Nothing Lasts Forever. Sidney Sheldon. India. Harper Collins. 1994.

Hospital stories are always fascinating to someone who had once dreamt of becoming a cardiologist. To see that dream through the eyes of a writer is akin to reliving that dream.

Sheldon writes of three beautiful women doctors trying to find their feet and working hard to be acknowledged for their work. I see in this book, not a mystery, not a crime, not a world of vendetta and mafia. I see in this book, an effort to peep into the psyche of women and to see how it works for them in a hospital as a woman doctor.

Sheldon shows that it is not always an easy task for a woman to break into a male domain. Difficulties in being accepted as an expert, in being appreciated for the quality of work, in making men see the intrinsic value of the professional skills are seen in the life of Dr Paige Taylor.  Even more difficult is the case of Dr Kat, a black woman, who sees in life, nothing but betrayal, abuse  and bitterness. Dr Honey Taft uses her feminine guile and charm to establish herself as a doctor and to compensate her lack of medical skills. 

Interwoven into this, is a crime and an ensuing trial. That makes it all the more interesting. A little heavy in treatment, especially the strand  that Sheldon weaves to show the plight of women doctors, the story is nevertheless, good reading , though not brilliant.