Vincenzi's books are usually a guilty pleasure, but sadly this one wasn't. I don't know whether it was because this one was set against the backdrop of the Lloyds financial scandal of the 1980s, which lets face it was never going to be a barrel of laughs, or was because it was hard to care about the characters because they were all so three-dimensional and formulaic? All I know is that this wasn't up to her usual standard and just wasn't an enjoyable read. ( )

Easy reading prenant. A lire sans prétention. ( )

Not her best book. A bit long and did not care that much about the characters.

What a book... 756 pages, very heavy to carry around oh but what a read. Those kind of books, well, anytime, dear, anytime, you can drop them off on my desk.

An absolute scandal is my kind of books, you know those books that don't add any smartess to an already full mind? Books that don't make me think or make me re-read three times the same phrase becausd I did not get it the first time? An easy read, nothing too fancy here, just an intriguing story, full of wonderful and different persons here and there, all reliated together by an absolute scandal, one that needs to be told.

Bravo Penny Vincenzi for this one! ( )

Joanne Kaufman said of one of Vincenzi’s previous novels, “Soap opera? You bet – but with her well-drawn characters and engaging style, Vincenzi keeps things humming.” Well, I couldn’t have said it better myself. An Absolute Scandal really is like a soap opera, but with a friendly narrator who speaks to the reader as if a confidante and in a cute British accent. This book may have been a little more lengthy than necessary, but I was kept far from bored with the cast of characters and their intertwining lives.

Around mid-1990 at a meeting called to gather together all of the parties involved in losing money to Lloyd’s of London, most of the main characters are introduced to each other. As the novel progresses, the characters are thrown together again and again as they attempt to sort out how they have been duped by their Lloyd’s contact, how they should go about suing those responsible, and how they are going to hold it together. Never mind the fact that most were made filthy rich at first after signing on with Lloyd’s; they’re losing their sailboats and million-dollar mansions now!

The actors in this drama marry, separate, divorce, have babies, and trade spouses in a little under a year that the novel takes place, although the real scandal is the death of a beloved friend who tied all of the pieces together. The cause of his death must be deliberated in court which brings a sense of appallment and reflection on their current vicissitude.

It just goes to show you, you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. Losing money can drive people to do all sorts of desperate things.