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According to a Washington Post review of the book The Best of Times by Penny Vincenzi “the best way for a lot of people to meet each other is not a wedding or church picnic, but a wingding car crash.”
On a warm, sunny day the traffic on the freeway outside London is heavy, but moving  right along. The vehicles on the freeway include a tractor trailer driven by Patrick, who in the past has fought sleepiness, fatigue, and confusion while driving. However, on this trip he has a passenger to help keep him alert. That passenger is a young, aspiring actress, who is hitchhiking her way to London for the audition of a lifetime.
In another vehicle ride a groom and his best man who are already running late for the wedding. They are trying desperately to make up for lost time, while covering up the devastating secret that caused them to leave so late that morning.
A taxi is driving along at a steady speed in the right lane with its passenger, an elderly widow on the way to meet the former love of her life. She hasn’t seen him for 60 years, but he has come back to England from the United States to meet her.
The car traveling in the middle lane carries a prominent doctor and his mistress, who are arguing because he has told her the relationship must end. His life would be destroyed if the affair was discovered.
Traffic continues to move at a steady pace, when suddenly the sky begins to get darker. The drivers find themselves in an odd yellow blackness with great sheets of rain beating down on the road, followed by hail, that whites out the road markings. But, then the storm is over and the sunshine returns. However, the road is still covered with water. Suddenly, the tractor-trailer swerves across five lanes of traffic causing a miles-long pile-up within minutes. The consequences from the accident are set in motion.
High above on a hill, a farmer stands in his field and witnesses the whole event. The field becomes the area used for helicopter evacuations and the farmer’s life is destined to become entwined with many of the victims.
The lives of the victims become entangled much like the vehicles they drove. The story of the trials they face after the accident, the loves and friendships they form, and the new lives they discover all show that some times the worst event can lead to The Best of Times.
This book and other books by Penny Vincenzi are available at the Lexington Public Library. You can also find the library’s new book list at the library or online.
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