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The Best of Times
Everything can change in the blink of an eye. . .
On an ordinary London afternoon, a truck swerves across five lanes of traffic and creates a tangle of chaos and confusion. As loved ones wait to hear news and the hospital prepares to receive the injured, a dozen lives hang in the balance. A doctor is torn between helping the injured and hiding his young mistress; a bridegroom hopes to get to the church on time; a widow waiting to reunite with a lost love ponders whether she’ll ever see him again; and the mysterious hitchhiker, the only person who knows what really happened, is nowhere to be found.
On an ordinary London afternoon, a truck swerves across five lanes of traffic and creates a tangle of chaos and confusion. As loved ones wait to hear news and the hospital prepares to receive the injured, a dozen lives hang in the balance. A doctor is torn between helping the injured and hiding his young mistress; a bridegroom hopes to get to the church on time; a widow waiting to reunite with a lost love ponders whether she’ll ever see him again; and the mysterious hitchhiker, the only person who knows what really happened, is nowhere to be found.
608 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
372 people are currently reading
1990 people want to read
About the author
Penny Vincenzi
65 books929 followersPenny was nine years old when she embarked on her storytelling career. She wrote her own magazine called “Stories”, which she copied out three times on carbon paper and sold for two pence at school. So began a career in writing which has seen 7 million copies sold, and 17 bestselling novels.
After secretarial college, Penny worked as a junior secretary at Vogue and Tatler magazines, before moving to the Daily Mirror as personal assistant to Marje Proops, Britain's legendary agony aunt.
Marje encouraged her to write, and she became fashion editor and beauty writer at the Mirror, working for the women's editor in what was irreverently known as the "fragrant department". Penny’s journalistic career as a celebrated writer and columnist spanned several decades working for many of the leading newspapers and magazines of the time.
She once asked bestselling British author Jilly Cooper for advice on writing a novel while interviewing her for a magazine profile. Jilly put Penny in touch with her own agent, who promptly auctioned off her (then unwritten) first novel. It was quickly snapped up and the rest, as they say, is history.
Penny died in 2018. She was the proud and much-loved mother of four equally proud daughters, and grandmother to nine grandchildren.
After secretarial college, Penny worked as a junior secretary at Vogue and Tatler magazines, before moving to the Daily Mirror as personal assistant to Marje Proops, Britain's legendary agony aunt.
Marje encouraged her to write, and she became fashion editor and beauty writer at the Mirror, working for the women's editor in what was irreverently known as the "fragrant department". Penny’s journalistic career as a celebrated writer and columnist spanned several decades working for many of the leading newspapers and magazines of the time.
She once asked bestselling British author Jilly Cooper for advice on writing a novel while interviewing her for a magazine profile. Jilly put Penny in touch with her own agent, who promptly auctioned off her (then unwritten) first novel. It was quickly snapped up and the rest, as they say, is history.
Penny died in 2018. She was the proud and much-loved mother of four equally proud daughters, and grandmother to nine grandchildren.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 458 reviews
May 25, 2022
What a book. It's massive but such a good story line it didn't feel as long as it was. Will be reading more of this author.
Five stars.
Five stars.
May 7, 2015
I have mixed feelings about this one. I decided to read this along with a couple other books over the long holiday weekend. I'm glad I had other things to read. I quite loved the first half & thought the author did a great job with most of the characters & also the accident we are shown in the opening of the book. And then the second half happened. Or didn't so much and just meandered along until I have to honestly admit, I was skimming for resolutions for my favorite characters. I'm positive that's not a good sign & that's not how I like to get through my books. On the upside, I was compelled to at least get to the end to see how my favorites fared but that's not enough for me to give this one more than a middling star grade. Another thing that diminished my enjoyment was that I had the BBC series "Collision" (Masterpiece Contemporary in the US) running alongside in my mind. That's not the author's fault but they were so similar, I couldn't help the meld. I have other Penny Vincenzi books on my bookshelf & will gladly give them a read but this one is unfortunately no going to be a favorite.
April 7, 2013
At page 570 or something now. It just keeps going on and on and on. When will it end?!
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I quit a few chapters later. There was nothing after the hearing to keep the reader motivated.
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I quit a few chapters later. There was nothing after the hearing to keep the reader motivated.
