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14th out of 22 books
—
180 voters
The Best Laid Plans
He wanted power. Oliver Russell is fated to rise to the pinnacle of power, President of the United States. She wanted revenge. Leslie Stewart is his betrayed fiancee. Amassing her own media empire, on her fortieth birthday, she looks back. What went wrong?
Paperback, 372 pages
Published
1998
by Time Warner
(first published September 3rd 1997)
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It is truly a Sidney Sheldon book because of the clever plot twists (or shall I say, twist), but it confuses the reader because of the characters. The main character, supposedly, is Leslie Stewart but in the middle part of the book, Dana Evans (also in The Sky Is Falling) takes the spotlight, which is unacceptable.
P.S. I love Sidney Sheldon for including a Filipino phrase and gesture in the book. :)
P.S. I love Sidney Sheldon for including a Filipino phrase and gesture in the book. :)
This would be the third Sidney Sheldon book I have read and I am loving it! Sidney Sheldon's writing style, to me, is very similar to that of Jeffrey Archer's. In what way, you ask? The sense of thrill that they instill in the reader. They way they capture the audience so much so that keeping the book down (in this case the tab containing the e-book) is very very difficult. Some people say other books of Sheldon's are his best works, I personally don't care. He surely has won my heart over!
Olive...more
Olive...more
Jan 04, 2012
Agnes Shin
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
sidney-sheldon,
suspense
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Leslie Stewart merencanakan balas dendam kepada Oliver yag mengkhianati cintanya untuk kedudukan sebagai orang no.1 di dunia. leslie menikah dengan Henry Chambers yang tak lama kemudian meninggal dan semua warisannya jatuh pada Leslie. Leslie menggunakan kekuatan pers untuk menjatuhkan lawannya.
Tragedi skandal dan pembunuhan karena ectasy cair semua buktinya merujuk pada Presiden Olliver. Leslie berusaha sekuat tenaga untuk membuktikan bahwa Oliver bersalah, namun ternya ialah yang salah.
Dana Ev...more
Tragedi skandal dan pembunuhan karena ectasy cair semua buktinya merujuk pada Presiden Olliver. Leslie berusaha sekuat tenaga untuk membuktikan bahwa Oliver bersalah, namun ternya ialah yang salah.
Dana Ev...more
I'm a Sheldon fan. His books usually make quick reading and are entertaining. He is not one for deep, haunting tales but it snags me everytime the way he can spin almost any story and make me stay up reading it. However, for this one, he seems to have lost quite a bit of his spinning abilities.
There was the usual twist where things don't end up how you would expect. I was mildly surprised with this one but the problem was, it wasn't an "Ah! I've figured it out" moment. I was more like, "are you...more
There was the usual twist where things don't end up how you would expect. I was mildly surprised with this one but the problem was, it wasn't an "Ah! I've figured it out" moment. I was more like, "are you...more
2 likes · like · see review
I’m still having Sidney Sheldon marathon, folks and this is the third book I have read in the past three days. Yep, you got that right, I read one book a day, nothing difficult with this one as Mr. Sheldon’s works are quite “light and entertaining”.
How can I start with “The Best Laid plans”? Before I picked it up this morning, I only remember that I have read it once and I thought it was awesome, but that was me – 15 years ago perhaps and I’m sure that I have changed a lot since then, including...more
How can I start with “The Best Laid plans”? Before I picked it up this morning, I only remember that I have read it once and I thought it was awesome, but that was me – 15 years ago perhaps and I’m sure that I have changed a lot since then, including...more
Nov 19, 2012
Ebthal Eisa
added it
as it usually is with Sheldon, I finished the book in one day!! mind blowing as usual...Oliver Russell kind of reminds me of Obama; charming, well-meaning and absolutely useless!
the part about the Arab king and the peace treaty is my least favorite of course...I found it stupid which is a shame cuz Sheldon doesn't do stupid.
I cried when Kamel cried in the van. which by the way reminds me of how infuriating the whole it's-nobody's-yet-everybody's-fault explanation Sheldon appointed to both mentio...more
the part about the Arab king and the peace treaty is my least favorite of course...I found it stupid which is a shame cuz Sheldon doesn't do stupid.
