Attain Almost A Crime Author Penny Vincenzi EPub

and Octavia Fleming are described by the media as a power couple, Attractive, wealthy, and poised on the cusp of a glorious future, neither of them is at all prepared for the events that blindside them.


Seemingly out of nowhere, an affair between Tom and a woman he refuses to name, catapults the two of them into a series of horrific scenarios that impact their personal and business lives.


"Almost a Crime" is a richly textured tale that feels as though it encompasses a vast period of time, but it really only spans a few months in the year.
Set in London, in the months preceding the shocking death of Princess Diana in August, we watch as the rippling effects of Tom's affair circle out and touch everyone in their charmed circle.


Vincenzi's writing style takes the reader through a series of increasingly suspenseful vignettes, sharing a few morsels about each character, gradually revealing bits and pieces until we cannot stop reading and flipping pages, wanting to know more.
Hints, clues, teasersall lead to the dangerous events that will unravel gradually, reaching a crescendo of operatic proportions, Just when we thought that everything had finally revealed itself, we are stunned by another staggering blow,

How does the identity of Tom's mistress inform the lives of those around him How do the machinations of Octavia's father add to the mix Will Tom and Octavia finally resolve their differences, or will more and more complications arise for them And how does an issue that threatens the land around Bartles Woods bring another layer of intrigue and suspense to the characters

A wonderfully captivating novel full of enough detail to bring the reader right into the midst of the characters' lives, I could not put this one down.
. . Despite its length. I'm giving this one five,
Scandal, affairs and betrayal abound in ALMOST A CRIME by Penny Vincenzi perfect for any fan of Kate Morton's The Lake House, or Harriet Evans' The Butterfly Summer.


'Deliciously readable' Mail on Sunday

Tom and Octavia Fleming have the perfect power marriage: he is a spindoctor and she runs a consultancy to the charity industry.
They are attractive, rich and successful, Then Octavia discovers Tom is having an affair, and both the discovery and the affair itself have consequences that are potentially fatal.
For this is no ordinary affair, but one that leads to terror and danger, and threatens to damage people's lives for ever.
A big, fat soap opera type book, It had some involving plot lines but felt overwritten, There were too many business discussions in the beginning that started to bore me, The characters were realistic and flawed, It was good enough for me to give the author another try, This has to be the slowest book I have ever read, By the time it got interesting there was so much flipping between characters that I couldn't even remember who they were or how the were related to the main character in the book.
I was rooting for everyone to die by the end, Penny does it again! She is so masterful in writing and I cant wait for her next book!

Octavia and Paul Fleming are on the outside a perfect couple in business.
They each run successful companies and support each other through everything, They havekids that are wonderful in their own right, However, Tom gets caught in an affair and then his company runs into trouble, Never mind his fatherinlaw is trying to destroy him, And Octavia gets caught up in a cause that goes against one of Toms clients, And Octavia runs to her best friend when Tom tells her of the affair, And when she finds out who he slept, no one is safe,

Betrayal, love, responsibility, family trust, affairs and understanding what you can handle as a person, It was such a page turner and I couldnt put it down, Penny draws you into her stories and you cant help but want to stay, Such a fast paced easy read, It's a long book so it was perfect for reading for awhile, putting down for a day orand picking back up and knowing right where you left off.
. I loved the characters and there were many satisfying miniplots and a fantastic ending, . I've read just about all of her books and love her stories, This book did seem to go on due to the length but I liked that and it was never dull, Tom and Octavia seem to have the perfect careers and marriage however, Tom isn't always present and when

Octavia learns of his affair everything changes.