February 7, 2017
Menos 200 páginas e teria sido melhor...
April 16, 2017
I was in the middle of Penny Vincenzi’s THE BEST OF TIMES (Headline, 2009) when my hubby phoned to say that...
http://sleaze-factor.blogspot.ca/2017...
http://sleaze-factor.blogspot.ca/2017...
August 15, 2011
I had high hopes for this one, but somewhere around the middle it failed miserably. It's the story of people involved in a car accident and how it affects their lives. Interesting at the beginning and then bloody awful, darling. (I have to say that, because the book takes place outside London.) At about the halfway point (of this more than 500 page thing!) every single character became unlikeable. Seriously. I get that the author wants to show that we are all flawed people, but we aren't all total douches! And then she started focusing on people who weren't really even involved in the accident at all (one is the talent agent for an actress who was in the accident and the other is a doctor who works at the hospital where the victims were taken.) And once they start working on the "benefit concert" it was just plain BORING!
Toward the end, when I knew my e-pub version of this book was going to expire, I realized I didn't really care how it ended. I did manage to finish it, but felt like it was a colossal waste of time.
Toward the end, when I knew my e-pub version of this book was going to expire, I realized I didn't really care how it ended. I did manage to finish it, but felt like it was a colossal waste of time.
November 11, 2009
I have very mixed feelings about this book; hence the three stars.
The book opens with a major traffic accident that blocks the freeway (Sorry: motorway. It takes place in London.) Then comes a section called "Before". I spent my time reading this section very nervous about what would happen. So it was hard to enjoy it.
The section that took place during the accident was very exciting and fun to read.
But then the story went kind of down hill from there. I felt like the author didn't know when the story should end, so she just kept writing and writing. It wasn't bad writing, but after a very exciting middle section I was a bit disappointed.
Still, I liked the characters and the setting, and it was a very interesting premise for a book.
The book opens with a major traffic accident that blocks the freeway (Sorry: motorway. It takes place in London.) Then comes a section called "Before". I spent my time reading this section very nervous about what would happen. So it was hard to enjoy it.
The section that took place during the accident was very exciting and fun to read.
But then the story went kind of down hill from there. I felt like the author didn't know when the story should end, so she just kept writing and writing. It wasn't bad writing, but after a very exciting middle section I was a bit disappointed.
Still, I liked the characters and the setting, and it was a very interesting premise for a book.
June 5, 2014
Foi a minha estreia com esta autora, da qual já queria há muito tempo ler qualquer coisa. E gostei bastante. A principio achei que tinha personagens a mais mas depois todas elas se foram interligando e tiveram um papel de maior ou menor destaque na trama. Um bom romance para se ler, apesar de um pouco longo (mais de 600 paginas...) mas que li com muito prazer e me deixou com vontade de ler mais desta escritora
August 28, 2015
I loved this so much that my hand accidentally slipped and I ordered eight more of her books.
August 15, 2022
This book shows how in a minute how everything can change. A truck swerves on the M4 and causes a major incident involving multiple cars of people all with different reasons for their travel and the impact the accident has on their lives and plans. Among them a bridegroom who is travelling with his best man to his wedding which he is running late for, an elderly lady looking forward to meeting up with the love of her life who she hasn't seen for many years. A doctor travelling with his mistress. After some twists and turns sadness and romance all their lives change.
January 13, 2010
A compelling story that tackles everyone’s subconscious fear – the one that they feel but never address – what if something catastrophic happens one day and changes our lives forever?
In Best Of Times, Penny Vincenzi tells the story of a brutal road accident that breaks relationships and brings strangers together. Vincenzi’s characters not only allow readers to love / hate them, but I find, like in all her other books, readers get immersed in them and their lives.
When I first picked up a Penny book – No Angel – I wasn’t aware what I was in for. It was thick and that would keep me occupied on a sixteen-hour flight to Malaysia. By the time I finished reading it, I couldn’t wait to get a hold on the sequel – the book sucked me in and made me carve for more. As did all her other books and as did Best Of Times.
I found the plot a bit predictable and wasn’t surprised with some of the outcomes. But Vincenzi’s weaves in enough emotion and substance in her story that the predictable bit is easily overlooked.
