Almost a Crime [Hardcover]

Penny Vincenzi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 16, 2006

Penny Vincenzi has sold millions across the globe to adoring readers, and since the heart-stopping success of The Spoils of Time trilogy (The Lytton Trilogy) fans in the U.S. have been anxious to get their hands on Vincenzi’s latest page-turner, new from Overlook, Almost a Crime.

Meet Tom and Octavia Fleming. Attractive, rich and madly successful, the pair appeared to have the perfect power marriage until an affair leaves their lives in fatal danger. For this is no ordinary affair, but one that leads to life-threatening terror from which nothing and no one in the Flemings’ charmed circle can escape: not their children, not their friends, not even the one thing that seemed beyond reach - their own professional success.

Described by Dominick Dunne as a writer "with verve and heart, immersing the reader in a world of engrossing and unforgettable glamour and passion," and praised by Barbara Taylor Bradford as "marvelously engrossing," Vincenzi’s newest novel is a surefire winner with critics and readers alike.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

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!" (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

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. Allison Block
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 672 pages
• Publisher: Overlook Hardcover (November 16, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158567852X
• ISBN-13: 978-1585678525
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,307,141 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, April 30, 2007

By 

Vim "Vim320" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Almost a Crime (Hardcover)

I consider myself to be a big Penny Vincenzi fan. I was so addicted to her "spoils of time" trilogy that I had read it twice in the span of three years. This is saying a lot for me, since I don't read books more than once unless they are really that good. That's why I hate to be negative about one of her latest books. "Almost a Crime" did not grab my attention from the beginning. It was hard to follow the story since it lacked excitement and characters were not very believable. Maybe a huge part of my disappointment had to do with the fact that it is set in the 1990s and lacks the nostalgic charm of No Angel, Something Dangerous, and Into Temptations. I'm still a big fan of Penny vincenzi but not of this particular book.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Delightful Read, July 18, 2002

By 

Heather Marshall Negahdar "Haze" (Bridgetown, Barbados) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Almost A Crime (Hardcover)

This story is about this perfect couple, Octavia and Tom Flemming who have a marriage made in heaven. Society looks up to this attractive and golden couple; in fact everyone does. Well heeled they both are and in prominent positions to boot.But that's until the cookie crumbles and Tom begins to have a torrid and steamy affair, putting his wife through so much embarassment, sickness and paranoia, she can hardly bear to leave the house. And look who he is having the affair with? There is betrayal amongst friends and this obviously affects the couple's professional lives interferring with their wealthy status . This book is a stunner with its variety of characters.....especially the ladies....some plain though interesting all the same, while others are attractive and rather hoity toity. The big question however is will this marriaage between this golden couple survive??? Another good one from Penny Vincenzi....go for it. You love it and won't be satisfied until you've found out whodunnit.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another winning book, December 31, 2006

By 

Annie "bookwishes4" (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Almost a Crime (Hardcover)

I became a fan of Penny Vincenzi when No Angel was released in the states and have been reading her books ever since. Almost A Crime is her first US release after the Spoils Of Time trilogy.

Londoners Tom and Octavia Fleming had what seemed to be the perfect high power marriage. They complimented each others careers while juggling their personal lives but it all came to an abrupt end when Octavia found out that Tom was having an affair. Octavias father, who never liked Tom was pushing her to leave him, Toms business started to fail due to financial problems and then Octavia found out who the other woman was and then everything started falling apart.

For those of you who love a book that you can sink your teeth into, Almost A Crime is the perfect choice for your next read.