The Best of Times

May 4, 2009
Bestseller Vincenzi's diverting if charmless latest delves into the lives of a massive cast brought together by a multicar accident on a London highway. The brisk, journalistic style makes it hard to fall for any of the characters, whose lives are filled with high and low drama: a truck driver racked with guilt over the accident; his terrified passenger, who flees the scene; a successful doctor trying to break up with his mistress; a groom and best man already late for the wedding due to scandalous circumstances; and a widow headed to reunite with a past love. After the crisis, their lives intertwine tangentially as, among others, the best man starts a relationship with an ER doctor, the truck driver's wife becomes close with the widow, and the mistress falls for the farmer whose land overlooks the accident scene. The story brings them all back together at the inquest, the cause of the accident is revealed and apologies are made. Though everyone gets their predictably happy ending, the way the obvious resolutions drag out makes this something like a once-enjoyable guest who has long outstayed his welcome.

June 1, 2009
Vincenzi ("An Absolute Scandal") never ceases to entertain. Her latest novel engages readers in the lives of the drivers, passengers, and onlookers who become entangled after surviving a major collision on a London highway. We are briefly introduced to each character and then zoomed to the crash; the rest of the story details how each person is changed by the crash, the friendships made through surviving, and, of course, the love lives of each individual. The characters are from all different walks of life, from a doctor to a farmer and a young actress to a matriarch, and we see them try to make up for wicked mistakes they made in the past and "fix" their lives. Vincenzi even throws in a twist, using a mysterious hitchhiker as the only person who actually saw what really happened at the crash. VERDICT Vincenzi introduces so many characters that sometimes it is hard to keep track of who is who, but, overall, this is an exciting, intriguing, saucy novel. A perfect summer vacation read. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 3/1/09.]Marianne Fitzgerald, Annapolis, MD

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2009
On a sweltering Friday afternoon in August, traffic is backed up on the M4 highway outside of London whena truck jackknifes across five lanesand causes miles of confusion and chaos. As the ambulances arrive, lives are changed and stories are unfolded. Barney Fraser is a harried groomsman trying to get his friend to the church. Mary Bristow is a widow hurrying to meet the dashing American soldier she turned downduring the war. William Grainger is a charming young farmer who sees it all happen from his cow pasture. Jonathan Gilliatt is a star gynecologist trapped in the car with his mistress Abi, who is furious at being dumped. Emma King is the eager young doctor on call at the hospital when the crash occurs, and Patrick Connell and Georgia Linley are the truck driver and his hitchhiker on the way to an audition, the only ones who know what truly happened to make the truck spin out of control.In her newest big, elaborately detailed novel, best-sellerVincenzi weaves an intricate, dramatic, and intense taleaboutirrevocable butterfly-effectconsequences in the lives of a compelling cast of characters.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)