As in all her other books, there’s strong character development and each of her characters go through sufficient change that the readers are left feeling satisfied.
Her dialogues are very realistic and believable that makes her characters lively. Although , she overused her exclamations, especially ‘for heaven’s sake!’.
This is a great read; another must read for Penny Vincenzi fans. I’ve given it four stars since five would mean an exceptional read.
In Best Of Times, Penny Vincenzi tells the story of a brutal road accident that breaks relationships and brings strangers together. Vincenzi’s characters not only allow readers to love / hate them, but I find, like in all her other books, readers get immersed in them and their lives.
When I first picked up a Penny book – No Angel – I wasn’t aware what I was in for. It was thick and that would keep me occupied on a sixteen-hour flight to Malaysia. By the time I finished reading it, I couldn’t wait to get a hold on the sequel – the book sucked me in and made me carve for more. As did all her other books and as did Best Of Times.
I found the plot a bit predictable and wasn’t surprised with some of the outcomes. But Vincenzi’s weaves in enough emotion and substance in her story that the predictable bit is easily overlooked.
As in all her other books, there’s strong character development and each of her characters go through sufficient change that the readers are left feeling satisfied.
Her dialogues are very realistic and believable that makes her characters lively. Although , she overused her exclamations, especially ‘for heaven’s sake!’.
This is a great read; another must read for Penny Vincenzi fans. I’ve given it four stars since five would mean an exceptional read.
July 25, 2018
The first thing to say is...it’s a big book and literally difficult to hold to be able to read comfortably. Secondly, for 880 pages I want a classic. And this was no classic.
There are are a couple or three points that immediately spring to mind:
1 why did we need to know that the Coroner’s wife was called Susan, that he was 50-yrs of age and had been doing the job for at least 20 of them? What relevance was it to the story?
2 why did we need to know that the taxi driver was foreign and Emma couldn’t differentiate between £50 and £15? What relevance was it to the story?
3 why on earth did a couple of supposedly intelligent people who were seemingly incapable of not having ferocious arguments think they should be together? Even worse, have a child!
These just being 3 of the seemingly quite ridiculous tangents that the book went on.
The Author deserves a gold star for keeping a handle on all the characters. As with most books of this style I find it difficult to keep track of who is who until I’m at least half way through because there are som many of them talked about at random intervals. I found myself ‘testing’ whether I could remember who was who at various times of the day so that I would have a head start when I picked it up again.
There are are a couple or three points that immediately spring to mind:
1 why did we need to know that the Coroner’s wife was called Susan, that he was 50-yrs of age and had been doing the job for at least 20 of them? What relevance was it to the story?
2 why did we need to know that the taxi driver was foreign and Emma couldn’t differentiate between £50 and £15? What relevance was it to the story?
3 why on earth did a couple of supposedly intelligent people who were seemingly incapable of not having ferocious arguments think they should be together? Even worse, have a child!
These just being 3 of the seemingly quite ridiculous tangents that the book went on.
The Author deserves a gold star for keeping a handle on all the characters. As with most books of this style I find it difficult to keep track of who is who until I’m at least half way through because there are som many of them talked about at random intervals. I found myself ‘testing’ whether I could remember who was who at various times of the day so that I would have a head start when I picked it up again.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 21, 2011
This was an entertaining read though a bit long at just under 600 pgs.
The story is a good one where the lives of twelve unrelated people are wound together through a horrible accident on a highway that runs outside London. The author spends a lot of time on character development and that is all a lead up to this fatal, multi car pile up on the highway and how the lives of these people all come together and how their lives all our forever changed as a result of this life changing event. I really cared about the characters for the first 300 pgs but then found the story went on a bit longer than it should of. My dear cousin, who is a much more avid reader than I and who reads my posts has said to me, "why if you are not enjoying the book, do you finish it? Your time is important and if you are not enjoying a book, just put it away and start a new one." My response to her was that I am often quite vested and committed to finishing the book, if not only just to have an opinion on the finished piece.
This was a good read for the first half of the book but I found it needlessly long and in the end, I didn't care about the characters that much.
