Oh, and along the way, we're treated to a murder mystery that may, or may not, involve Oliver Russell. All of this is told with the fast pacing, deft dialogue, and limited exposition (we find out what we need to know about the characters - no more, no less) that are the hallmarks of Sheldon's cinematic style. This reader couldn't turn the last one-hundred pages or so fast enough as the plot unraveled at a furious pace complete with unexpected twists that were as surprising as they were involving. The Best Laid Plans is one of Sheldon's better books and I recommend it as highly as I do his Bloodline and Rage of Angels.
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Summary: Exciting story... weak characters...
Review: So how does an ad exec come up with the idea for owning a communications empire to bring down an ex-lover who left her at the alter - who - just so happens - becomes the President of he United States? Does she marry the newspaper owner - just for his $$ and his paper? or does she actually love him? Is she so blind in getting revenge at the end that she violates her one golden rule and makes a gigantic fool of herself? The ending was a shocker - a totally unexpected twist.. but then not really. I would have like to have seen the characters developed a little more and the gut reactions written a little more clearly - lots of plots and twists to keep track of - and what WAS the purpose of all star foreign correspondent turn Washington beat reporter - but then you hardly ever hear from here again.. except towards the end - a lot of writing for a little bit of gain... I've read Sidney Sheldon books before and will again... and have found all of his books easy to read - they kind of flow - I read this one in less than a day... just a light read for when you have nothing better to do... put it at the bottom of your stack of books by your bed... eventaully you'll get to it.
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