This book by Laura Elliot didn’t really get going for me until the last few chapters, which I didn’t expect when it is billed as a ‘gripping novel of psychological suspense’. A case I think of a publisher trying to catch the coat tails of The Girl on the Train. I would describe it more as a family drama. That aside, this is a well-written study of a teenage relationship which, when it falters and is left to fester into adulthood, can mess up a whole family.

This is an examination of the marriage breakdown between two empty-nesters, Jake and Nadine, who are then messed around by Karin, the ex-friend from hell. Yes, there is a stalker. Yes, there are accidents and co-incidences. There are some colourful sections to Jake and Nadine’s viewpoints which I enjoyed reading – the band Shard, Alaska, the container village – but these seemed like diversions when I spent a long time waiting to find out what the actual betrayal was. Perhaps an insight into Karen’s mind would have helped to balance Jake and Nadine’s story.

A small aside, sadly I had another issue: for a traditionally-published book, my Kindle version was littered with grammatical errors.

Click here to read my review of Stolen Child by Laura Elliot.

If you like this, try:-
‘The Accident‘ by CL Taylor
‘Butterfly Barn‘ by Karen Power
‘The House at the Edge of the World’ by Julia Rochester

‘The Betrayal’ by Laura Elliot [UK: Bookouture] Buy now

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
THE BETRAYAL by @Elliot_Laura #bookreview via @SandraDanby http://wp.me/p5gEM4-1K1