An entire novel about one traffic accident, the people involved, the cops who arrive on the scene, the loss adjusters, the bystanders. It doesn't sound like enough for a book but it's more than enough, riveting actually, better than JDM's best-selling novel
The Damned, which, similarly, was a portmanteau about a grounded ferry and the varying people waiting to cross the river. This book is less sensational, more real. There is a slight crime element but it's only one of many sub-plots.
I couldn't find an image of the actual paperback copy that I read, a Fawcett Gold Medal, but it was clear from the copywriters and the images that they really didn't want anyone to know that the book was about a car accident. The blurb on the cover reads "A ruthless collision of passions" and shows a couple in a torrid embrace. Similar to the cover below that promises "High-Speed Love." Guess they didn't think they could sell a book about a simple car accident.
A few years ago there was a BBC series called
Collision which had the exact same premise as this book. I doubt the JDM estate got any money though.
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