The story is a good one where the lives of twelve unrelated people are wound together through a horrible accident on a highway that runs outside London. The author spends a lot of time on character development and that is all a lead up to this fatal, multi car pile up on the highway and how the lives of these people all come together and how their lives all our forever changed as a result of this life changing event. I really cared about the characters for the first 300 pgs but then found the story went on a bit longer than it should of. My dear cousin, who is a much more avid reader than I and who reads my posts has said to me, "why if you are not enjoying the book, do you finish it? Your time is important and if you are not enjoying a book, just put it away and start a new one." My response to her was that I am often quite vested and committed to finishing the book, if not only just to have an opinion on the finished piece.
This was a good read for the first half of the book but I found it needlessly long and in the end, I didn't care about the characters that much.
August 17, 2011
IMHO, reading this book wasn't the Best of Times. While the premise is wonderful - a major accident changes the lives of everyone involved - I found the story tedious. Vincenzi's exploration of the butterfly effect through a myriad of characters left me feeling exhausted. I found it difficult to connect with the characters, and I felt that because the author took on so many characters, none of them were fully developed. I felt that plot points were predictable. And really, the novel probably could have been about 200 pages instead of the 509 that my ebook was. I was so excited to read this book, which left me disappointed.
March 30, 2019
Really good book, for what it is. :) This is pure commercial fiction with tons of characters, whiz bang action, multiple happy endings and lots of angst and confrontations throughout.
I have enjoyed Vincenzi's historical novels, and since she passed away I've been thinking I should read something else of hers as a 'send off'. This was a pleasant choice. Vincenzi is a solid writer, able to give her readers word pictures and just-believable situations that keep the plot moving along.
Nothing deep, nothing terribly new, with lots of coincidences and epiphanies that keep even the most annoying rogues from becoming hopeless cases. 600 pages that move quickly.
I have enjoyed Vincenzi's historical novels, and since she passed away I've been thinking I should read something else of hers as a 'send off'. This was a pleasant choice. Vincenzi is a solid writer, able to give her readers word pictures and just-believable situations that keep the plot moving along.
Nothing deep, nothing terribly new, with lots of coincidences and epiphanies that keep even the most annoying rogues from becoming hopeless cases. 600 pages that move quickly.
January 5, 2021
Hea vanakooli naistekas, mitmed tegevusliinid algavad paralleelselt, tegelasi ja nende suhteid tutvustatakse pikalt ja kõik niidid jooksevad kokku kiirteele, kus toimub katastroofiline liiklusõnnetus. Meenutab mõnd mõnusat briti seriaali, kus hakkad kaasa elama tegelaste suhetele ja ootama järgmist seeriat - et mis Abiga juhtub ja kas Laura ja Jonathan jäävad kokku ja kes ikka oli süüdi selles kohutavas õnnetuses... Raske käest panna, lugesin 2 osa jutti mõne päevaga. Ei ole ka liiga etteaimatav ja mitu tegelaskuju teevad läbi mõningase arengu, mis ei olegi naistekate puhul nii tavaline! Kuigi mõni liin on üliromantiline siis kõigi jaoks ei kõlagi pulmakellad. Pisut muigamist ja mõni pisar silmanurgas käivad ka asja juurde. Omas žanris julgen soovitada küll.
January 4, 2023
This book is 750 pages long. Not something I could do with everyday life - but great for a holiday read.
I’ve read one previous book by this author - also several hundred pages long (and also read on a holiday).
Anyway - the review of this book. I really enjoyed it; a great page-turner. I didn’t want to put it down!
The list of characters at the start made it easy to work out who everyone was in the intertwining storyline.
I’ve read one previous book by this author - also several hundred pages long (and also read on a holiday).
Anyway - the review of this book. I really enjoyed it; a great page-turner. I didn’t want to put it down!
The list of characters at the start made it easy to work out who everyone was in the intertwining storyline.
March 6, 2023
Read it for the characters - plot is really just a means to develop them.
April 17, 2025
Hat Spaß gemacht. Empfehlung für alle, die Lust haben in einer großen und vielseitigen Welt einzutauchen und 700 Seiten da zu bleiben. Sehr viele Charaktere, Schicksale und Drama - macht also Sinn warum das Buch ganze 700 Seiten hat. Es war als hätte ich 3 separate Bücher gelesen
August 27, 2022
Brilliant! Loved it!
