Sheldon is a perfect crime fiction writer, as he explores the grey areas in the lives of his fictional billionaires, empire builders and their families. Henry Stafford, a billionaire, hated by his sons and daughter for his cruelty, vindictive sadism and coldness, dies in a yacht accident leaving behind billions for his children. What seems like a repeat of The Testament by Grisham, starts unravelling in the most interesting way, as one puzzle after another gets solved. It comes as a shock when one finds unpleasant and hardhitting truths about the family one after another. Human foibles and weaknesses are revealed with no regard for the sensitivity of the reader. Each truth is a punch, a sharp undercut that knocks you out for a while. The moment one is up, another lands to hit you again.
The story is like a ball of strings all wound around, with little bits of them sticking out to help you unravel the ball. Each little bit is unwound and then tidily put away. Sheldon does this so well, that in a masterly way, he helps us see human greed, lust and bitterness in all their bare ugliness.
It does not tax the senses like more serious didactic books do; however, if one were simple minded, not too serious, and looking for a relaxing read to unwind from the day's hardwork, then this is one for you.
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