by Cindy Shanks

Created on: September 11, 2009

Breathtakingly fast, Sidney Sheldon has the ability to breathe life into characters and keep you guessing from start to finish. In true Sheldon style, once you begin the first page you are hooked until the end. It is a classic tale of a strong woman fighting against the odds who uses her inner strength to conquer the adversities she faces. The woman in this case is Tracy Whitney.

Tracy is intelligent, beautiful and about to marry the man she adores, Charles Stanhope III until her life is turned upside down. Her mother commits suicide and in seeking for revenge Tracy finds herself framed by the mafia and ends up in prison for a crime she hasn't committed. Desperately she waits for her fiance to help her but soon realizes that he can't allow Tracy to bring shame on his prestigiousfamily. Rejected by him, the heroine has to survive without him.

The harshness of the prison makes her a stronger person as she desperately seeks a way to escape. Filled with anger Tracy longs to avenge the people responsible for hurting her and her mother. Sheldon describes the brutality of prison life in detail that allows empathy with the heroine. As you read the pages you battle with her hoping she will find a way out. This first part of the book gives you a sense of who the heroine is, a naive hardworking woman who is looking forward to marriage. The circumstances such as the suicide, false imprisonment and a relationship break up show why she turns into who she is in the second part of the novel - a con woman seeking revenge. a person who no longer trusts anyone.

Tracy does eventually leave prison after working as a nanny for a prison warden. Being released into the outside world has its problems at well. In a sense this is also where the second part of Tracy's story begins. It is then that she needs to become involved in daring schemes in order to survive. She meets Jeff Stevens a con man.

As the story unfolds Tracy and Jeff try and outwit each other. The scams they attempt keep you reading on as you wonder how they will wriggle out of each situation and avoid capture. The FBI and authorities all over the world try to discover where Tracy and Jeff are and what they will achieve next, but the couple always seem to be one step ahead of the authorities. One man Daniel Cooper becomes obsessed with finding them and pursues them with dogged determination. If you like thrillers you will love this book.

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