I really struggled with this book and honestly, could not finish it, It is very wordy and longwinded, The plot becomes lost in the descriptives and it is extremely difficult to be interested in the characters, I enjoy Vincenzi's writing, she's a personable character creater with a power to weave a story in all it's small parts and tie up the knots at the end.
In this one, I didn't see the finale until quite close to when it happened! The predictability there was gone, but in other ways there are things you can assure yourself that the finale is going to be just what you expect after reading almost all of her books as I have!! In quick succession, I must add!
I really do think this, though not her best, is a definite book worth reading, it has adventure, conflict, complicated characters, and betrayal unforgivable as well as acceptable, though how any betrayal can be acceptable is a matter of personal opinion, I think her characters are often as complicated as humans can are, making it easy to relate to on a human level, and her stories are often multifaceted and interesting: a definitebook xx Penny Vincenzi has written another fabulous fast moving story.
This story is about Tom and Octavia Fleming and their very successful careers and marriages, Set in the wealthy area of Kensington in London and a few outlying villages the story is full of intrigue, family difficulties and different personalities that clash.
There is a very good story line that moves quickly but not always the way we hope it will, Tom and Octavia have everything or seem to and it is amazing how some so called friends are happy to see them fall and perhaps tear them apart.
Very good. What seems at first like too many characters and too many storylines deftly evolves into something you cant put down, Almost A Crime reminds me of an epic season of those perfects campy/soapy nighttime dramas, Its Dynasty or Dallas! set in London with all the scheming and wealth and spoiled children we all cant believe, but cant stop watching.
I quite enjoyed myday adventure with Penny Vincenzi, and cant wait for the next one, Upper class English drama with daring darlings, all beautiful, all doing exciting jobs in PR and philanthropy, twins, money oozing everywhere, nannies, housekeepers, models the works.
Entertaining and satisfying. Go PV. I'm very surprised I managed to get through allpages of this, I wanted to hit all the characters in the book who, although believable, were shallow, stupid and selfabsorbed, and I found it difficult to care what happened to them, let alone like anyone including any of the minor characters.
The story wandered around, with little suspense, barely reaching a point, and had an unsatisfactory ending although admittedly, I'd probably only be satisfied if everyone in the book died.
I think I smiled throughout the entire millionpage duration of this book, Rich people having affairs! Baby abductions! Evil best friends! Every five pages, someone bursts into tears every ten pages, someone chokes down a glass of expensive champagne and every twenty pages, someone insists that she can't possibly continue this conversation, as it's making her feel quite ill the vast messy soap opera is narrated in the Queen's English.
In short, I can't imagine a novel more perfect for slightly hungover beach reading, This is an airport novel, big and heavy, but I like it, Octavia, a dame with class, is married to Tom, welldressed and almost public school and they have a power marriage, Octavia's best friend is a bit unhinged after a cot death, and she inveigles Tom into an affair, Or so we must believe in the absence of any other reason because Tom is clearly nice and the best friend of course must be a bit mad because she can't be bad and be a friend of the lovely Octavia, right
Anyway it's full of gossipy hitandmiss affairs as substitutes while the marriage is under threat, but destiny brings them back together again and all is well.

Women, it seems, will put up with many things if their husbands are sexy and nice to the children LOL.
I love getting lost in a book by Penny Vincenzi, Her books are alwayspages with lots of characters and plots, This book was no exception, But, it was not without its faults, One of the main characters, Octavia, was very annoying and the storylines were predictable, Still, the lastpages kept me up way past my bedtime to see how it ends, If you like Penny Vincenzi, you won't be disappointed, Took me longer than usual to be swept away by this Vincenzi novel, But once I did, I couldn't put it down,

So much happens in this book! There are lots of characters and something happens to most of them, Their stories intertwine making for some exciting plot twists,

Although some plot details I saw coming from miles away, It was pretty easy to guess who Tom was having an affair with,

I did feel sympathy for Octavia but like most of the adults in this book, she put her own selfish desires above her childrens.
Kids are not stupid, they know when something is wrong, No one explains anything to them and then Octavia buggers off to Barbados with her new lover,

I always love Vincenzi's books, This is another winner. Story about a power couple withkids, Both parents successful and busy, The husband has an affair with the woman's best friend who appears to be quite mad, She even kidnaps their youngest child after the affair is ended, All the people around this couple and their characters are all quite interesting, An unputdownable book if it was not so thick, As a follow up to her trilogy to the Lytton family, I have to admit that I am pleasantly surprised, I fell immediately in love with the Lytton dynasty No Angel being an absolute delight, so I was slightly nervous going into "Almost a Crime," afraid it would not live up to my expectations, having become so smitten with her previous work.
Once again, I am smitten! Somehow, Vincenzi manages to write characters who live glamorous, wealthy, extravagant, successful existences, yet, when it comes to their emotional outpourings, I feel as though they are me and I am them.
One can simultaneously live the life of a sexy and affluent businesswoman in London perfect as far as escapism goes, yet be touched in an incredibly real way.


Spoilers in following section

I was most moved when Octavia finally allowed herself to be embraced by Tom after the ordeal with the kidnapping.
Her contradictory feelings already made perfectly clear, she gave in when she was most in need and went to the man who could easily provide the most comfort and security.
It was a marvelous description of emotional complexity, knowing I, no matter what the circumstance, know I would want nothing more than to embrace my husband in such a terrible situation.


I was slightly annoyed, however, by the excessive detail into the lives of minor characters, Don't get me wrong. Romilly's shortlived modeling career and Zoe's forbidden trysts with Ian were certainly entertaining reading, but in some ways, felt tedious when compared to other aspects of the book.
Of course, that may be the point of Vincenzi's novels, the tiniest details of circumstances lead from one life experience to another.
Change just one detail, one chance meeting, one slip of the tongue and who knows what may occur instead, Had Caroline not found the cell phone in the towel drawer at the same time Tom was having breakfast, then their marriage would certainly have ended.
In theory, I absolutely love this philosophy, and would not ask Vincenzi to change anything at all because, in the end, every detail becomes worth it.
It is just that I have to admit that at times during the reading of these seemingly "sidetracked" stories, I found myself fervently wishing for less into Zoe's trysts and more into Octavia's.
Which, in the end, I received, .