I cried when Kamel cried in the van. which by the way reminds me of how infuriating the whole it's-nobody's-yet-everybody's-fault explanation Sheldon appointed to both mentio...more
Leslie and Stewart, had it good. she was on the top of her game, young, beautiful, intelligent and the number one in public relations field. He was handsome, charismatic and have a lot of potential. They were in love, engaged to be married in a few days until Oliver got a call from his former girlfriend, Senator father.
Todd, promised him money and power but he has to marry his daughter. Oliver was sure he would not do it but the Senator's word echoed in his mind and left Leslie to be humiliated....more
Todd, promised him money and power but he has to marry his daughter. Oliver was sure he would not do it but the Senator's word echoed in his mind and left Leslie to be humiliated....more
Sep 05, 2011
sinta nisfuanna
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
misteri-detektif-thriller,
pindah-tangan
Lumayan lama saya berniat ingin membaca karya Sidney Sheldon, bahkan sudah membeli beberapa bukunya. Tapi ternyata baru sekarang saya sempat menekuni salah satu bukunya yang berjudul Rencana Paling Sempurna [Terjemahan dari The Best Laid Plans]. Ceritanya tentang Leslie Steward yang terobsesi menjatuhkan presiden, Oliver Russell, karena sakit hati telah dicampakkan demi kekuasaan. Dengan cemerlang Leslie memilih dunia pers untuk menghancurkan sang presiden. Media koran dan televisi di berbagai w...more
2 likes · like · see review
Author is Sidney Sheldon corporation, suggests owners of a name hire ghostwriters to capitalize on previous successes by the original name. Formula seems to be power-hungry characters of importance, fame and physical beauty threatened by affairs and murder, international research, with a surprise twist or two. Lead female cleverly outwits men to success. Action avalanches so fast, I forgot previous reading and whodunit. Others use the same title, Terry Fallis for an honest Ottawa candidate, and...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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I didn't really liked this book like how I used to love Sheldon's other books. I've got a lot of issues with this, and here they are.
Too many plotholes. The murders weren't much explained. Or maybe I just wasn't paying much attention. There were times when a certain thing happens and then I'd have this intuition on what's gonna happen and the event was actually nothing as my guess. Witty. But it wasn't really explained why, for example, that he was the culprit.
Then there's my issue with Dana E...more
Too many plotholes. The murders weren't much explained. Or maybe I just wasn't paying much attention. There were times when a certain thing happens and then I'd have this intuition on what's gonna happen and the event was actually nothing as my guess. Witty. But it wasn't really explained why, for example, that he was the culprit.
Then there's my issue with Dana E...more
Borrowed the book from the state library..Which I just found out homed to hundreds of fiction *squealed*..Pathetic, I know..
Anyway, I hate the ending. Not because that we finally found the real murderer, but I hate how the author deviated me too much from the truth that I somehow thought it was a bit nonsense albeit the connections..But I guess that was just how the author works in his book, like the one I`ve previously read in Bloodline.
Except for Dana and Matt Bakers, most of the characters we...more
Anyway, I hate the ending. Not because that we finally found the real murderer, but I hate how the author deviated me too much from the truth that I somehow thought it was a bit nonsense albeit the connections..But I guess that was just how the author works in his book, like the one I`ve previously read in Bloodline.
Except for Dana and Matt Bakers, most of the characters we...more
If you have read Sheldon's books before, this book might disappoint you a bit. Its not that the read is not interesting or there are no twists in the tale. You got them in the book as you always do in a book of his. But as most reviewers here, I don't like how the story of the characters end at the end. When you start to read a book, if there is a character that you read from the beginning to almost the middle of the story, he or she obviously become the center of the story in your perspective....more
A burned out political assistant in Ottawa attempts to return to his university professorship in English on the tenure track. He promises to fulfil one last task before he leaves on the eve of the upcoming Canadian Federal election: getting a candidate and managing his/her campaign for a riding firmly in the grip of the other party. It is his hilarious undoing. The good conservative folk of Cumberland (east of Ottawa) are confronted with an absent candidate in an Engineering Prof who is nominate...more
I don't know where to stash this book because I didn't like it. Not only was this dealing with politics, it was politics that I didn't understand and didn't care about. Honestly, who in the real life goes about business and politics as the protagonists of the book? Seriously, give me a break. I believe a book has to be grounded on some foundation of reality, and maybe this is, but it seems to be floating in a cloud of utopia. The characters were all powerful and perfect. The spotlight shifted fr...more
Love, jealeousy, crime and revenge in world of US politics and press market. Characters of The Best Laid Plans are of flesh and blood - they love, betray, get married cause of reason to make a carrier, kill to hide their secret passions. Sheldon's book is similiar to Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer. Those books aren't so FBI or CIA as Tom Clancy's stuff. Good for reading while travelling by a train, a tram or a bus.
