The author Sidney Sheldon was a man of many talents: a screenwriter and creator of several television shows as well as an accomplished novelist and playwright, his death left a hole amongst his followers. Therefore, I was quite intrigued to find a book, Mistress of the Game published following his death. Thinking perhaps it had been a work in progress, I read it and found that the Sheldon family had entrusted the development and writing of this book to another author, Tilly Bagshawe. (However, I really wonder if that is her name and not a nom de plume.).


But Ms. Bagshawe was more than capable as she seems to be quite talented and able to recreate Sheldon’s style of writing as well as his characters.


Sheldon’s style of writing is not unlike that of a playwright; he carefully sets a scene and then plays it through in conversation, which really makes a book extremely easy to read. His characters, both major and minor, are women and all exhibit very strong tendencies — sometimes almost appearing as using a “steamrolling” technique. But the strength and depth of his characters make for enjoyable reading.


Now that Ms. Bagshawe seems to have succeeded in following Sheldon’s lead, I wonder how many more books she will write under his name.


Sorting through a box of donated books, I found a totally delightful one, Julie and Romeo as written by Jeanne Ray. This is a first one for Ms. Ray and after finishing it, I certainly hope she continues writing.


Set in a suburb of Boston, the story involves two florists involved in a generational fight; Julie is the daughter of the Rosemans and Romeo, the son of the Cacciamani family, and each family hates each other from the grandparents on down. Life becomes quite complicated for Julie and Romeo, who reunite after many years in their 60’s and become deeply involved. The characters are so believable that you can actually see them, but Romeo’s grandmother is totally irrepressible. Yes, a takeoff, somewhat, from Shakespeare, but with quite a few twists. I heartily recommend it if you are looking for something with no pressure but sheer enjoyment.


Bad News for the Library: The County has cut our budget by 50%, which means a definite decrease in the amount of books and magazines we can order each month. There is no money for the children’s section, nor are there funds for DVDs. And so, we must depend upon donations from our patrons. And we thank you in advance, as we want to keep our Library as current as possible.


“When an old person dies, a Library burns down”


Karin Gillespie