Almost a Crime

September 4, 2006
Vincenzi's latest saga (after Into Temptation
) exposes the cracks in a British "power marriage" and charts the frightening evolution of a spurned woman's love into a dangerous obsession. In late 1990s London, Tom and Octavia Fleming glitter among the chattering classes. Tom, a brilliant political consultant, and Octavia, an equally talented charity consultant, appear to have it all—three pretty children, money, success, health and good looks—everything but precious time together. When Octavia realizes that Tom is having an affair, she turns for support to her best friend, Louise Cheltenham, a former top model now married with children, and embarks on professional and sexual revenge against her husband. But her initial hurt is magnified tenfold when she learns the identity of Tom's mistress, and her misdemeanors hardly compare to the revenge plan of Tom's very troubled lover once he ends his affair. This deft, swift contemporary epic will have hooked readers exclaiming, "Good grief!"

September 15, 2006
Fans of Vincenzi's ("Into Temptation" expecting the beginnings of another thrilling family saga will be disappointed. This book takes place in 1990s London (before Princess Di's death) and bares the lives of power couple Octavia and Tom Fleming, both rich, hard-working, and boring. Vincenzi makes Octavia rather whiny, immature, and unlikable, and she never fleshes out Tom's character any more than to establish that he's handsome, smart, and has a chip on his shoulder about attending public school. As for the secondary characters, there is not one that really stands out. Octavia's best friend is the stereotypical -other woman - full of jealousy. There is a creepy relationship between Octavia and her father that borders on incest. And in more than 600 pages, the plot just plods along. Unless readers crave an inside peak into the inner workings of a rich, tiresome English family, they should read one of Vincenzi's other excellent novels instead." -Marianne Fitzgerald, Severna Park High Sch., MD"

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2006
Londoners Tom and Octavia Fleming seem the very image of marital bliss. They each run successful businesses; they have three lovely children and a calendar brimming with glamorous social events. But the match made in heaven turns to hell when Tom has an affair with mercurial beauty Louise Trelawny, who is one of Octavia's oldest friends (wouldn't you just know it?). Octavia's overly protective father, Felix, never thought Tom was good enough for his daughter; now the bitter widower is determined to drive Tom's public-affairs consultancy into the ground. Felix's much-younger girlfriend, Marianne, thinks he should leave Tom and Octavia alone. (Marianne, meanwhile, has woes of her own with her children from a previous marriage: older daughter Zoe is flirting with a life of crime, and gorgeous but naive Romilly is on the brink of a lucrative modeling career.) Following " Into Temptation" (2005), the concluding volume in Vincenzi's Lytton trilogy (which was successful here but a mega-smash in Europe), this latest high-concept blend of romance and family saga goes on a bit too long, but the author's fans--as well as devotees of Danielle Steel and Sandra Brown--are sure to lap up the piquant plot, packed with twists and trysts. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)