“Business is a game, played for fantastic stakes, and you're in competition with experts. If you want to win, you have to learn to be a master of the game.” 

 

This historical family saga follows Jamie Mcgregor and his descendants over a hundred years. It starts with Jamie Mcgregor, who leaves Scotland for South Africa in search of gold. His daughter Kate Blackwell moves to New York City and works to make the company an international conglomerate. The story ends with her first great grandson born. 

 

The cast of characters is huge. Sheldon certainly knows how to write complex characters like Jamie Mcgregor and Kate Blackwell. At times, you are rooting for them, and at other times, you wonder why they are so mean. They are both masters of their lives and their games. There are also some characters that are pure evil. There are lots of little twits along the way that held my interest. 

 

This novel was first published in 1982, and is a reminder of the popular nighttime soaps like Dallas or Dynasty. I’m pretty sure I read this novel when it was first published. When I saw it available on Hoopla, I decided to listen to the audiobook. It was produced in 2007 and narrated by Shannon Engemann. It was okay at best; I think standards have since gone up with the rise in popularity of audiobooks. 

 

A real page-turner, and a reminder of the popular nighttime soap in the 1980s like Dallas or Dynasty.