September 6, 2021
Easy entertainment
An interesting story based around a major traffic accident. There are lots of different story lines but it was easy to follow. It was fairly obvious that certain people would end up together but it all unfolds beautifully and you want to cheer when they finally get together. It’s light and easy entertainment.
An interesting story based around a major traffic accident. There are lots of different story lines but it was easy to follow. It was fairly obvious that certain people would end up together but it all unfolds beautifully and you want to cheer when they finally get together. It’s light and easy entertainment.
June 20, 2012
I really liked this book. I didn't know what to expect and I was pleasantly surprised. Some of the characters stood out more than others and therefore I related to them more. Some parts dragged a little, but overall I think this was a good book.
This story is basically about the butterfly effect - a series of events puts a bunch of people on the M4 during rush hour and a terrible accident occurs when a lorry cuts across the highway and flips over the median. Three people die, scores more are injured and several characters' lives are changed forever.
There's Jonathan and his mistress Abi. Jonathan's an OBGYN looking for excitement (b/c his perfect wife Laura and their 3 adorable kids aren't enough) and Abi is a photographer's assistant who's dynamite in bed and leads a fun (but unfulfilled) life. There's Mary, who's waited 60 years to be with her GI Russell. There's Barney, engaged to Amanda, who is the best man for his best friend Toby, and they are late for Toby's wedding to bitchy Tamara. There's Patrick, the driver of the lorry who has worries about falling asleep on the road, who picked up Georgia, a 20-year old aspiring actress, and wants to help her get to her audition on time. And there's William, who's farm sits high above the M4 and he witnesses the accident and then tries to help.
We meet Linda, Georgia's agent. We meet Emma, a doctor at the hospital where the victims are brought, and her boss Alex. Slowly but surely paths cross, dreams are shattered and realized, lives are changed and hearts are broken. And in the end, nobody is the same.
When we learn what caused the crash it kind of makes you think -- well everything had to happen exactly as it did, or else maybe this wouldn't have happened. But it did happen, so now what?
This story is basically about the butterfly effect - a series of events puts a bunch of people on the M4 during rush hour and a terrible accident occurs when a lorry cuts across the highway and flips over the median. Three people die, scores more are injured and several characters' lives are changed forever.
There's Jonathan and his mistress Abi. Jonathan's an OBGYN looking for excitement (b/c his perfect wife Laura and their 3 adorable kids aren't enough) and Abi is a photographer's assistant who's dynamite in bed and leads a fun (but unfulfilled) life. There's Mary, who's waited 60 years to be with her GI Russell. There's Barney, engaged to Amanda, who is the best man for his best friend Toby, and they are late for Toby's wedding to bitchy Tamara. There's Patrick, the driver of the lorry who has worries about falling asleep on the road, who picked up Georgia, a 20-year old aspiring actress, and wants to help her get to her audition on time. And there's William, who's farm sits high above the M4 and he witnesses the accident and then tries to help.
We meet Linda, Georgia's agent. We meet Emma, a doctor at the hospital where the victims are brought, and her boss Alex. Slowly but surely paths cross, dreams are shattered and realized, lives are changed and hearts are broken. And in the end, nobody is the same.
When we learn what caused the crash it kind of makes you think -- well everything had to happen exactly as it did, or else maybe this wouldn't have happened. But it did happen, so now what?
February 7, 2023
Vários meses depois depois de uma enorme ansiedade e curiosidade pelo trabalho de Penny Vincenzy, eis que finalmente tive a oportunidade de a satisfazer.
Aos olhos daqueles que já conhecem as suas obras anteriores, esta obra será, certamente, melhor ou pior. Aos meus olhos, e provavelmente de todos os leitores cujo primeiro contacto com Penny Vincenzy, a escolha não podia ser mais acertada.
Confesso que, ao início, me custou a entrar na história. Parecia tudo muito confuso e um tanto-nada absurdo: demasiadas personagens e uma narrativa que havia desde logo começado num impasse. Contudo, assim que a história culmina no acidente na M4, tudo muda e o leitor mal consegue imaginar as voltas e reviravoltas de emoções que vai sentir à medida que a história avança.
