Old Sins: Penny Vincenzi's bestselling first novel

I am a great Penny Vincenzi fan - however, I really loathed this one, so wordy, repetitive and the characters were awful .... I find that most authors go 'off' after a while and I will be careful in future before I buy another of Penny's novels. Too bad really because some of her novels have been really gripping.

I think Penny Vincenzi is a wonderful writer, who develops rich characters and unexpected, exciting plots. This book was good but not as great as Penny's other books. I would have liked a "closure" of some sort. Although of course I can use my imagination and come up with my own ending - I would have prefered for the author to write one.

Near Oxford, England, Cressida Forrest and Dr. Oliver Bergin of New York are marrying tomorrow. Both seem extremely ecstatic while their wedding party families are euphoric over the match. Contented Cressida goes to bed, knowing she will spend the rest of her life as the wife of her beloved gynecologist starting tomorrow.

However, in the morning her parents Maggie and James realize she is not home. As the families panic when a search for the missing bride fails to find her, Cressida's sister Harriet assumes this is just another ruse by her "perfect" sibling especially when messages from her vanished sibling begin to arrive.

This is a great family drama as the mystery of Cressida grows with each minute she is away while the enigma masks of the rest of the wedding participants begin to crack under the strain. The key to this intelligent complex tale is Penny Vincenzi limits the clock to just two days. Containing numerous subplots starring various members of a strong ensemble cast, readers will enjoy this taut thriller of secrets revealed amidst two tense families wondering why the bride ran away.

Harriet Klausner

After reading Almost A Crime, I was excited to try another book from this author. I prefer long books that focus on either realistic or amusing relationships, as opossed to books about spies, murder mysteries, bodice ripping romances, etc. So I hoped this author's consistent style was to deliver good dialogue from interesting characters.

I was very disappointed. The plot twists in this book were so predictable and the characters made completely ridiculous decisions. It became a point of pride that pushed me to finish the book.

Although I hate to write a negative review, I know how dependent I am on other readers to be truthful, so I feel compelled to write. This book is fine if you are a romance novel enthusiast who can forgive the contrived story because you love reading sex scenes. But for a reader who craves a story about intelligent women facing life's struggles and emerging with dignity, there is nothing here for you. Lastly, much of the dialogue for the American characters was awkward.

Having said all that, I will try another book from this author. I enjoyed Almost A Crime enough to think that there is something more than was delivered in Old Sins.

Reading a novel written by Penny Vincenzi is utilizing your time in the most valuable way. I have NEVER been disappointed with any of her novels and this one has now become my best...since its the last one I've read. I had to force myself not to finish it because I enjoyed it that much. The characters are interesting, complex and memorable. The characters and situations are brought together even from across the oceans. The family members are fabulous. Penny writes her characters with feeling, kindness and intelligence. I hope Penny never stops writing because before I read another author I always look to see if Penny has written another novel.

The storyline was intriguing but some of the themes were belabored and by the end you were tired of them.
I've enjoyed many of Penny Vincenzi's novels in the past but I didn't remember her fondness for the F word. It was a detraction from my pleasure in reading this book.
I also didn't feel that I needed to know all the details of every sexual encounter between the major characters. The emphasis on their sex drives made some of them seem more one dimensional than the author probably intended. I thought one of the major love interests was more of a dirty old man (despite his younger age) than a compelling and empathetic character. I found his attentions really annoying and it was hard to believe that a supposedly intelligent and dynamic woman would put up with him. I also found it very hard to believe that someone so young and inexperienced could function as the head of a powerful multibillion dollar(pound) multinational business.
Overall the book had a good story but a lot of the detail was repetitious and unnecessary and should have been cut.

I first read "No Angel" which led me to "Something Dangerous" and "Into Temptation." By that time I was hooked on Penny Vincenzi, and now I have all her books. I have just finished reading "Old Sins", the 4th. of her books I've read. I read it in paperback, which was 1000 pages of reading. The story is very good-- lots of interesting characters, a mystery, all the good things that make a book worthwhile. However, and this is the biggie--- this is a book that wouldn't have been hurt a bit by cutting out at least 500 pages. There was so much character discription that went on page after page on each of the characters, even the minor ones, that I did speed reading thru some of it towards the end. I thought the book was very good, but totally too long. The story could have been told, leaving out nothing important, with a bit of editing. I finished it last night, and frankly I am taking a breather from reading anything for at least a day or two to rest up. This was actually too much of a good thing.

This was ok, nothing special, chick lit. Penny Vincenzi even though she writes very light books, she's written some far better books, namely her trilogy, which was very good, and well written and it spanned about 60+ years and it was great fun, but nothing else she wrote matched up to that. Most of her books seem like she's writing from a formula which she probably is, they're overly long, and with too many unnecessary characters that usually add nothing, except for the Trilogy.

At the beginning of this book I was quite enthralled. By the end I thought it was getting tiresome. I started to wonder if she was getting paid by the page because there was just too many missed opportunities dragging the story on. I would recommend that a friend read this book, because the storyline and the ending is good. However, I think she could have moved things along a little faster toward the end of the book. Ms. Vincenzi is a good writer and I certainly will read more of her stories!

I thought that Another Woman by Penny Vincenzi was her worst book. I have read about 7 of her books and have enjoyed every one of them. Another Woman had far too many characters to remember and I think that she was groping for a winner that turned out to be a looser.

What a wondeful day it was when I discovered this wonderful author. Old Sins was my first reading by her and I throughly enjoyed the characters and the mystery attached. Since then I've read all of her books and I'm now in the middle of her current one No Angel. Old Sins is one of her best. Thnaks Ms. Vincenzi

I liked the Lytton trilogy, but this book caused mixed feelings: it is unrealistic -- all these perfect looking women, and sex scenes are just childish -- the author likes to show off her knowledge about sex terminology and love making. The storyline is great, but author is overdoing a lot.

At the beginning of this book I was quite enthralled. By the end I thought it was getting tiresome. I started to wonder if she was getting paid by the page because there was just too many missed opportunities dragging the story on. I would recommend that a friend read this book, because the storyline and the ending is good. However, I think she could have moved things along a little faster toward the end of the book. Ms. Vincenzi is a good writer and I certainly will read more of her stories!