The Dilemma

August 27, 2007
The prologue to this robust, complex family drama—first published in the U.K. in 1996 by the bestselling author of Sheer Abandon
—finds wealthy, charismatic entrepreneur Isambard Channing forced to ask his much younger third wife, Francesca, to say he wasn't in London “that day.” If she won't, it's likely that Bard will be ruined and imprisoned. The story then jumps backwards to 1982, when Francesca, at 21, writes to magnate Isambard after he appears on TV. After a five-year extended courtship, she becomes his third wife. The marriage is soon tested by Bard's rages, his vindictive adult son, his reticence on business matters and the couple's sick infant daughter. At page 385, the book arrives at the prologue scene: Bard's business practices catch up with him, putting him, for the first time, in Francesca's power—and deliciously so. Fans of Sheer Abandon
, prepared to read at Vincenzi's demanding scale, will find all of her plotting and characterization skills serving a familiar but very satisfying story.

October 1, 2007
Francesca had a successful career and a satisfactory marriage, but she gave it all up to become the third Mrs. Isambard Channing. Now she finds life as the trophy wife of a highly successful property magnate fraught with family turmoil created by the adult children of her husband's first two marriages. When Francesca and Bard's second child falls ill and the business empire Bard has built starts to falter, his uncommunicative and condescending nature begins to strain their relationship severely. Francesca's vulnerable and trusting nature makes her the prime candidate for use by Bard's eldest son as a means of exacting revenge upon his father. Then, when he is under direct fire from government authorities for fraud, Bard asks Francesca to provide a false alibi, leaving her on an emotional precipice. Fans of contemporary family sagas rich with drama and intrigue will thoroughly enjoy Vincenzi's ("Sheer Abandon") fiction debut, first published in Britain and now brought to the American reading public through a concerted effort by Overlook Press to republish Vincenzi's entire backlist of eight novels. Recommended for popular fiction collections.Joy St. John, Henderson District P.L., NV

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2007
One of Britains most dynamic real-estate moguls, Bard Channing is so arrogant, ruthless, and egotistical, he makes Donald Trump look like Mr. Rogers. Verbally abusive and dismissive of everyone around him, Channing saves his special brand of venom for those closest to himhis third wife, Francesca, and his grown children. Maligning the people who need you the most is never a wise thing to do, but in Channings case, such alienation has disastrous consequences. When an official investigation into the corporations finances threatens, at the very least, to bankrupt Channing, Bard begsFrancescato lie for him. Whether she will or not is only one of the dilemmas at the heart of Vincenzis ambitious debut novel. Originally published in the UK in 1996, itis nowbeing offered to her growing American fan base. Although itwould have benefited from some judicious editing, it nonetheless categorically establishes Vincenzis mastery of intricate plots and large, if stereotypical, casts of characters. Readers who have recently discovered Vincenzi (Sheer Abandon, 2007) will delight at being able to go back to her beginnings, while those who have yet to read her will welcome getting in on the ground floor.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)