Another delicious revenge/love/backstabbing story. Leslie's character's ending is so appropriate and I was surprised to find out who was responsible for Chloe's death.
May 02, 2012
Graceann
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Fans of purely fun fiction
Shelves:
trashy-fiction
Let me make myself clear. I don't give Sidney Sheldon five stars for the quality of his writing. I'm fully aware that it is clunky, full of preposterous situations, and silly in the extreme. For pure, uncomplicated enjoyability however, he is my go-to guy.
The story in Best Laid Plans is fairly straightforward. Woman falls in love with up-and-coming politician. Politician jilts her. Does she cry a bit, eat some ice cream and get on with her life? Don't be silly. She does what any of us would do....more
The story in Best Laid Plans is fairly straightforward. Woman falls in love with up-and-coming politician. Politician jilts her. Does she cry a bit, eat some ice cream and get on with her life? Don't be silly. She does what any of us would do....more
(FROM THE JACKET) "The Best Laid Plans" tells the explosive story of the beautiful and ambitious Leslie Stewart, who learns that for some men power is the greatest aphrodisiac; and of Oliver Russell, the handsome governor of a small southern state, who finds out why hell has no fury like a woman scorned.
With the unexpected twists and turns that are the hallmarks of his mega bestselling novels, Sidney Sheldon spins a tale of two equally determined people headed on a collision course. Oliver has a...more
With the unexpected twists and turns that are the hallmarks of his mega bestselling novels, Sidney Sheldon spins a tale of two equally determined people headed on a collision course. Oliver has a...more
Leslie Stewart, the ambitious lady betrayed by her love finds a way to squeeze the traitor Oliver Russell. He makes himself comfortable in the chair of the president of the United States as a puppet of Senator Davis Todd his father-in-law. Oliver's passion for sex turns out to be an enemy for himself. The murders, the intellectual ways of covering it up discloses the innovation of the author. The distinguished, lustful, greedy for power characters abridged in this book gives a different landscap...more
The idea was there, and therefore I gave it two stars instead of one, but the execution wasn't. It's been a while since my last Sidney Sheldon book, and if this is like the others, I understand why. There really was a good story to be told, but the character development was inconsistent and haphazard. The female protagonist was essentially forgotten (or at best, sadly neglected) throughout most of the second half of the novel. There were too many cases where we were given vital information almos...more
I have always liked any and all Sidney Sheldon works. Mr. Sheldon is a master of characterization. All his characters stay with you for a long period of time after you've completed reading the book. This one is no exception. The revenge story of ambitious Leslie Stewart; Oliver Russell's journey through the path of US politics; Senator Todd Davis's King making plans; characters of Peter Tager, Editor Matt.......... all are fascinating. But, Dana is the best. she is ambitious, smart, daring, poss...more
Double or-no-make-that-triple thumbs up! Another girl power! Leslie Stewart is adorable and admirable in this book. Although I found her a bit bitchy gradually on the sequel (or prequel, forgive my uncertainty on this) of this book. She just wanted revenge but what she got in the end didn't suffice and didn't made justice to what she had painstakingly planned and done just to get her revenge. And then she just suddenly disappeared. But otherwise, I still recommend this book. ;)
PS. The sequel/pre...more
PS. The sequel/pre...more
I forgot what a guilty pleasure Sheldon's books are. I'm not sure I hed read him since college. I found the book at my sister's house and needed a book that would suck me in. This one did. As usual, some of plot was not very realistic (the secret peace plan with the Middle East solved in mere days), but the book did sweep me away with imagination. Even better was that I, while I knew the answer wasn't the obvious, I did not solve the mystery until the final chapters. It was a good read that took...more
I found the book lying around my deceased grandmother's things and read it. It was a nice drama with alot of unexpected twists and turns. Politically driven old man finds a charismatic young man who is dating his high-society daughter and thinks he has political potential and drives him all the way to the white house but there is a problem, another woman who he'd been planning to marry before getting back together with the estranged high-society daughter of politics who is seeking revenge and do...more
I liked this book, even though i think it was not one of Sheldon's best.
