Nothing lasts forever

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

In the frenetic world of a big hospital, events catapult three women doctors into a white-hot spotlight. Dr Paige Taylor

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Sheldon's latest begins with the trial of a San Francisco doctor, Paige Taylor, who in 1995 is accused of killing a patient to gain access to a large inheritance. The narrative then backs up to 1990 and chronicles the journeys of Taylor, Honey Taft, and Kat Hunter, the only three females in a group of new residents at Embarcadero County Hospital. The women, who quickly become roommates and friends, face long hours, a frenetic work pace, and unwanted advances from male colleagues. Kat becomes involved in unsavory underworld activities. Honey's questionable medical skills are overlooked by the male administrators, who value her other services. Paige tries to forget a lost love. This readable and entertaining story ends with a dramatic, if unbelievable, flourish. Recommended for public libraries, where the demand will surely be high. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 5/15/94.]-Heather Blenkinsopp, Mercy Coll. Lib., Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

Aficionados of cliches and stereotypes will derive extraordinary pleasure from practically every page of this formulaic potboiler from the bestselling Sheldon. As the novel opens, Dr. Paige Taylor is on trial for the mercy killing of a patient (Did she off the guy for his fortune?); the action then flashes back five years, when Paige and two other female doctors meet as first-year residents at a San Francisco hospital. Paige is the dedicated one, Kate Hunter (``Kat'') an African American whose mother inspired her to lofty ambitions (``You can be anything you want to be. It's up to you'') and Betty Lou Taft (``Honey''), the plain Southern belle whose diligent application of techniques gleaned from the Kama Sutra has assured her a professional niche. The trials and tribulations of both patients and medicos include suspenseful operations, natural deaths, murder and suicide (``All this time he was calling out for help and I didn't hear him.''). Even Sheldon's typically careful research seems forced and out-of-place: tidbits about African tribal lore and medical terms and procedures only interrupt the bathos. Nonetheless--contrary to the book's title--Sheldon's popularity will no doubt remain undiminished. Literary Guild main selection. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Kirkus Book Review

From mega-author Sheldon (The Stars Shine Down, 1992, etc.) comes a quasi-medical romance set in a large San Francisco county hospital. The novel begins with a murder trial: Paige Taylor, a young physician, is accused of killing a terminally ill patient who left her a million dollars in his will. The situation looks bad for Paige when witness after witness testifies that the patient hated her, and an eminent surgeon calls her incompetent. Then the action flashes back five years. Paige, Kat Hunter, and Honey Taft, the only women in the new crop of residents at Embarcadero County Hospital, meet at the hospital briefing session and decide to share an apartment as they embark upon their medical careers. Sheldon has done his homework and provides plenty of detail about the rigors of interns' lives: gruelling hours, sleep deprivation, petty professional backbiting, incompetent doctors, sexual harassment. But the characters are straight from central casting and about as deep as an April mud puddle in the noonday sun of July. Paige, the soi-disant heroine, is dumped by a childhood sweetheart; she has to heal enough to accept the suit of Jason Curtis, a young architect who falls madly in love with her at first sight. Kat, a beautiful, intelligent black woman, has sworn off men ever since she became pregnant with the child of her abusive stepfather, but she has her head turned by a handsome, slick new resident who tries to get her into bed on a $10,000 bet. Honey, the dull, plain sister in a family of brilliant overachievers, compensates for her shortcomings by studying the Kama Sutra and perfecting her sexual techniques. A thin thread connects these three, who are not especially interesting in and of themselves, nor when thrown together by heavy-handed plot manipulations. For diehard Sheldon fans, this will probably do the trick. But it won't win any new converts. (Literary Guild main selection; author tour)