Betrayal

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A strong piece of writing and storytelling that has the power to transport you and invite you into the drama. Also the writing style is written in a way my 15 year old self wrote fan fictions. Just so simple and boring. Lesley Pearse was brought up in South London in various orphanages from the age of three. She learned about the Soho club scene and the music business during the Sixties with the late John Pritchard. Her novels have sold over ten million copies worldwide. Lesley has three daughters and three grandchildren and lives in Bristol. The characters Eve, Tabby, Olly and Marianne are all interesting and multifaceted. However I found Tom a bit one-dimensional, fitting the archetypal "prince" character. Despite the drifting plotline and a crammed conclusion of events, this is classic Lesley Pearse through and through. Betrayal is a great read, if a tough one.

Opening with a brutal act of violence upon his wife, Donny Hathaway establishes himself as a brute of the worst sort. This is clearly not the first time he has bestowed this casually bloody act on Eve, but the effect it has on her is to determine that it will be his last. Though the themes in this story are upsetting, they are offset by the strength of the characters. Eve is never less than a sympathetic character. The bleakness of her life with Don and her subsequent struggles are lightened not only by her own courage and determination, but by the strength of the other characters in the book, who are a testament to the fundamental good heartedness of most people. The betrayal of the title is how Don treats Eve, however, she is so immersed in her one and only long term relationship she believes leaving him would be an act of betrayal of their wedding vows. It is a clear and stark insight into the other side of the equation when those who have -thankfully-never been in a relationship like this, ask 'Why didn't you leave?' People rarely ask 'What stopped you feeling that you could?' It's another subtle layer to the abusive relationship and as Eve sees the reactions of her children, as well as the threat of violence towards her son, that gives her the push she needs to seek help. Her children and the thought of being labelled a subpar wife have kept her in marital chains for years, her wedding was a drunken event not worth recalling, Don's behaviour towards her family marking as a day to forget and not remember. It shows how insidiously the coercive control has co-opted Eve's sense of self and her world view, she would stay for the sake of shame and social propriety than leave.I liked Eve at the beginning however as time went on she became very self centred, I’d lost any warmth towards her, I expected this book to be historical fiction, something I don't usually enjoy, but this book was actually set at the end of 1990s/early 2000s so make your own minds up as to if that's historical fiction (but to me it isn't). Despite some flaws, I found Eve to be a strong and brave protagonist in many ways. All she wants is the best for her children, even if she's weighed down with such a burden that she can't share. This also means that's she has surpressed trust issues and can't fully commit to another romance in the future.

Bestselling author Lesley Pearse weaves her writing web of magnetism and lures you in with a tale of hard times, abuse and survival. Eve Hathaway has no option but to leave her violent husband but as with all bullies Don Hathaway refuses to admit that he has a problem and can't let Eve and his children have the peaceful life they crave. Setting up a new life for herself and her children isn't easy for Eve but with sheer grit and determination she takes them out of poverty and into a more settled existence except that Eve is burdened by a dreadful secret which overshadows her future happiness. A very confusing book to review for me as it was like 2 books joined as one, no doubt well written but maybe not for my appreciation Eve Hathaway's husband Don is the worst kind of bully. For years she's put up with his beating and berating towards herself and their children Tabby and Ollie. Finally, FINALLY after one too many instances of the abuse, Eve finds the courage to walk away. Eve thought she married the love of her life. And everytime he hit her, she told herself that it would get better, he just had a bad day, it won't always be like this. But Don's abusive behaviour got worse with each day and when he started taking his anger out on her infront of the kids, and then on her kids, she knew that it was finally time to get them out.

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I was a bit wary of reading this one as the previous few books I’ve read by Lesley Pearse I must admit to struggling with. However as I’ve loved all her other books I really wanted to give this one a chance and I’m really glad I did. In this book, we see just how strong and resilient women can be even when things literally "beat" us down! We see that sometimes the people closest to us can hurt us the most and how total strangers can become the best of friends! The story then follows Eve and her children over the years after breaking free but it looks as if the past is always lurking around the corner waiting for the truth to come out and justice to be done. Eve should never have married Don Hathaway. Yes, he gave her two beautiful children - Olly and Tabitha - but he is a bully. Worse than that, he hurts her. If the title is anything to go by, I should have been warned..but, I definitely was not prepared for the amount of Betrayal I was about to witness and live through Eve!

Betrayal is the new release from Lesley Pearse where she introduces us to Eve who has been the victim of domestic abuse and it doesn’t stop at her because Don has raised his hand to their son now too. When one particularly scary beating left Eve in a bad way she had to put not just her safety but that of her children first and set the wheels in motion to leave her husband. Yet although it took me a few days ( that’s a lot for me ) I wanted to finish the book and see the final outcome

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Storytelling at its best from a great author who I have followed for years and read all her books and she never disappoints. This is a book that reels you in from the first chapter, throwing the reader straight into the heart of the abuse and the sense of danger and urgency flowing through those first few chapters. The book does slow its pace in the middle part of this book as Eve and her children try to live a new normal life but once again the book takes a dramatic turn of events towards the latter part of the book and we are thrown into despair and the adrenalin flows as everything comes to a head. This book touched and covered so many tough subjects, that are relevant and happening in today's times!

I really liked this. I liked it much better than ‘Suspects’, and ‘Deception’, the last 2 books from Lesley Pearse. This is more like her earlier novels e.g. ‘Rosie’, and ‘Father Unknown’, which I loved. I really enjoyed it, and was eager to read on to find out what would happen. But, after one drunken rage too many, she has the courage to leave him. Eve is warned that it's a difficult path, yet she needs to give her children hope for the future.

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She could not do it for herself, even when they arrive at the women's refuge that a specialist solicitor has gotten them into, Eve's sense of denial is such that she finds it hard to relate her circumstances to the other women there.