Fiquei, sem dúvida alguma, rendida à autora. A ideia base do livro é que a vida pode dar muita volta. Por muito parada e monótona que a mesma seja num minuto, no outro a seguir tudo pode mudar e aquilo que antes víamos no nosso futuro cai em ruínas diante dos nossos olhos para dar lugar a um palácio de melhores prazeres, maior felicidade e amor.
Aquilo que ao início parecia adivinhar-se uma história difícil de acompanhar acabou por se revelar um romance extremamente emotivo e avassalador, onde o leitor mal consegue pousar o livro, tal é a ansiedade por saber o que acontece àqueles a quem vimos a vida ruir e renascer.
Adorei e recomendo vivamente a todos, mesmo àqueles que se possam assustar com as 600 páginas de leitura que se avizinham: a leitura é de tal maneira estonteante que, quando derem por ela, chegaram ao fim de um livro que não vão querer esquecer.
Aos olhos daqueles que já conhecem as suas obras anteriores, esta obra será, certamente, melhor ou pior. Aos meus olhos, e provavelmente de todos os leitores cujo primeiro contacto com Penny Vincenzy, a escolha não podia ser mais acertada.
Confesso que, ao início, me custou a entrar na história. Parecia tudo muito confuso e um tanto-nada absurdo: demasiadas personagens e uma narrativa que havia desde logo começado num impasse. Contudo, assim que a história culmina no acidente na M4, tudo muda e o leitor mal consegue imaginar as voltas e reviravoltas de emoções que vai sentir à medida que a história avança.
Fiquei, sem dúvida alguma, rendida à autora. A ideia base do livro é que a vida pode dar muita volta. Por muito parada e monótona que a mesma seja num minuto, no outro a seguir tudo pode mudar e aquilo que antes víamos no nosso futuro cai em ruínas diante dos nossos olhos para dar lugar a um palácio de melhores prazeres, maior felicidade e amor.
Aquilo que ao início parecia adivinhar-se uma história difícil de acompanhar acabou por se revelar um romance extremamente emotivo e avassalador, onde o leitor mal consegue pousar o livro, tal é a ansiedade por saber o que acontece àqueles a quem vimos a vida ruir e renascer.
Adorei e recomendo vivamente a todos, mesmo àqueles que se possam assustar com as 600 páginas de leitura que se avizinham: a leitura é de tal maneira estonteante que, quando derem por ela, chegaram ao fim de um livro que não vão querer esquecer.
April 8, 2016
For more reviews, please visit http://fortheloveoftheread.blogspot.com
My love for Vincenzi really just never stops. Anyone who reads my reviews knows that she has become one of my very favorite authors; I never dislike her books.
This book is a beautiful example of how one moment can change everything. The largest part of the plot is an accident on the M4 that causes fatalities, major injuries, and outs secrets. The book is broken up into parts, the first giving some background on how each character ends up on the M4 during the accident. The next part covers the day of the accident, followed by two parts that give the aftermath. Each character's life is completely altered by the events of this day.
As is customary for this author, there are no minor characters in this book. Each character develops in such a way that readers can't help but care about them. I wanted to know what would happen next for each character as the story progressed.
If you haven't given Vincenzi a try, definitely do. Her books are long and delicious tales of secrets, relationships, drama, and oftentimes putting life back together. I love this author and I loved this book.
My love for Vincenzi really just never stops. Anyone who reads my reviews knows that she has become one of my very favorite authors; I never dislike her books.
This book is a beautiful example of how one moment can change everything. The largest part of the plot is an accident on the M4 that causes fatalities, major injuries, and outs secrets. The book is broken up into parts, the first giving some background on how each character ends up on the M4 during the accident. The next part covers the day of the accident, followed by two parts that give the aftermath. Each character's life is completely altered by the events of this day.
As is customary for this author, there are no minor characters in this book. Each character develops in such a way that readers can't help but care about them. I wanted to know what would happen next for each character as the story progressed.
If you haven't given Vincenzi a try, definitely do. Her books are long and delicious tales of secrets, relationships, drama, and oftentimes putting life back together. I love this author and I loved this book.
September 5, 2010
Cheesy summer reading at its best ... no need to think or analyze ... just read on the beach or by the side of the pool.
