An Absolute Scandal by Penny Vincenzi

Penny Vincenzi’s An Absolute Scandal. The story is set amongst a circle of characters that are all affected by the Lloyds crisis. It is a page-turner the tale will keep you locked into the lives of the small group of rather privileged families who have all made an unfortunate investment into the Lloyds group.
There are the Beaumonts, a rich family with three children who live, what appears to be the perfect upper-class life style with private schooling, a second house in the countryside and successful careers from both the parents. When Lloyds starts to ask for money however the fairy tale life starts to fall apart as other financial issues are brought to attention at the same time.
There are the Cowpers, a young attractive couple, Nigel works for Lloyds, Lucinda is bored of her life and longs to leave him but when the Lloyds scandal begins he decides to transfer everything into her name trapping her in the relationship.
And then there are the Fieldings. Debbie is a bored middle class house wife who rather resents her mother in law, due to her large amounts of money saved in Lloyds, the return of which she uses to pay her grandchildren’s education forcing Debbie to be polite to her. When the grandmother’s checks stop coming, due to the Lloyds scandal, Debbie and Richard struggle to keep the family within the life style they have become accustomed to. Debbie sees this as an opportunity to re gain her professional life and make her own money.
The novel is a very tragic one, many lives are altered and changed forever due to the financial crisis that each family faces. Vincenzi has focused more on the prime characters an their troubles in this novel. The personal and professional dilemmas are prominent, as are the rumours, secrets and lies that keep the book rolling from one chapter to the next.