Betrayal

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I certainly found myself questioning my morals with this book because I am very much one who believes in doing the right thing and without giving too much away Eve does something unforgivable that would usually have me turning against a character however because we have seen what poor Eve has had to endure through her life there was a part of me that excused her for her actions. A strong piece of writing and storytelling that has the power to transport you and invite you into the drama.

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. She goes to the police and gets in touch with a social worker who helps her leave London to flee to a refuge in Sidmouth. But after the divorce goes through, she can finally return to her home. Only, Don isn't capable of moving on, instead he harrases her every night until she decides to teach him a lesson - which goes very, very wrong. I liked Eve at the beginning however as time went on she became very self centred, I’d lost any warmth towards her, I felt so sorry for Eve and her children but I loved how her character evolved as the story progressed and she started to get more confident in building a new life for herself. She found some really good friends and began to hope that she might even find love again. I really enjoyed the fact that she went from downtrodden to ambitious and I admired her for what she achieved. 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!

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Bestselling author Lesley Pearse weaves her writing web of magnetism and lures you in with a tale of hard times, abuse and survival. Eve should never have married Don Hathaway. Yes, he gave her two beautiful children - Olly and Tabitha - but he's a bully. Worse than that, he hurts her. But after one drunken rage too many, she has the courage to leave him. Eve is worried that it's a difficult path, yet she needs to give her children hope for the future. Don, however, is bitter. And getting away entirely from him proves impossible. Until the day. Eve tries to teach him a lesson - and it all foes horribly wrong. Before I jump into this review, I must stress that Ms Pearse doesn't shy away from the distressing themes in Betrayal. Not only does domestic and physical abuse recur heavily, there are also graphic descriptions of peodophelia/grooming and suicide. So please be aware before choosing to read. The reason this one got four stars instead of five when my review seems overwhelmingly positive? I don't actually have anything bad to say about it, these just aren't my favourite books of all time!

Turns out that one of the flings is grooming/ sleeping with her daughter, so she catches him and calls the cops.

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.

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. 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. 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! But then here’s the contrasting thing…the book highlighted some really difficult subjects including marital abuse, grooming and suicide, to name but a few, and didn’t shy away from them, in fact it is a brutal start to the book….which then made the other parts seem so contrasted I loved reading about all the characters and the storyline was just brilliant I felt I knew them all by the ending and what a satisfactory ending it was.

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I've loved Lesley Pearse's books from the beginning. It's hard to believe Betrayal is book 31! It's just as good a read as all of the others. 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. With Lesley Pearse's reputation for grippy, gritting stories that never shy away from the seamier side of life, I was expecting distressing themes from Betrayal. And, yes, this story pulled no punches – literally – from the very start.