In The Best of Times, all the characters come together because of a horrible crash on the M4 Motorway outside London. All the various characters at the scene of the crash ultimately become entwined with each other. We follow each character from shortly before the crash to a year or so after. Predictably, everything turns out hunky dory and life is good. This is not an intellectual book - how can it be with scenes like the following: "'Christ,' he said, 'dear God, Abi, what are you?' And then she pushed his head up and began to kiss him, desperate, hungry for him, her mouth working frantically at his, moaning, almost crying with wanting him ...."
Yeah, yeah. I know this has romance novel written all over it. And I'm not afraid to admit it. ;) Nor am I afraid to admit that I have read three other Penny Vincenzi novels and loved those even more (they were far better ... highly suggest the trilogy No Angel, Something Dangerous and Into Temptation).
In The Best of Times, all the characters come together because of a horrible crash on the M4 Motorway outside London. All the various characters at the scene of the crash ultimately become entwined with each other. We follow each character from shortly before the crash to a year or so after. Predictably, everything turns out hunky dory and life is good. This is not an intellectual book - how can it be with scenes like the following: "'Christ,' he said, 'dear God, Abi, what are you?' And then she pushed his head up and began to kiss him, desperate, hungry for him, her mouth working frantically at his, moaning, almost crying with wanting him ...."
Yeah, yeah. I know this has romance novel written all over it. And I'm not afraid to admit it. ;) Nor am I afraid to admit that I have read three other Penny Vincenzi novels and loved those even more (they were far better ... highly suggest the trilogy No Angel, Something Dangerous and Into Temptation).
October 31, 2011
The Best of Times is a book that I thoroughly enjoyed. The book tells you about the life of multiple characters that are forever changed after a motor vehicle accident on the M4 close to London. We have the doctor who is traveling with his mistress. We have the aspiring black actress catching a ride with the lorry driver. The lorry driver trying not to fall asleep behind the wheel. There is the groom trying to get to his wedding on time. The widow meeting with her lost American lover from over sixty years. The Best Man learning the groom is not who he thought he was.
In a second our lives can change and all the what ifs can affect the choices we make.
The book has a happy ending. What made it real was that it was not a perfect one. Almost though...
4/5 Fangs
cross posted at my blog http://mrsleifs.blogspot
In a second our lives can change and all the what ifs can affect the choices we make.
The book has a happy ending. What made it real was that it was not a perfect one. Almost though...
4/5 Fangs
cross posted at my blog http://mrsleifs.blogspot
January 19, 2014
Would Vincenzi be able to hold my interest for 880 pages? Would I be able to keep all the characters straight in my mind? Yes and yes. A very enjoyable read about folks who are involved in, or witness, a large and tragic highway accident and how that event alters their lives. The question is - are the changes for the worst, or for the best? It surprised me, a person who cannot bear gore or medical encounters, the day of the accident was my favorite part of the book. So fear not those of you who are squeamish. Extremely well done, and the impact of the event nicely drawn without being overly dramatic. The characters are well developed, so that it was easy to keep everyone sorted out - and you saw the good and the bad that can exist in all people. Nice romance too for those who like that.
April 20, 2010
When a lorry crashes on the M4 on a busy summer's day the effect on people's lives is catastrophic and has repercussions that spread out far beyond the scene at the motorway. The story is told quite seemlessly and in readable chunks, with each person's life under scrutiny. Some have secrets that really shouldn't be told, others are oblivious to the effects their actions will have on others. From the sublime, to the heart-rending - I think this is a perfect summer beach read.
My only criticism is that it could have been 200 pages lighter, but like all Penny Vincenzi's novels it's well over 700 pages long, however I enjoyed it .....
My only criticism is that it could have been 200 pages lighter, but like all Penny Vincenzi's novels it's well over 700 pages long, however I enjoyed it .....
July 25, 2012
This has been sitting around far too long. I realized yesterday that I don't really care for any of the characters. Great premise: what happens to the people involved in a massive traffic pileup after the accident. Why were they where they were at that particular moment? But...just can't care about these folks, many of whom are unpleasant people. So I'm not finishing it. Why bother?
April 16, 2015
I was reading this book during a very difficult time in my life. The book kept me interested, I could lose myself in the characters, their lives and dilemmas and forget, for awhile, what was going on in my life. I enjoy Penny Vincenzi's books. They aren't great literature, but they are a wonderful escape.
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