WINDMILLS OF THE GODS

by Sidney Sheldon ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 10, 1986

Global conspiracy of the Ludlum kind proves the unlikely source of evil in Sheldon's newest morality play. But while his soapy depiction of realpolitik wig make thriller aficionados weep, fans who have patiently endured his increasingly contrived tribulations inflicted on increasingly fairy-taleish damsels in Bloodline, Rage of Angels, If Tomorrow Comes, etc., will celebrate in this most episodic of Sheldon novels his most engaging and realistic heroine in years. The lady in question is Mary Ashley, a scholarly slice of Midwestern Wonder Bread whose dissertation on East-West relations prompts her appointment as Ambassador to Roumania, the last move by the newly elected President in a ""People-to-People"" program designed to thaw the Cold War. Mary's initial reluctance to serve, powered by her husband's ties to their small-town Kansas home, disappears when a truck rumbles over hubby during a snowstorm. Little does Mary know that the ""accident"" was but the first countermove by an international cabal composed of (in a flight of fancy even Ludlum wouldn't succumb to) leading hawkish Reds and capitalists working in tandem to preserve the old balance of power. With the Élan of kids at play, the cabal members adopt the names of Norse gods for the clandestine meetings in which they plot first to make Mary a media star and then to assassinate her, nipping the President's program in the bud. Mary moves with her kids to D.C., where in several well-turned comic episodes (unusual for Sheldon) she proceeds to break rule after rule of diplomatic protocol, charming the city--and the reader--with her naivetÉ. Finally she makes it to Roumania, and there she reveals the right stuff to deal with a series of minor crises involving that nation's despot. In a suspenseful ending that has one walloping twist, Mary does little to save herself--again, surprising for Sheldon--but is rescued from a fiery death by a lean and sexy CIA man: a hint of romance to come. Even though Sheldon's plot is preposterous, and less lurid than usual, his shorthand style of single-sentence paragraphs that shift kaleidoscopically from one scene to another provides super-quick reading: this streamlined narration, coupled with a captivating heroine and the wicked barbs tossed at D.C. social life, deliver the fluffy, undemanding goods that his fans expect. Another sure-fire best-seller.

Pub Date: Feb. 10, 1986

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Morrow

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1986

Categories: FICTION