Saturday 19 December 2015

Recklesss - Tilly Bagshawe

photo courtesy:Harper Collins
A good attempt at reviving a well loved heroine.

I was a major fan of Sidney Sheldon in my teens. I would devour all his books, some again and again. If Tomorrow Comes was one of those. I loved the way Tracy would outwit and dupe people. Fifteen is an impressionable age when underdogs especially women serve as great role models.

I suppose that is where his talent lay. His protagnists were ordinary people who were victims of sinister plots and their struggles and successes was something we all enjoyed to read.

Sometime back, I read that Bagshawe was resurrecting all his characters and taking their stories further. Tracy Whitney being a my teen favourite heroine, I was eager to see what she had done with it.

The result; a Sidney Sheldon style story packed with action and adventure.

Gist:
Tracy has given up being an international con artist and is living a quiet life in a small town with her son. She has bid goodbye to her past and Stevens as well. However, not for long. She is brought back into the game through an unforeseen set of events when her personal life comes under attack.

What works:
  • The plot mirrors Sidney Sheldon so much. The book refers to If Tomorrow Comes and it is evident that Bagshawe has gone through that book with a fine toothed comb to slip it back into the  pages of the new book.
  • I picked it up for Sheldon's racy plot and narrative. I was not disappointed. Sheldon's style has been replicated here very well. The twists in the plots and characters are pretty similar to his older ones.
  • Like Sheldon's plots, this one races through countries, sweeping along people, connecting random events in a very interesting manner. 

What doesn't:
  • Although this book could well have been written Sheldon himself. It is too much like a copy and lacks the author's original talent. I did not see Bagshawe anywhere. 
  • I reckon that is the trouble with working with an original well known piece of work. You end up imitating rather than showcasing your own talent.

The book is great. However, it lacks originality and the style of the writer.

Read it if you are a Sheldon fan.

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