It is clever and exciting, with Sheldon's famous twists, however (as mentioned by others)- talking extensively about Dana Evans and her Sarajevo experiences were somewhat pointless to the plot development (he did write "The sky is falling" with her as the main character, so he could have put all this information there, too). Also, even though Sheldon was famos for his well done research in all other books, it does not seem...more
It is clever and exciting, with Sheldon's famous twists, however (as mentioned by others)- talking extensively about Dana Evans and her Sarajevo experiences were somewhat pointless to the plot development (he did write "The sky is falling" with her as the main character, so he could have put all this information there, too). Also, even though Sheldon was famos for his well done research in all other books, it does not seem...more
Adanya kuasa, kita boleh memerintah dunia. Itulah yang diimpikan oleh Oliver Russel, dia menyimpan cita-cita untuk menjadi gabenor dan seterusnya menjadi Presiden Amerika Syarikat. Demi merealisasikan impiannya, Oliver sanggup meninggalkan tunangnya, Leslie Stewart dan berkahwin dengan bekas kekasihnya iaitu anak kepada Senator Todd Davis.
Kekecewaan telah menjadikan Leslie mara kehadapan dengan mempelopori empayar media cetak dan juga stesen tv ternama terutamanya selepas kematian suaminya, Henr...more
Kekecewaan telah menjadikan Leslie mara kehadapan dengan mempelopori empayar media cetak dan juga stesen tv ternama terutamanya selepas kematian suaminya, Henr...more
Mar 17, 2008
Zulfa Sulim
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommended to Zulfa by:
Pilihan sendiri atas pinjaman Mbak Eka IAI
Buku ini aku baca saat jadi guide nya mbak Yuli saat rapat PSAK Zakat di IAI. Meskipun gak terlibat di meeting orang insan zakat itu, tapi malam itu aku berada di ruang mbak Eka.
banyak buku bertebaran, aku dipersilakan untuk memilih. buku ini aku ambil, karena sinopsisnya menarik.
Seorang wanita yang mempunyai ambisi luar biasa dalam hal karir, tapi sayangnya ambisi ini hanya untuk meruntuhkan mantan kekasihnya, yang meninggalkan dia karena telah berjanji kepada mantan deputi Amerika akan menikah...more
banyak buku bertebaran, aku dipersilakan untuk memilih. buku ini aku ambil, karena sinopsisnya menarik.
Seorang wanita yang mempunyai ambisi luar biasa dalam hal karir, tapi sayangnya ambisi ini hanya untuk meruntuhkan mantan kekasihnya, yang meninggalkan dia karena telah berjanji kepada mantan deputi Amerika akan menikah...more
Read it in a handful visits to the toilet at my parents' house. This is the first book by Sheldon I've completed... and probably the last. The writing technique is basic and unskilled. The characters are flat and uninteresting. An example: the omniscient narrator tells us the main character, Leslie Stewart, is very intelligent. He repeats it about three times over the first pages instead of showing it via the character's actions of AT LEAST making other characters say it. The ending is very pred...more
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Was an American writer who won awards in three careers—a Broadway playwright, a Hollywood TV and movie screenwriter, and a best-selling novelist. His TV works spanned a 20-year period during which he created I Dream of Jeannie (1965-70), Hart to Hart (1979-84), and The Patty Duke Show (1963-66), but it was not until after he turned 50 and began writing best-selling novels such as Master of the Gam...more
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