Skip to main content

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Review

Are You Afraid of the Dark?



There was a time when Sidney Sheldon ruled the roost of
contemporary fiction. Books such as BLOODLINE, THE OTHER SIDE OF
MIDNIGHT, RAGE OF ANGELS and MASTER OF THE GAME were all over the
place, with sales figures that resulted in self-perpetuating
multiple paperback reprintings. Sheldon's recent work hasn't
garnered quite the attention that he formerly had, which is
unfortunate. As demonstrated by his latest novel, ARE YOU AFRAID OF
THE DARK?, the man continues to have the touch.


Sheldon's strength does not lie in his literary craftsmanship ---
he'll never be mistaken for Cormac McCarthy --- but in his ability
to produce interesting characters that the reader begins to care
about from the first introduction, and interweaving those
characters into a fast-moving plot. This is especially true of ARE
YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK? Don't be surprised to pick up this book one
evening and find yourself still reading several hours later,
thoroughly engrossed in the goings-on and unable to put it
down.


Sheldon wastes no time getting to the heart of the matter in ARE
YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK?, which starts off with four murders in four
different cities: Berlin, Paris, Denver and Manhattan. The victims
have one thing in common --- they all have ties to Kingsley
International Group (KIG), a major think tank heavily involved in
military research and environmental issues. Artist Diane Stevens
and fashion model Kelly Harris, the wives of two of the victims,
find themselves reluctantly thrown together by happenstance. A bond
slowly but irrevocably begins to form between the two women when it
becomes evident that their lives are in danger as well, apparently
from the same source responsible for the deaths of their
husbands.


Stevens and Harris are way out of their league; nothing in their
respective backgrounds has prepared them for anything like this.
They accordingly must rely on each other as they are pursued by a
seemingly invisible but extremely powerful adversary. The key to
everything is the mysterious Prima, which may be a person or a
thing, but is a secret worth killing for. When it is revealed that
the four recent deaths are tied to a series of supposedly
accidental deaths stretching back over years and across distances
--- and that are also connected to KIG --- it is merely a precursor
to a trail that leads to a danger extending far beyond the lives of
Stevens and Harris.


ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK? continues Sheldon's unbroken string of
the globe-spanning suspense novels that have been his forte since
he began his illustrious career. It merely remains for a new
generation of readers to discover his work. ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE
DARK? would be an excellent place to start.


   










Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub on December 22, 2010

Are You Afraid of the Dark?
by Sidney Sheldon

  • Publication Date: June 1, 2005
  • Genres: Fiction, Suspense
  • Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
  • Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
  • ISBN-10: 0446613657
  • ISBN-13: 9780446613651